The genetic manipulation represents all those techniques that allow to directly modify the genes inside the cells of living organisms. These modifications can be through the insertion, deletion or alteration of one or more specific genes.
All the instructions that make an organism what it is are encoded in the genes, that is, these DNA fragments are the ones that tell each part of the cells and each cell in the body of a multicellular or unicellular organism, what must do, when and how.
Genetic manipulation is one of the most widely used biotechnological scientific processes today, since it includes all the necessary tools to modify the physical characteristics of practically any living being or, rather, of everything that has genetic information inside (DNA or RNA).
Nowadays, genetic manipulation is one of the most discussed topics in scientific society, as there are biotechnological tools capable of easily and effectively manipulating almost any desired gene in a living organism..
Organisms that can be “genetically manipulated” include humans, and this is where most of the debates arise, since although genetic manipulation can help cure a large number of inherited diseases, it can also be used to create extremely dangerous biological weapons.
Advances in the development of tools that allow genetic manipulation bring great benefits to humanity. We could even think that there are more advantages than disadvantages that occur from the development of these technologies.
However, this will only be the case if humanity has the social and cultural maturity to use them to produce a common good in today's society. Let's see the 5 main advantages of genetic manipulation:
Many of the diseases that humanity suffers such as cancer, diabetes, hemophilia, vitiligo, among others, are the product of the malfunction of some genes due to different mutations in the DNA sequence that makes them up, which causes their improper operation.
At present, the genetic manipulation of many of the genes that produce these diseases is being considered, in order to correct their mutations and thus try to cure the different diseases that these produce.
The most obvious advantage that this represents is that it would increase the life expectancy of human beings.
Today the vast majority of the food we consume is the product of genetically manipulated animal or plant organisms, either by transgenesis (by the inclusion of a gene from another species) or by simple modification of one's own genes..
Genetic manipulation, therefore, has allowed and continues to allow the development of crops that are more resistant to pests and extreme conditions (wind, drought, heat, excessive humidity, etc.), as well as faster-growing animals with resistance to diseases caused by different pathogens. It also involves the "design" of more productive organisms..
This, without a doubt, represents an important advantage, since it avoids the loss of crops and animals due to different environmental factors, ensuring that humanity can seek to produce enough food for everyone in all parts of the world..
Many of the drugs consumed by the world's population are produced synthetically. However, some are produced thanks to the genetic modification of bacteria, microorganisms that with the appropriate genetic information can synthesize the active compounds present in many medicines.
This type of production is only possible thanks to molecular biology techniques that insert the genetic sequence that contains the instructions to be followed by the bacteria (or other types of organisms) to produce these compounds inside their cells..
This is not only easier in technical or practical terms, but it can lower costs, significantly increase production, etc..
Genetic manipulation is also used to extract the genes that give some organisms resistance to high temperatures and then insert them into other susceptible organisms, seeking to make them resistant to increasingly high temperatures as a result of climate change..
These tests are carried out mainly on species of agricultural interest such as rice, soybean, corn and wheat plants..
On the other hand, some newer research is focusing on the development of bacteria that are capable of consuming and digesting plastic, since the levels of contamination by this material are increasingly alarming and are killing life in almost all ecosystems of the planet.
Plastic takes many years to degrade and there are materials that even never do..
Another advantage that we can point out for genetic manipulation techniques is that they provide the basis for scientists to be able to manipulate most of the characteristics that an organism needs to live, on earth or on another planet that presents the minimum conditions..
Thus, through astrobiology, the genetic and physical characteristics necessary to find and / or create life on another planet are studied..
In the field of astrobiology, experiments are carried out on the space station to determine what are the chemical elements and living organisms that could transform a planet to make it viable, in order for humanity to establish itself there.
Although some of these advantages sound somewhat futuristic, like taken from a comic strip or a science fiction movie, many of them are feasible and real, and surely scientists will continue to design more techniques and find new uses, many of them that will go much further. beyond our imagination.
Most of the disadvantages of genetic manipulation are the result of the wrong use that man can give it or that, in fact, it has.
In other words, many of the products obtained through the technologies used for genetic manipulation are released to the market and are used without much care, as there are companies that do not carry out all the studies inherent to the potential risks that may exist..
On many occasions we read lawsuits, lawsuits or complaints on the news about the side effects caused by synthetic drugs or the fact that many transgenic plants are designed by large transgenic organism companies to be sterile (that they do not produce seeds), generating a negative dependency relationship.
Here is a list of the 5 main disadvantages:
The main problem with genetic manipulation is the long-term effects that the changes we make in the DNA of living organisms can cause. Being a technology developed relatively recently, it is still difficult to know the effects that these modifications will have in the long term..
Few genetically manipulated products are tested with rigorous trials that ensure a safe and reliable product for the consumer. Only at the beginning of this century have we begun to notice some of the effects of these products on us and especially on the environment..
The techniques that currently exist for genetic manipulation have taken years to develop and although at present they have been mastered to the point that errors are usually less than 10%, we still do not know exactly the effect of these errors.
Not all parts of the world use techniques with the least margin of error for genetic manipulation, but these techniques are used in practically all parts of the world, so this could represent a risk when making changes in genes.
In recent years, through the CRISPR-Cas9 technique, experiments have been carried out to genetically modify human cells, since this technique seems to work with great precision to make the desired changes.
This type of techniques can be used to create human beings with better capacities than the rest, that is, more intelligent or physically fit, and in this way develop armies of people who have characteristics superior to the common population.
Additionally, with this technique, animals can also be modified to give rise to sterile species of livestock or pollinating insects and thus condition the agricultural production of an entire country..
Genetic manipulation of pathogenic bacteria or viruses can also be used by scientists at the command of unscrupulous rulers, which can pose a serious danger to the entire world, since biological attacks do not usually affect only countries in conflict, but not there is a way to predict the effects around you.
One of the main disadvantages of genetic manipulation has to do with the ethical and moral sphere, since it involves the deliberate modification of a living being, which has negative aspects from many religious or philosophical points of view.
In addition to this, the beginning of the trials of genetic manipulation in humans has increased the debates in modern society, since in many religions human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and such modifications would be seen as an attack against of his will.
The line is very fuzzy, but gene editing of a human being in search of "perfection", rather than correcting lethal diseases or severe pathological conditions, is clearly a topic for future discussion and, for now, is a big disadvantage.
In addition to this, another disadvantage of these techniques is that they are often sold and used by very restricted communities of the world population, which means that there are more and more socio-economic and cultural differences, that is, the poor are getting poorer. and the rich are getting richer.
This would not be a disadvantage if organisms are manipulated in order to alleviate hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged sectors (either due to natural or economic resources), instead of enriching a wealthy sector of society.
To date, many of the genetic manipulations have been carried out in species of agricultural interest, that is, plants and animals that are used for the production of food..
However, we do not know the long-term effects that these modifications cause in ecosystems, since there is usually a dynamic balance between living beings and the environment where they live, where the death of some organisms is necessary for the life of others, to name some example.
These modifications to living beings may be creating more productive environments for humanity, but without knowing it, they may also be modifying the earth's biogeochemical cycles by creating an imbalance in the biodiversity of ecosystems..
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