DNA
...s, it can be used like a fingerprint, hence the name DNA Fingerprinting. DNA can be found and analyzed in blood, semen, saliva, hair and skin even if it is decades old if properly stored. The process takes longer than simple fingerprinting and is very expensive, but the results are almost perfect in determining identity. While these tests are very accurate, there is a 1 in 50 billion chance that two people will have an identical match. According to Kate Brinton and Kim-An Lieberman, the applications of DNA Fingerprinting are mainly Criminal Identification and Forensics, Paternity and Maternity tests, and Personal Identification. Many court cases have been resolved through DNA testing, and because of today’s technology, it should be used more often in all cases to minimize sending innocent people into incarceration. A few years ago, genetically engineered bacteria, which unrepentantly killed beneficial soil fungi, escaped into sewers through human miscalculation and have become toxic to plants and survived when expected not to. These are the sorts of consequences that come with playing God. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) the chemical compound that makes up the genes and determines the type of proteins a cell can make is the core of genetic engineering. It can be manipulated in ways we could never dream of such as a new species of a dogman or fishwoman There are so many questions that each person must ask each other before making any sort of decision that would affect the future of genetic engineering towards humans. The risks of DNA combinations can be enormous and unexpected such as the formation of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, linkage of DNA molecules with tumor-causing viruses and the introduction of toxin-formation or antibiotic resistant genes. We as a race have evolved so much in the last decade in the field of science that it can become frightful of where we will be in the next decade. This leads me into the next area of concern, cloning of humans and animals. Cloning is the production of a group of genetically identical cells or organisms, all descended from a single individual. The members of a clone have precisely the same characteristics, except where mutation and environmentally caused developmental variation have occurred. The DNA is precisely the same and they are only differentiated by their experiences in which dictate their personality. There are some types of natural cloning that nature displays. Some animals have tremendous powers of Regeneration. If the body of certain starfishes is cut up into its five arms, each arm will regenerate a complete individual. Another type of asexual reproduction found in all animals, human beings included, is the formation of identical twins, triplets, and so on. Identical siblings constitute a clone. The growth of a tumor in the body of an individual is, in effect, the formation of a clone of malignant cells. Humans have learned from nature and started their cloning chronicle also. Naturally, of course, in reference to identical twins. Outside of that, no human has ever been artificially cloned. One attempt at splitting an embryo in 1993 came very close, but was not successful. Although humans haven't ever been cloned, several animals have, all in recent months. The more publicized cloning was of Dolly the sheep. The cloning that also occurred, but had much less television coverage was that of a monkey. The monkey is even more genetically close to humans. After that, several other attempts have been made to clone cows, and although many embryos have been made, no cow that we know of has been successfully cloned. Even to clone Dolly, it took 277 attempts before a success. Attempts to clone humans are also currently being cut short. A British ban on cloning, a ban on cloning currently in the works in the U.S., and a current ban on the use of ...