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Patenting The Human Genome

Researchers in private industry and government announced in the past year that they are within months of achieving what will no doubt stand as one of the greatest biotechnology advances of the 21st century if not all time. Researchers at private biotechnology companies like Celera and Incyte and the U.S. Human Genome Project triumphantly proclaimed that within two years they will have a “working draft” decoded map of the human genome (Marshall 1). The human genome is one complete haploid set of chromosomes. In other words, the makeup of the human genome is the very stuff of which human life is made. This discovery will

The promises and potential of this discovery are mind-boggling in consideration. Understanding the makeup of human DNA allows for unprecedented leaps forward in medicine, psychology, and even philosophy “The genome represents a spectacular and unique opportunity for medicine as well as philosophical self-knowledge” (Ridley 1). Researchers may one day know suicide occurs in people who have a damaged sequence of proteins and be able to correct it. The same is true for many psychological disorders. A cure for AIDS and other viruses that attack the human organism may be possible. Parents will be able to tailor their children. The aging process may be greatly ameliorated. We may find, contrary to Descartes, the mind and body are not separate. The list of possibilities is endless. However, the discovery raises a host of moral, legal and social issues. Particularly, many of these issues come down to access. Who, if anyone, should own access to the basic genetic structure of human beings?

Despite the vast promise of this discovery, progress may not come without a heavy cost, literally. Private sector companies like Celera and Incyte have been aggressively patenting gene protein sequences as they discover them. These biotech companies hope to profit from gene technology on a level that might mak...

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Patenting The Human Genome. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:58, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1686060.html