A major development in genetic research is that of genetic engineering, or gene therapy. Gene therapy inserts genetic material into foreign cells, revolutionizing the field of genetics. In the early nineteenth century, Canadian physiologists isolated the hormone known as insulin. A lack of insulin in the body causes diabetes, a fatal disease. About forty years later, scientists began looking for ways to replace insulin in the body. Scientists often used pig insulin, but the human body would often reject the foreign hormone. In the 1970

There is a great deal to be achieved by further research on the topics of genetic engineering and therapy. Also, genetic counseling on the scale of selecting traits of offspring is something that, at the very least, warrants precautionary research to ensure the people are educated before making a decision to ban such a practice. There is no reason to ban or restrict the pursuit of further knowledge on an issue in the area of genetics. The reasoning behind banning certain practice may eventually valid, but actions cannot be taken towards enacting such bans until more is known. Arguments regarding genetics will never cease. It is something that has been discovered and simply cannot go away. It currently offers a great amount of benefits, and current research shows even more good things to come in the future. The research must continue for the full benefits to be had. Stopping it now would leave so many doors unopened, so many people left uncured, and so many left to suffer.

Regardless of the type of genetic research being done, traditional or cutting-edge, there needs to be experimentation. This is a more complicated issue with genetics, since experimentation must be done on animals. Moreover, there usually needs to be testing done on humans, not just mice or small rodents. People are far from disposable, so there are restrictions in place to limit conducting tests.

The reason why surgery isn't necessary is because a patient can ingest something that is called a vector. This vector is a virus that scientists have found to be particularly effective depending on the application. For example, with Cystic Fibrosis, a virus that normally inhabits the lungs is used. The virus is crippled in that the harmful affects and the ability to reproduce are removed before the vector is introduced into the body. This way there is no potential for an outbreak of the virus. Once the vector is in place, the improved genetic code that it houses is released and it will then fix and replace the damaging genes causing problems. Once the vector has repaired a cell, new healthy cells will be produced through regular cell reproduction. This is a good thing because the changes instituted by the vector continue from one cell generation to the next. Also, if there happens to be a surge of cells with the harmful DNA to reemerge, the vector will still be present. The body will never be able to remove the virus that was originally introduced. (Meyers, par. 2)

Aside from the case of diabetes, there are many other implementations of genetic engineering that strongly affect people's lives. Over 30,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with the disease called Cystic fibrosis. The disease cripples the ability to breathe and digest normally and cuts a victim's life expectancy in half. The disorder itself is actually genetic, and is combated with a genetic treatment. The treatment for Cystic Fibrosis and other genetic diseases can be done without any surgery. (Gene Therapy and Cystic Fibrosis, pars. 1-8)

There are enough forces doing the regulation, so further restrictions on genetic research should not be offered at this time. Much more research needs to be conducted in the field to make sure that everything about it is understood. There are already places around the world starting to enact bans on genetic related research and practice. England has put a cease to all research and medical uses of xeno-transplantation, the process of transferring animal organs into human patients. The argument that won over the British Parliament took the position that animals offer a set of bacteria and viruses that have not been introduced into the human body before. (More Concern Raised About Xenotransplantation, par.18)

Gene therapy is also used in treatments for cancer, AIDS, and other terminal illnesses. By September 1999, nearly 300 new developments were underway for medical purposes. Of these 300, more than 200 were

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