transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the timefrom analytical engine, to calculator, to computer. But science, in the past, has always remaineddistant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, butnever in history will science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering willundoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretationof facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. Geneticengineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in thefield of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even agingare a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering itspossibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fearcovering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted.The possibilities of genetic engineering are endless. Once the power to control theinstructions, given to a single cell, are mastered anything can be accomplished. For example,insulin can be created and grown in large quantities by using an inexpensive gene manipulationmethod of growing a certain bacteria. This supply of insulin is also not dependant on the supplyof pancreatic tissue from animals. Recombinant factor VIII, the blood clotting agent missing inpeople suffering from hemophilia, can also be created by genetic engineering. Virtually allpeople who were treated with factor VIII before 1985 acquired HIV, and later AIDS. Beingcompletely pure, the bioengineered version of factor VIII eliminates any possibility of viralinfection. Other uses of genetic engineering include creating disease resistant crops, formulatingmilk from cows already containing pharmaceutical compounds...
