Pre-AP English II
28 March 2013
The Genetic Revolution The questions of where and what humans are have plagued mankind since the dawn of time.
This question haunted the minds of great pioneers in the field of philosophy. In the time of Galileo, Da Vinci, Aristotle, Dante, etc., the general consensus indoctrinated the people of the time that God gave them life, and supplied their every need. Up until the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when humanities technology increased enough that the ability to study the environment and how it had been created. Unfortunately, doubts and fears have risen recently about the truth of genetics, the use of that information, and the dangers of testing. Genetics research will always been a touchy subject for the layman. Most people do not understand genetics-besides what they remember from high school-and usually seem to connect it to the mad scientist messing with people’s insides and making them into monsters. Even less people search for the truth behind the microscope, the vials, syringes’ and stern faced doctors. Questions such as “….Are they playing God?” and “…how will these tests effect my life” come up for the regular person. One question that has occurred to those ignorant is “can genetics prove who I am?”. The answer to this question is no. the reason being that genetics cannot determine mental or physiological properties of any one person. Genetics is the research of DNA and RNA, which mainly determines physical features.
Mental and physiological properties are decided by the experiences and stimuli endured by a person.
Many of the papers against genetics are very biased and extremely religious, causing fear in people who read them. Therefore much of the fears that have come to light are merely misinformed people following the common string of fear. Genetics testing leads to information, all about the genetic mutations and maladies one might have. This information can be used in many different ways; further research, government screening, or screening in general. The main problem that spurs from this is “genetic segregation”, which happens when the general populace learns about a group of persons that have phenotype and genotype mutations, then segregates them. Another fear is that if employers were allowed to see this information and not allow certain people looking for jobs to be employed. This was rectified by a bill that was passed in 2004 that prohibited the use of the information to inhibit someone from acquiring a job. In the future , as population increases, genetic screening may become necessary. Also the use of genetics to enhance a persons’ physical abilities in the future may cause a segregation situation despite the past bills that