Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is used to change the genetic makeup of cells to produce improved or new organisms. New DNA is obtained by either copying the genetic material or by artificially synthesizing the DNA.
An organism that is generated through genetic engineering is considered to be genetically modified (GM) and the resulting entity is a genetically modified organism (GMO). Genetic engineering has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture. As well as producing hormones, vaccines and other drugs, genetic engineering has the potential to cure genetic diseases through gene therapy.
Genetically modified crops provides economic benefit to farmers: reduced chemical pesticide use, increased crop yields and increased profits.
Human genetic engineering could be done in order to cure diseases (gene therapy), prevent the possibility of getting a particular disease (similarly to vaccines), improve athlete performance in sporting events (gene doping), or to change physical appearance, metabolism, and even improve physical capabilities and mental faculties such as memory and intelligence. Behavior may also be modified by genetic intervention, and this is controversial and potentially dangerous.
Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. The eugenics movement became associated with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust In the decades following World War II, with more emphasis on human rights, many countries began to abandon eugenics policies.
The Human Genome Project was declared "complete" at 85% in 2003, but was 100% complete in January 2022.
Examples:
- Gattaca is about a dystopian society that uses eugenics to decide what people are capable of and their place in the world.
- Jurassic Park is about a wildlife park of de-extinct dinosaurs created by a wealthy businessman and a team of genetic scientists. The cloning was accomplished by extracting dinosaur DNA from prehistoric mosquitoes preserved in amber. To prevent breeding, all the dinosaurs were made female by direct chromosome manipulation. A chaos theorist in the film warns about the ethics of cloning and the implications of genetic engineering and the dangers of introducing pre-historic life into the modern world, saying that "life always finds a way".
- Khan was an extremely intelligent and dangerous superhuman and the most prominent of the genetically-engineered Human Augments of the late-20th century Eugenics Wars period on Earth. These wars were as a result of a scientific attempt to improve the Human race through selective breeding and genetic engineering. The wars devastated parts of Earth, causing some thirty million deaths, and nearly plunged the planet into a new Dark Age.
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