Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi

Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins. Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement Essay -- Science Medicine Ethi Gene Therapy: the Danger of Enhancement I. Introduction Gene therapy has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine. The techniques of gene therapy are still in their infancy as medical treatments and there are still many problems which must be solved before gene therapy will live up to its potential. However, it is very likely that gene therapy will become a reality at some point in the future and when that time comes, the ethical questions surrounding gene therapy will be pushed to the forefront of medicine. Science may find a way to reduce the risks associated with gene therapy but science alone cannot eliminate the serious ethical and societal risks which gene therapy brings to bear on the world. We need to put people's fear about the dangers of altering the genetic makeup of human beings to rest by establishing ethical principles which clear the way for advancement in medical therapy. Ethical guidelines for gene therapy must be established which emphasize medical uses over uses for human enhancement. II. Concepts of Gene Therapy Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the cells of an organism in order to cause a specific protein to be produced or in order to cease the production of a specific protein. This procedure usually involves transferring a specific gene into host cells to be incorporated into the chromosomal DNA of the host and later to be expressed. However, according to Dorothy Bonn, the future of gene therapy may also include the use of antisense DNA strands to disrupt expression of a gene or the use of homologous recombination to alter host DNA (1996). In medical terms Jeffrey Leiden, M.D. (1995) defines gene therapy as, "the introduction and expression of recombinant genes in... ...Leiden, Jeffrey M. (1995, September 28). Gene therapy - promises and pitfalls." New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 871-872. Marshall, Eliot. (1995, December 15). Less hype, more biology needed for gene therapy. Science, p. 1751. Miller, Henry I. (1994, July 30). Gene therapy for enhancement. The Lancet, pp. 316-317. Nelkin, Dorothy. (1996, May-June). Genetics, god, and sacred DNA. Society, pp. 22- 25. Voelker, Rebecca. (1993, November 17). The genetic revolution: Despite perfection of elegant techniques, ethical answers still elusive. Journal of the American Medical Association, pp. 2273-2274. Wivel, Nelson A. and LeRoy Walters. (1993, October 22). Germ-line gene modifications and disease prevention: Some medical and ethical perspectives. Science, pp. 533-538. Wright, Richard T. (1989). Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. New York: HarperCollins.

How Is the Theme of Growing Up Explored in a Range of 20th Century Poems

How is the theme of growing up explored in a range of 20th century poems? The theme of growing up is explored in a variety of ways in many 20th century poems, using different language techniques, that I am going to explore, to convey the emotion of children growing up in the times of class discrimination and racism. The four poems that I have chosen are all from different perspectives, the child’s or parents, or from retrospective points of views, recalling on the speaker’s life as a child.Chapter 7 : Black Bottom of The Adoption Papers, by Jackie Kay, is an extract of a poem that I am going to analyse. This poem is about a white mother adopting a black child and how she faces racial bullying by the more â€Å"superior† whites in Glasgow, Scotland. The Adoption Papers uses the child, the white adoptive mother, and the white biological mother’s voice in alternating first person narrative, written in the present tense giving the poem themes of growing up, bu llying and racism.The other two are from retrospective points of views, reflecting on the speakers’ lives as children and how they had to cope with the difficulties of growing up in a class system society. My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough, by Stephen Spender, is a poem about an adult reflecting on his childhood in the upper middle class, and the lower class bullying him because of the social differences, exploring themes of loneliness, remorse and fear.The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, is the third poem I will analyse, explaining how choosing the correct path will determine the outcome of your life, and that maybe taking the lesser travelled road could make the difference. The Adoption Papers is themed on the effects of racism on younger children while they are growing up. This effect on the child is explored in detail throughout the poem and how she has had to cope with being victim of racial bullying, â€Å"you were fighting yesterday, again†. The u ses of caesura and end-stopping show how racial bullying is an ongoing problem for her.While growing up, bullying is always a problem whether it is discriminative, racial, physical or verbal. The way she learns to cope with bullying is through her fists, which isn’t always the answer, whereas in My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough the speaker was a victim of physical bullying of the same nature. The children being â€Å"rough† in this poem, were all subjected to be looked down upon as lower class by the higher classes; causing them to become â€Å"rough† and seen as the bullies in the situation because of their need of a sense of security.The bullies in this poem have many references to the child in The Adoption Papers as she is seen as a victim that fights back against what she thinks isn’t fair, and both think that it is necessary to use fighting as a survival method to cope with the pain of being referred to as â€Å"abnormal† or â⠂¬Å"other† compared to the upper class who would call themselves â€Å"normal†. Both of these poems demonstrate the effects of an ignorant society. In The Adoption Papers, the child’s adoptive mother is also faced with having to deal with the effect of racial bullying toward her daughter.She often tells her daughter to ignore the bullies and the racial remarks, understanding what her daughter is going through and is always in her support, â€Å"You tell. You tell. You tell†¦your little girl a doing†. The use of sentence structure and punctuation here shows one of the effects bullying as had on the mother’s life. The very short, two word sentences, presenting the speech of the racist children’s mothers, can be seen as frantic, that they are quick to pass judgement and also do not want to be in their presence for long because of the social standing.Also the mothers upon hearing that it was a black child, have no second thought on accusing the child showing that, because of their ignorance and racist attitudes, that they weren’t worth empathising with and that they would have no excuse. The adoptive mother’s sentence structure on the other hand, has no caesura and is only one longer sentence. By structuring this â€Å"conversation† between the mothers like so tells us that the adoptive mother is neither ashamed or concerned by her daughter being of a different race and also suggests that she will always make a finishing point in an argument.The Road Not Taken is a poem also themed on growing up and represents life as roads or paths with different turning points and directions. Upon these turning points, one must choose in which direction to go, the one worn or the one less trodden on. This poem’s voice is of an adult reflecting back on his life in general and how these paths are just another part of growing up and that, in life, you would come across many different roads from which to choos e.Robert Frost expresses this idea throughout the poem and also about the choice between two roads that had not been used, â€Å"Because it was grassy and wanted wear / Had worn them really about the same†. A tone of regret is sensed here because of how Frost structured the stanza. By having â€Å"Had worn them really about the same† after â€Å"Because it was grassy and wanted wear†, Frost’s meaning could be interpreted that the speaker could be mumbling or talking to himself, as if they are proud of their choice even though they know nothing of what could have been on the other path.This is later shown when the speaker says, â€Å"I shall be telling this with a sigh† suggesting that the speaker knows that they are likely to twist the truth, and seem heroic, in a more triumphant manner. Overall, I think that The Adoption Papers by Jackie Kay explores the theme of growing up in a very critical and thought provoking manner by using a wide range of l iterary techniques, such as caesura, repetition and similes, and that this poem is it most likely to stir the reader because of the detailed use of present tense, causing the reader to feel empathetically towards the child.My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Young uses simple literary techniques, such as repetition, end-stopping and word choice, but in an effective method to convey the harsh realities of bullying while growing up. The Road Not Taken theme of growing up is conveyed in a different manner using a retrospective view, along with a long sentence structure, metaphors and an overall rhyming structure of a, b, a, a, b, to show that you may have regrets in life but life choices are important decisions and that is it all a part of growing up.

Argumentive Essay on Bilingual Education Essay

Abstract In this argumentative essay, the pros and cons of bilingual education in universities are both discussed and how it might affect the professor in dealing with non-English students in his class. Then we take a look at the opposing side on why would university students and professors benefit from bilingual education and what opportunities open up for them in the future. Then in my body paragraphs, I discuss my reasons for why bilingual education doesn’t work. Lack of instructors that are proficient in a second language and why these educational institutions don’t have the funds necessary to bring them over nor have the time to do so. Would you rather have a professor that speaks one or two languages? People may think that knowing two tongues is impressive and important to the students, but it could also bring confusion to the other peers. A student in an English class would feel more comfortable knowing that the instructor’s first language is English. Then by surprise the students find out that the instructor messed up the student’s attention by speaking in Spanish. Students will start to think, â€Å"I thought we were in an English class?† The reason why the instructor spoke in a different language may be that he/she has students from Mexico, the most common language spoken around here is Spanish, or perhaps Spanish is the first language he/she learned. University campuses nationwide always branch out to outsource the professors, but is that a good idea? Should they bring people from other countries to teach in schools and colleges/universities? Professors in a University should not be force d to learn two languages because the professor might have a difficult time understanding a second language and it provides a lack of expert professors. On the opposing side, Professors that work at a University have bilingual students and this presents the opportunity for him to not only learn a new language just for his foreign students but also will benefit the professor as well because he learned a new tongue that will open up other better opportunities for himself. First, having a professor who is bilingual benefits the students to better understand the class so they know what the professor is talking about and in doing so they will be in sync with the other peers of the class.â€Å" Besides that, a student who is exposed to multiple languages will be able to develop a better sense of appreciating various cultures and understanding societies.† For example, if he embraces the Spanish tongue, he will be intrigued by the amazing culture of Mexico and its fascinating history.â€Å" Added to these advantages, the student can easily use his native language in groups and he won’t feel ashamed of it.† The student sh ould not be afraid in using his native tongue in front of his group of friends because the student will never know if they are going to be interested in learning more about it, prompting the student to jump in and help in whatever way he can. In case he is just aware of one language, he may face problems of hesitation in expressing himself. Second, with the instructor’s new found language it will open up other better opportunities for him in his career like teaching a Spanish class, or landing a job in a prestigious university in Mexico. After all, now we’re living in a global world and so being multilingual is always an asset in firms and businesses. Technically and simply speaking, bilingual education is any educational system that favors education in more than one language. According to its proponents, the most important benefit of this system is that a student who is from a non-English speaking background, can easily learn English, owing to his language development in his native language as well as in English. â€Å"And isn’t it good to be proficient in various languages?† What problem does it create if a student is well conversant in English and in his mother tongue? It’s a beautifu l form of education, as minority speakers can learn English even while being able to strengthen their cultural bonds by being proficient in their mother tongue. One of the main reasons for what I believe is the heavy reason for being against bilingual education is, according to a source that I found, â€Å"It can  be difficult to staff bilingual schools with enough teachers that are native speakers of the second language and the upfront cost can be greater than an English only school because all materials have to be purchased in both languages.† For some educational facilities, it is difficult getting enough instructors that know a second language for they’re students. Like for example, here in South Texas there is an enormous amount of Hispanic students so the local schools/colleges/universities have to get enough instructors to take care of the increase in students that speak Spanish or any other tongue. â€Å"One of the problem presented by bilingual education is the quality of the teachers in the schools. It can be difficult to find enough teachers who are properly qualified and skilled in both languages to teach in these settings. For instance, some schools have hired teachers from abroad with solid Spanish skills to come into bilingual schools, but the result has been teachers without English skills at an adequate level.† Sources Used: (â€Å"Bilingual Education Pros and Cons†, n.d., para. 2) (â€Å"What are the advantages and disadvantages of English-only and bilingual education?†, n.d., para. 5) (â€Å"The Disadvantages of a Bilingual Education†, n.d., para. 3)