By Mercedes Benz
Special to the Chronicle
If someone told you we would have the medical sciences today that alter genes to make our offspring stronger, 20 years ago they would think you were joking.
I’m not an expert, but genetic modification is taking a strand of DNA and either adding to or taking away from, the DNA to form different traits in an organism’s body. This can be done on humans at the embryo stage or any other living life and it already has been.
It might be a cure to many diseases passed on hereditarily, and it is being tested. If we wanted to, with this science advancement we can change a child’s hair colour even!
But, “how much is too much?” asks Mr. Baerg, an English teacher at Southern Okanagan Secondary School, who has a piqued interest in gene modifying technologies.
Mr. Baerg asks that as much as this technology has helped many, and will advance to help more, what is the bad side?
With this technology we can expand the lifetime of a human being, and his question “how will Canadians deal with this?” is a great ponder.
As the older population might not be affected, the younger populations will definitely be, and with the expansion of life will that be morally correct?
Will it have control over populations, or lead to overpopulation?
“When do we get out our moral measuring sticks?”
Truth is nobody knows unless they are completely informed which is not possible with minimal studies that have been undertaken.
So what is right, and what is wrong? That is what humanity will have to figure out in time.
