UCF Cracking the DNA Bane or Benefit Discussion

Discussion Prompt: Bane or Benefit?

Cracking the DNA code has opened up a lot of potential for good, including gene therapy to treat illness, DNA tools for forensic analysis to catch criminals, and even improving our food supply! For example, scientists can improve the nutritional quality of rice by incorporating genes from the daffodil and beans. This is important because much of the world eats rice as a staple. Because of poor nutritional quality, much of the world is malnourished. So if the rice could be modified genetically to produce iron and vitamin A, then much of the world could get better nutrition. Check out the story by watching the PRI: Golden Rice Answer to Childhood Health Problems video.

After watching the video and reading Chapter 15 in your textbook, please address the following in your discussion board post. Be sure to interact with your peers as well.

Biotechnology certainly raises many ethical questions, but many argue that much good comes from biotechnology—such as transgenic crops which grow faster, resist pests, and even be more nutritional. Discuss examples of how biotechnology benefits humans. You may need to do some additional research to find other examples besides “golden rice.”

In what ways can biotechnology be harmful? Once again, be sure to do additional research and cite your sources with proper APA formatting.

How do these technologies align with biblical truth? Are these technologies a modern-day Tower of Babel? (See Genesis 11:1-9 for the story of the Tower of Babel.)