The Human Genome Project Aims to define every gene on every chromosome in the human body… to effectively have a complete genetic blue print to the species of Homo Sapien Sapien. Enthusiasts such as James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the "double helix" model of DNA, believe that this information will finally tell us what it "means to be human" and give us the much sought answers to all of our disease and perhaps even societal problems. Is the amount of funding given to the Human Genome Project worth it? Through a careful examination of the possible results and procedures I will try to give you enough insight to formulate a decision as to whether or not funding should continue.

When dealing with science, ethics is indefinitely a topic that will surface. Since our goal here is the WORTH of the Human Genome Project and genetic research, let us not let morals and ethics sway our decision. Ethics are no doubt important, however, they are not a topic that should be handled on a government level but rather on an individual basis. The government should only tell us what "is" right and wrong when it affects another individual or society. The technologies that might spring forth from genetic research have such properties as to effect society and individuals but the research and knowledge that it brings does not. It will be up to our government and the other governments of this planet to regulate the use of a technology that could potentially revolutionize or ruin the future of our planet. Why should governments have the power to regulate the people? Why should the governments determine what its citizens can or cannot do? Because some people are too stupid, rash, or ignorant to make responsible decisions.

Genetics, which was a little known field in the past, has begun to receive wide-spread attention as a result of an explosion in exploration and discovery in the world of biology during the past decade, and more specifically, the research into the vast expanse of the genetic make-up of humans. A project, known as the "Human Genome Project", was started a few years ago and will eventually cost taxpayers as much as 3 billion dollars. The Human Genome Project's mission is to map every gene on every chromosome in the human body. Grand results have already been achieved from the exhaustive work so far: scientists working on the project have mapped over 100,000 genes, an estimated 1% of the total genes in the human body. Aided by super computers, the scientists compare, sequence, and contrast different segments of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) which is made up of gene chromosomes. Despite the progress, the idea of a detailed gene map for use by everyone will never be achieved. Instead, a more general gene map will be uncovered which will act more like street names; there is just too much difference between any two individuals to develop a map with every house's address. "... The only genomes that really exist are the DNA molecules in each of our cells."(Mauron)

So what’s the use of all of this information? What are the implications of such knowledge? Philip Kitchen believes that the knowledge gained from the Human Genome Project will allow us to test for genetic diseases but not to cure genetic diseases. Other scientists, like the before mentioned James Watson, have a reductionism attitude. They believe that by understanding the most basic units of life, and then how they work and interact with each other, that we will eventually know how the larger and more physical parts of life work. A reductionism in genetic theory believes that a complete understanding of the microcosm is the key to the macrocosm of life and perhaps even humanity. Critiques of the Human Genome Project and of Reductionism such as Ruth Hubbard aren’t ready to put all of their eggs into the miracle basket of the Human Genome. Hubbard does not refute the fact that much will be learned by climbing the mountain of the Human Genome but she does not feel that the knowledge gained by undertaking this expedition would "elicit the kind of funding needed for this massive project." Ruth would rather see "analytical work with human DNA (by looking) at differences in specific base sequences among different people." Philip Kitcher argues (page 49 The Lives To Come) that without the preliminary knowledge of genetics such test are not (ethically) possible.

The first steps of technology that can be achieved from genetic research are genetic testing. Genetic testing has been the area to advance the fastest. The benefits of testing would be to identify genetic defects or potentially disadvantageous conditions before they fully manifest themselves in an individual. By identifying a problem at an early age, it is (with some diseases) possible to treat and cure, or prolong the life (or the quality of life) of the person affected. The solution could be as simple as watching your sugar intake and it would be a shame if such cures were not used because the problem was never identified. Genetic testing often times becomes a major point of argument by people who are against genetic research. Genetic testing is perhaps the most realistic cause of worry in Americans today for basic reasons of values. The principle values that America is supposedly founded on, equality itself could be at risk. The example that is most often given is that of insurance or employment. The worry that exists is that if you are tested for genetic diseased and or disorders and found to be at risk of suffering from an ailment at an early age. In this scenario, an insurance company would either not want to cover you or charge you a higher rate and an employer might not want to waste the invested resources on training you.

Such worries are valid as an outcome like this would be blatant discrimination. The test will be not in the genes but in the government and in society. If laws are passed to make one’s genetic record private, laws that would forbid companies to investigate persons’ genetic "health", then our rights will be protected. Watson believes that no one should have access or one an individual’s genetic information save for the individual him or herself. Other ethical issues that could arise from the genetic testing of a fetus are whether or not a genetically disadvantaged fetus should be aborted and eugenics.

Eugenics is a science dealing with the improvement (as by selective breeding) of hereditary qualities esp. of human beings. The practice of eugenics became very politically incorrect after World War 2. The Nazi régime after all had based much of its propaganda around an idea of one race being superior to another and of preventing "racial deterioration" (Hubbard p27). Additionally to this, scientists "began to realize that most inherited conditions are recessive, rather than dominant." (Hubbard p23) What would be the point of trying to bread a perfect race if only ½ of the phenotypes were passed down to the next generation and what of the recessive traits which could skip generations, hiding behind a dominant allele? Genetic testing would be one step closer for eugenics to be realized. If we can determine which individuals carried desired genes, a complex Punnent Square could give us the odds of our perfect human, right? Well, no, environment factors can turn on and off genes and we still do not know how our complex genes interact with each other. The presence of one gene could cause a whole other set of genes to be turned on or it could take an entire set of genes just to make one gene have a phenotypic presence. But even if it could… should we be striving for a perfect race? Who is qualified to say whose genes are more valuable than another’s are? Who is to judge one person’s value over another’s?

The above was taken from the LiPHE manifesto, an organization with which I am involved, however my views are not quite as extreme as some of the ones expressed later on in the LiPHE web site. LiPHE believes that certain individuals should make conscious decisions not to pass their genes onto the next generation, i.e. those who feel that their genes are sub-par or those who do not think that they can provide a good life for their children. As long as LiPHE holds this position then everything is fine but if a government were to enforce this as a law and decide who should breed and who should not then we would be dealing with a totalitarian régime much like that of the Nazi party. But what if an individual decides to genetically alter their children, clone their children, or create their children in a test tube based on a combination their and their lover’s DNA?

This year animal cloning has been making headlines and so have crazies like Richard Seed who proposed a human cloning clinic. Washington got worried and President Clinton "urged Congress to pass a ban on human cloning experiments for at least five years."(BBC) Concerns of man becoming God by creating life are among the major complaints. Critiques of cloning call it unnatural and ignorant religious fanatics wonder if the clone would share a soul with the clone-ie. Cloning happen in nature any time that identical twins are born… the only thing unnatural about it is the fact that it’s happening in a lab and not by chance in a female’s womb. When genetic manipulation is added to this equation, the possibility of creating mindless organ donors then comes to mind. An endless supply of spare parts that are completely compatible with the individual who is in need of a transplant, this would no doubt be a wonderful thing. But surely this is not natural!

Genetic Manipulation is something straight out of a Frankenstein science fiction movie but with today’s technology it is no longer fiction. As our knowledge of the actions and interactions of genes increases we may soon be able to take the role of Michele Angelo and sculpt our ideal human. But why stop at human? If angel wings or functional gills could be added would this not be a great thing? Even if we’re not so extreme, what if a parent wishes their children to be born with green eyes instead of blue? Is this natural? Genetic Manipulation in effect emulates the genetic mutations that happen in nature every day. It is because of mutation that humans are capable of cognitive sciences, art, music, and indeed everything that we hold dear to our humanity. By pushing our genetics further, to become super humans, we run the risk of loosing our humanity but we also gain a chance to reach the next level of humanity, the next level of collective consciousness.

Manipulation of genes, however, carries some important risk factors that must be controlled or watched out for. The X Files has on more than one account explored the effects of genetically manufactured diseases. Viruses and bacteria are dangerous enough to humans and life on their own with their own mutations and evolution but the tampering of these micro machines and organisms runs the risk of creating an uncontrollable disease that could wipe out modern civilization. At the same time, a more thorough understanding of viral and bacterial DNA may lead us to the cure to AIDS, cancer, and yet undiscovered threats to come. As stated before, the knowledge must be found and cannot be denied, it is up to the individuals of a society and a society’s government to decide how to responsibly use the technology that develops from the science.

Genetic manipulation also has helped to manifest such fields as gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, and transgenic plants and animals. "Human drugs such as insulin for diabetics, growth hormone for individuals with pituitary dwarfism, and tissue plasminogen activator for heart attack victims, as well as animal drugs like the growth hormones, bovine or porcine somatotropin, are being produced by the fermentation of transgenic bacteria that have received the appropriate human, cow, or pig gene." (Bio-1) In addition to pharmaceuticals, gene therapy is a medicinal field that has sprung forth from DNA research. "The first clinical gene therapy is underway to correct an enzyme deficiency called ADA in children. Bone marrow cells are removed, defective DNA in bone marrow cells is supplemented with a copy of normal DNA, and the repaired cells are then returned to the patient's body."(Bio-1) Other forms of gene therapy include using retro viruses to "infect" cells with the correct gene sequences so that their cells and body may function normally.

So, should we fund the Genome Project? In years past, governments have pumped a large part, if not the majority, of their resources into defense and war efforts. As the world becomes more diplomatic, it becomes less likely that the wars of tomorrow will be fought in the traditional sense. Even desert storm was not a traditional war… the need for manpower has been reduced by our reliance on technology. The wars of tomorrow will not be fought on a battle field and not even necessarily by countries. More likely, corporations who can offer the people a better tomorrow will be fighting wars of industrial espionage and product marketing. It will be the countries and the corporations who can offer the future at a competitive price who will be the winners of this war. This future consists of genetic and cybernetic enhancement, off world colonization, and powerful toys (computers, video games, and cars are examples). My point being that we should look at the amount of money that we spend on space exploration and development, genetic exploration and development, and computer exploration and development the same way that we use to look at tanks, guns, radar, stealth, and missile exploration and development in the past. Technology is where the jobs of tomorrow will be. We can stop development and let our competition push us out of the 21^st century or we can continue to take the bull by the horns as we have been. Creating an America, or a post America were the majority of the population benefits from responsible use of potentially miraculous technology.

Ruth Hubbard and Elijah Wald: Exploding the Gene Myth

Mauron, Yearbook of the Societas Ethica. Utrecht, NL: 1993.
email: Mauron@cmu.unige.ch

PRINCIPLES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biotechnology Information Series (Bio-1)

BBC News Online: World: Americas Clinton calls for human cloning ban

http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/americas/newsid_46000/46335.stm