In my opinion, the human body is a
piece of artwork in itself and is perfect as it is. If you really think about
it, the human body is a miracle with all of the different systems working in
perfect harmony. For me, the mixture of art and biotech is not as much a
perfect fit as the recent topics we have gone over. If the medical procedure
does not have a purpose that betters the human body, then there is no point in
doing it. Many of the examples in lecture are experiments with pointless
mutations or art works that I do not understand or approve of.
One that
really stuck out to me was the ear that was implanted into the arm. This
process is called 3-D implanting, and for the life of me I cannot figure out
the purpose of creating this “artwork.” With no scientific gain, or advantage
to the human body there is no point to alter the human body in the name of
artwork. Also there was the fluorescent rabbit experiment. This experiment was
done to utilize an important protein, but as said in the lecture, did not answer
very many questions.
These
experiments cause a lot of ethical questioning, and whether or not there is a
purpose. The only gene experimenting that I would approve of is something like
a gene that repels cancer, or heart disease, or something along those lines.
Religion also could play a big role in this topic in the ethics of altering the
human body. The common biblical teaching is that every person is a creation of
God and therefore it would be against his will to be altered.
Bibliography
"Animal Biotechnology." YouTube. YouTube, 25 July 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCIvAuwaf-o>.
"Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba." Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html>.
"Performance Artist Stelarc Implants "third Ear" in Forearm." Engadget. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/16/performance-artist-stelarc-implants-third-ear-in-forearm/>.
"Www.universityedu.si | Businessplan.si." St. Patrick's Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.stpatselkhorn.org/AdultFormation/BibleStudy.aspx>.
"Lecture Part 2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.
Hi Shane!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post, I too agree on much of the same things that you do in your post. However, I do have a question to ask you. Although some of these experiments seem to be pointless, would they be more acceptable if they had an answer as to why they were doing these procedures? Or would they just be considered not acceptable because they are not adding to life and the human race?