Should legal restrictions limit the application of gene therapy to only correcting genetic defects? Should enhancement gene therapy and/or gene doping be illegal? Do you think such a law would be enforceable? Explain your reasoning
What will be an ideal response?
Background:
If we discover genes that control a desirable trait such as intelligence or athletic ability, should we use them to enhance someone's intellectual ability or athletic skills? For now, the consensus is that we should not use gene transfer for such purposes. However, the FDA allows the use of growth hormone produced by recombinant DNA technology to enhance the growth of children who have no genetic disorder or disease but are likely to be shorter than average adults. Critics point out that approving transfer of a gene for enhancement is only a short step from the current practice of approving a gene product for enhancement.
Concern over the use of genes instead of gene products to enhance athletic performance began in 2001, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission met to discuss how gene therapy might affect sports competition. Other agencies, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), have prohibited gene transfer (gene doping) as a means of enhancing athletic performance. Although agencies such as the IOC and WADA prohibit the use of Repoxygen, others are calling for legalization of gene enhancement, arguing that regulating the use of this gene therapy is more effective than attempting to prevent its use. They also argue that gene doping is only an extension of technology such as artificial nutrition and hydration by intravenous fluids, which is already permitted.
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The physical features and chemical composition of the rocks that contain fossils provide information about the ____ in which the fossil organisms lived
Fill in the blank with the appropriate word.
Cultural traits are transmitted horizontally and vertically through learning. Which of the examples below shows the horizontal transmission of culture?
A. A mother teaches her son how to ride a bike. B. A female chimpanzee teaches her offspring to capture termites using a stick. C. A son inherits the recessive form of a gene from his father. D. A teenager teaches her brother how to text. E. None of a-d are examples of horizontal transmission of culture.
Systematists often use DNA sequencing in ______________, the study of the order of evolutionary events within a group sharing derived characters.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
The system that helps all others maintain homeostasis by transporting oxygen, nutrients, carbon dioxide, and wastes is the.
a) circulatory system b) respiratory system c) excretory system d) digestive system