Possible Results: 1. Assignment

1) Point out the helpful and dangerous aspects of genetic engineering as depicted in this text.

Natasha Walter points out the helpful and at the same time dangerous aspects of genetic engineering in a detailed way. Whenever she starts mentioning a helpful aspect concerning genetic engineering, she always continues with a negative or even dangerous one to make people consider the consequences of genetic engineering carefully.
First the author points out that a baby’s genetic material can save its brother or sister. In addition to that a scientist is able to influence the genetic material of any baby releasing it e.g. from the gene “that predisposed [its] mother to Alzheimer’s disease” (ll.9f.) These scientific accomplishments make couples get the shocking idea of having the possibility to get “the perfect à la carte baby” (l.16). Their imaginations no longer contain any sense of reality or rationality as they appear to expect miracles from scientists.
Of course, working with cells of embryos is progressive and without progress the whole world would still be an uncivilized place. People would die earlier because doctors would not have medicine to cure illnesses that come along with old age. Furthermore, babies would die more often at an early age because of too little medical care that can only be developed through progressive research. On the other side the progress, the expanding scientific knowledge, makes people believe that mankind can have control over everything. People want perfectness for others and for themselves. Scientists are able to develop possibilities “to combat disabilities and intractable diseases” (ll.30f.). Illnesses are predictable and so they can be avoided with the right intervention. It is e.g. because of experiments that paraplegics may get the chance to walk again. Additionally, nobody has to be afraid of becoming older as most people are sure that “scientists could already clone dozens of dinky copies of themselves” (ll.13f.)
It seems as if people deeply believe in science and only believe in science. They only wait for scientific help as scientists are supposed to improve life and living conditions in general. But actually, many problems in the world are caused by people themselves and cannot be solved by genetic engineering or expanding scientific knowledge. People have to help themselves because genetic engineering does not mean “to create cloned human beings, but rather to make life-saving therapies for a wide range of human disease conditions” (ll.47f.).

(399 words)

by Sarah Stöppel