Friday 6 December 2013

There are many different methods of genetically engineering  an organism to produce a mutation  in effort to express a desired characteristic.  One specific type of mutation is known as frame shift mutation. This process involves changing the DNA sequences which alter the translation reading frame. Specific nucleotides are then deleted from the sequences mutating the genes to no longer express a characteristic (Fraser,2013).

 During reproduction, the female contributes one X chromosome to the offspring while the male may either contribute a Y or an chromosome. A new study suggests that the need for a Y chromosome may no longer be necessary for reproduction. Scientists recently conducted an experiment where they genetically engineered mice  removing their Y chromosomes, therefore making them infertile. They then injected the mice with two genes, Sry and Eif2s3y, which promote sperm production, and allowed them to reproduce (Genetic Home Reference). The success rate of offspring production was lower than regular fertile mice, however all offspring  were healthy and fertile themselves (Catania,2013). 

This method however promotes the reproduction of an offspring without physical sex between a man and a women. Religious scriptures such as the Bible and Quran state that a child is born between the efforts of a man and women. Information presented by this article raises yet another controversial topic between religion and science.  
What are some other ethical setbacks and how much do you think this form of therapy should cost if it becomes available in the future?