Reclaiming My Topic

Step 3:
When my research began I thought of genetic research as something i wanted to do with my life but i just didn't know enough about to choose it as my career. That's the main reason I chose the topic i did. I wanted to learn more about it so I'd know if i needed to do this for the rest of my life. As my research progressed i became more interested in the subject matter and discovered there was more controversy about the subject than i had originally thought. There differences about the rhetoric used and that phrasing itself was important. I also came to discover there were many complexities when discussing genetic research. The genes and the human genome are all very complicated and sometimes difficult to understand but i believe that my research has made it easier for me to understand and better explore my topic. Also has I researched my sources seemed to sound alike, however on reading them i began to discover that they had the same topic but said different things about the subject. So though my articles are all based around the same concept they have different ideas and that makes my argument easier to formulate. I have yet to determine a concrete thesis statement but i think I'm going somewhere along the lines of the need for genetic testing to be widespread, without discrimination of any kind, as well as a definition of the terms gene therapy and gene research. This also raises the argument that discrimination is inherent in genetic testing and research, which is an argument i will have to refute. Mainly I'm concerned that i will not be able to formulate all the information into a cohesive paper. Fortunately there is a lot of information on my subject and if one source turns out to be a dead end it will be easy to find another one that will be more relevant. After doing my research I have essentially decided that i don't want to be geneticist. It's really interesting and innovative but i just don't know if I'm willing to devote that much of my time and life to being locked away in a room mutating DNA.




Moments, Stories, People, and Scenes
The articles I've read that i like the most are the ones about curing diseases. However those are a double edged sword. Though many of the stories tell about good things that have come from genetic research there are unforeseeable downsides because humans simply don't know enough about our genes to be mutilating them. There are still a grand majority of genes that are said to do nothing but add structural integrity, but we don't know. And mutating our DNA is a scary thought when we really don't what we are doing. Though research has been performed on subjects to see the effects of these mutating drugs the results are not inclusive, just because the patients show no outward signs of dire consequences does not mean they do not exist. Some of these mutations could cause organs to inadvertently fail because one protein is being made wrong. Hence where all the controversy about genetic research springs. Some claim it is playing god and is something we should not meddle with. Which is a valid point that babies are being engineered to be how you want them to be. But does finding a cure for cancer by mulnipalating DNA count under the umbrella argument of "playing god". I don't think so. However, i do believe that more research needs to be done before real advances are made in gene targeting medicines. And this can only be done by mapping thousands of individual genomes to create a larger picture of human DNA as a whole. By researching these individuals genomes one can discover the common links between strands of DNA and can begin to discover commonalities between genetic sequences. For instance, someone with sickle cell anemia denotes themselves to have their genome mapped.



Dialogue

Lily:Why is genetic research important to today's society?

Me: Genetic research is important to today's society because it has the potential to cure many life threatening diseases such as AIDS and cancer. It actually has the potential to eliminate disease altogether.

Lily: How is this possible?

Me: The curing of diseases throught the use of genetics is made possible by the mapping of the Human Genome. When many different genomes from different people are complied, similarites can be made and pinpointing the genes which cause these diseases is made easier. Also genetic research can study the DNA of viruses and a person could be given a medicine that specifically target the DNA of that virus, essentially rendering it harmless.

Lily: Isn't mutating DNA dangerous?

Me: Yes. At the current state of research there are not enough human genomes mapped to give concrete causes for all diseases by specific genes. This can be fixed if the price of having a geonome mapped is dropped significantly, eseentially if the process becomes more efficient. Every addition to the overall human genome will help scientists better understand which genes cause certain diseases. Also as more are mapped scientists should be better able to understand the purpose of the genees which apparently provide nothing more than sturtural intergrity. Therefore mutating DNA is not as safe as it has the potential to be.

Lily: Could this information be used to design babies or even adults, kind of like a strange, new kind of plastic surgery?

Me: Yes. The mapping of the human genome did not start with this purpose. The main goal of the Human Genome Project.


So What?
Genetic research has amazing potential to cure diseases and make the human race on a whole a stronger species. However, much more research is necessary for these lofty dreams to be realized. The most important thing is more genomes need to be mapped so that a database can be complied to pinpoint the purposes of genes. When that happens the true advances in medical science can be achieved.