Genetic Swaps an Ethical Dilemma


Book Description

This story involves the illegal and legal swapping of one persons gene for implanting into another person to change their intelligence. Although this book is fictional, it points out the ways science could change our political and ethical values. This book begins with a goal to help disabled children through new discoveries and gene manipulations by swapping genes.. The main character, Dr. Janet Stewart, directs a secret CIA lab whose basic purpose is to discover how certain genes operate. Her discovery of the gene that controls a persons IQ is secretly tested in childrens clinics, military academies, prisons and finally in terrorist interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. Genetic swaps are performed with dramatic results. Dr. Stewarts associations with two neurosurgeons, who are also interested in genetic research, bring about the discovery of the C mystery gene. An amazing observation is made after testing humans at a secret lab in Pahrump, Nevada. This gene proves to be fundamental in a persons thought regarding faith and trust. This leads to tests with Atheists, Agnostics, Catholics and Muslims. Tests show how a suicide bomber constantly reinforces his faith gene, through free will, to enable him to destroy his own life and that of others. Finally, The President of the United States directs Dr. Stewart to devise a program to be used on all foreign students visiting the United States that would make them our secret ambassadors without them ever knowing it. This is not a far fetched idea. New gene discoveries are being made as you read this novel.. The purpose of this book is to give a simple warning. As a world leader the United States must be vigilant not to exchange human control for human rights. This new knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands..




Heritable Human Genome Editing


Book Description

Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.




New Scientist


Book Description




Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques


Book Description

Mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) are designed to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases from mother to child. While MRTs, if effective, could satisfy a desire of women seeking to have a genetically related child without the risk of passing on mtDNA disease, the technique raises significant ethical and social issues. It would create offspring who have genetic material from two women, something never sanctioned in humans, and would create mitochondrial changes that could be heritable (in female offspring), and therefore passed on in perpetuity. The manipulation would be performed on eggs or embryos, would affect every cell of the resulting individual, and once carried out this genetic manipulation is not reversible. Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques considers the implications of manipulating mitochondrial content both in children born to women as a result of participating in these studies and in descendants of any female offspring. This study examines the ethical and social issues related to MRTs, outlines principles that would provide a framework and foundation for oversight of MRTs, and develops recommendations to inform the Food and Drug Administration's consideration of investigational new drug applications.




Sympathy for the Devil


Book Description

Gary Acton is a London oncologist and his book offers a unique insight into the chaotically unpredictable world of cancer medicine and the biotechnology industry.Sympathy For The Devil is the account of one company struggling to survive, as all their experimental cancer drugs fail. Now they only have one left. Battling for their existence turns into a race against time, in an adventure taking them from New York to New Delhi. This is a tragicomic true story, frequently bordering on the surreal. It reveals, for the first time, the extraordinary world inhabited by the people involved in cancer drug development. It’s a place where money, medicine and magic all collide. You need the luck of the Devil to survive. A similar set of ethics comes in handy too.One in three of us will contract cancer and need treatment. This book opens a door on where those drugs come from. A successful new cancer agent costs $100 million and takes ten years to develop. And yet, despite all that time and effort to get it right, only a tiny fraction make it to the clinic. This book examines what’s going wrong and why so many drugs don’t survive that arduous journey. Biotechnology today has become a cancer casino with success or failure determined as much by a throw of the dice as design or decision. Sympathy For The Devil reveals the disturbing implications of this for all of us, now and into the future.




Biotechnology Unzipped


Book Description

In this update to the very popular first edition of the same name, skilled science popularizer Eric Grace helps readers understand what biotechnology is and what implications it holds for all of us. Following on the heels of the success of the first edition, this thoroughly updated version offers an in-depth and accessible review of the basics of biotechnology. Accomplished science communicator Eric Grace focuses on the ethical implications involved, the wide range of public opinions both at home and abroad, the role of the media in communicating a complicated science topic, and the formidable problems associated with patenting life itself. With an emphasis on medicine, agriculture, and the environment, Grace explores the promises and realities of biotechnology. He deals frankly with the fact that biotechnology is first and foremost a commercial activity, often driven by big business and directed by the bottom line. And as biotechnology is used more frequently in medical diagnosis and treatment, we are witness to significant setbacks and reversals, dimming hopes that were prevalent when the first edition was released. But we are also witness to the burgeoning use of the technology in forensic science where DNA analysis has become commonplace in solving crimes. Likewise, DNA analysis has been a boon to studies of human history and evolution, revealing ancient details originally thought lost to us. At the same time, new uses for genetically altered bacteria are being discovered that help us clean up the environment by breaking down or sequestering toxic chemicals. While the public remains concerned about biotechnology, there is increasing awareness of the potential benefits. This updated edition of Biotechnology Unzipped helps put the many issues in perspective and provides answers to the most important questions.




Carnivore Cure: Meat-Based Nutrition and the Ultimate Elimination Diet to Attain Optimal Health


Book Description

Carnivore Cure is the first elimination protocol to explain how to adopt a meat-based diet to bring about healing. Get back to optimal health by finding the perfect foods to fuel your individual body. Most elimination diets work to an extent but fail to consider all the individual, physical symptoms, and food sensitivities. Most elimination diets remove processed foods and additives but fail to remove plant-based toxins that can contribute to disease. Until now. Introducing, Carnivore Cure. You start with meats that have the least number of allergens and sensitivities. Once you reach a baseline of health, then you can incorporate other meats that may have previously caused a sensitivity. As you heal the gut, if you choose to, you can slowly add back plant-based foods. Carnivore Cure will allow you to figure out what plant-based foods can work for your body in the long term. The Carnivore Cure will support you to find your happy medium by focusing on meat-based diet while incorporating the safest plants with most food intolerances considered. This book provides you a step by step protocol to optimal health while also providing you extensive nutritional information and support for a meat-based diet, including debunking nutrition misinformation and providing lifestyle support through the lens of holistic health. YOU CAN HEAL. Because the right food is medicine. Eliminate the wrong foods and eat the right foods for you, and you alone. Take your life back with the Carnivore Cure.




Recombinant DNA


Book Description

An overview of recombitant DNA techniques and surveys advances in recombinant molecular genetics, experimental methods and their results.




The Social Life of DNA


Book Description

The unexpected story of how genetic testing is affecting race in America We know DNA is a master key that unlocks medical and forensic secrets, but its genealogical life is both revelatory and endlessly fascinating. Tracing genealogy is now the second-most popular hobby amongst Americans, as well as the second-most visited online category. This billion-dollar industry has spawned popular television shows, websites, and Internet communities, and a booming heritage tourism circuit. The tsunami of interest in genetic ancestry tracing from the African American community has been especially overwhelming. In The Social Life of DNA, Alondra Nelson takes us on an unprecedented journey into how the double helix has wound its way into the heart of the most urgent contemporary social issues around race. For over a decade, Nelson has deeply studied this phenomenon. Artfully weaving together keenly observed interactions with root-seekers alongside illuminating historical details and revealing personal narrative, she shows that genetic genealogy is a new tool for addressing old and enduring issues. In The Social Life of DNA, she explains how these cutting-edge DNA-based techniques are being used in myriad ways, including grappling with the unfinished business of slavery: to foster reconciliation, to establish ties with African ancestral homelands, to rethink and sometimes alter citizenship, and to make legal claims for slavery reparations specifically based on ancestry. Nelson incisively shows that DNA is a portal to the past that yields insight for the present and future, shining a light on social traumas and historical injustices that still resonate today. Science can be a crucial ally to activism to spur social change and transform twenty-first-century racial politics. But Nelson warns her readers to be discerning: for the social repair we seek can't be found in even the most sophisticated science. Engrossing and highly original, The Social Life of DNA is a must-read for anyone interested in race, science, history and how our reckoning with the past may help us to chart a more just course for tomorrow.




The Ethical Frontier of AI and Data Analysis


Book Description

In the advancing fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, a pressing ethical dilemma arises. As technology continues its relentless march forward, ethical considerations within these domains become increasingly complex and critical. Bias in algorithms, lack of transparency, data privacy breaches, and the broader societal repercussions of AI applications are demanding urgent attention. This ethical quandary poses a formidable challenge for researchers, academics, and industry professionals alike, threatening the very foundation of responsible technological innovation. Navigating this ethical minefield requires a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted issues at hand. The Ethical Frontier of AI and Data Analysis is an indispensable resource crafted to address the ethical challenges that define the future of AI and data science. Researchers and academics who find themselves at the forefront of this challenge are grappling with the evolving landscape of AI and data science ethics. Underscoring the need for this book is the current lack of clarity on ethical frameworks, bias mitigation strategies, and the broader societal implications, which hinder progress and leave a void in the discourse. As the demand for responsible AI solutions intensifies, the imperative for this reliable guide that consolidates, explores, and advances the dialogue on ethical considerations grows exponentially.