Immoral Uses of Biotechnology — Even With Good Intentions — Are Nevertheless Evil

I admit it. I have been MIA in the blogging world for the past six months.Mea culpa.There is a good reason. I am working in a neurobiology lab at the local university. We are researching ways to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer ' s and other neurodegenerative disorders. I love it. After a decade of doom and gloom writing about the out-of-control biotechnology sector, I needed a change. One where I was actively contributing to positive research.I haven ' t totally abandoned writing though. Here is a teaser from my latest at theNational Catholic Register:I ’ve spent the last decade writing and speaking about the remarkable and terrifying world of biotechnology from a Catholic perspective. Many times I’ve felt like Frodo Baggins at the gates of Mordor, looking upon Mt. Doom with despair and dread.I ’ve never felt this more acutely than in the past few months. A series of recent headlines have renewed my sense of hopelessness in the face of the never-ending assault on the dignity of human life by modern biotechnology.The gloom began to settle when it was revealed that a Swedish scientist is editing the DNA of healthy human embryos. Fredrik Lanner, a developmental biologist, is using a new gene-editing technique called CRISPR to disable some genes in healthy human embryos to see how those genes affect development. He and his team are intentionally modifying otherwise healthy IVF embryos so they cannot develop properly.An in-depth story by NPR reveals that while th...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Biotechnology Source Type: blogs