• Question: What is your opinion on genetic manipulation

    Asked by xX_OldmanBamanaboni_Xx to Ruth, John, Laura, Luke, Rob on 11 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Ruth Patchett

      Ruth Patchett answered on 11 Jun 2016:

      I suppose the difficult thing about genetic manipulation is its so broad we need to find how much we are happy to do. We already manipulate genes in a lot of ways for example when we pick certain animals like cattle or other animals like dogs to breed to get certain characteristics like tasty meat-for cows growing lots of wool-for sheep or short snouts-for some dogs. As well as useful characteristics this has resulted in some characteristics that we didn’t plan, some types of pedigree dogs can get very sick because of the way we breed them. On the other hand genetic manipulation can allow us to make plants grow in tough environments or grow more efficiently to prevent people from going hungry- in areas with droughts for example or fight illnesses to help people like e longer and healthier lives. So I suppose it is useful but we need to be mindful of the long term consequences of our actions!

    • Photo: John Fossey

      John Fossey answered on 13 Jun 2016:

      I think its just an extension of what we have been doing since the dawn of civilisation. Selective breeding of crops and creatures for humanities use stretches back millennia

    • Photo: Laura Finney

      Laura Finney answered on 13 Jun 2016:

      I agree with Ruth that we already do it a lot as it is. However, as technology advances I think we must be particularly careful about what we see as acceptable.
      The recent cases regarding pigs and growing human pancreas’ in them is a fabulous idea for medicine, but do we know all of the consequences?

      I think there are a lot of questions unanswered in more complex genetic modification that make me wary.

    • Photo: Luke Williams

      Luke Williams answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      As I said in the cloning question, it really depends on what you mean by genetic manipulation. All kinds of things fall under the term, including, technically, any form of cross breeding to form new types of crops.

      Right at the other end of the scale you can genetic engineering of humans for physical and mental attributes, ranging from intelligence to gender, eye colour to height.

      In the main I have no problem with genetic manipulation, particularly as I did some during my research. Friends of mine have done substantially more genetic manipulation than me, creating all new kinds of bacteria, different strains, which carry different genes.

      I tend to draw the line at human genetic engineering. It is only on the border of current technology to do such things, but there are particular ethical problems with considering how to manage things, which I do not believe society is yet able to address or understand.

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