Beware of research that goes too far

If I asked you, "What is a human being?" you probably wouldn't have a very hard time answering the question. Somewhere in your answer you would probably mention the various physical and social characteristics that are unique to us humans. However one answers the question, I don't anticipate any reasonably intelligent person struggling to come up with traits that make a human being. This question is easy to answer because all human beings are fundamentally the same on a genetic level, despite the minor differences such as skin color, hair color and physical proportions.

What if we weren't all the same? What if there were several different species of human-one "traditional" human species and several artificially created human/animal hybrids? I think if this were the case most people would feel like human integrity would have been compromised and that science had taken a step in the wrong direction. This hypothetical situation isn't the result of me watching too many science fiction movies. This is real science and research that is in its infancy right now.

Over the past several years, scientists have been mixing various components of human and animal genetic material for research purposes. The research has centered around more accurately modeling human cellular growth in animals. Currently the experiments have been limited to mice, but the science behind the genetic blending certainly isn't limited to mice.

I foresee a very serious problem in the near future (before I'm 30) if there aren't some very strict guidelines placed on such research. The problem is not the current research being done. I, like most scientists, have no problem with putting human blood in mice to gain more valuable data on certain diseases. I think I would even be okay with putting a developing human brain in a mouse (this experiment is planned for later this year) if it were for a good cause.

No, those experiments in themselves are fine. The problem is that such experimentation sets an extremely dangerous precedent both in the scientific research community and in society in general. Opening new frontiers in technology with cutting edge experiments is similar to the opening of Pandora's box in Greek mythology-it cannot be undone. We must ask ourselves, "Is this really a branch of science worth opening?" I say it isn't.

The consequences of the abuse of this particular genetic technology are a little hard to comprehend. Some of the less serious incidences of abuse could be a few human/animal embryos killed in a laboratory after several months of development. That's okay, right? It's not like they were human. Or were they? One of the worst case scenarios for such abuse, though a long shot from the very humble experiments currently being conducted, could entail multiple species of humans being "created" in a laboratory.

How likely is abuse? I'm going to have to put this one in the "if it can be done, it will be done" category. For an example, look no further than cloning technology. When it was pioneered, the stated motive behind the technology was to obtain more valuable and accurate research models that would ultimately be used to save lives. How could anyone oppose such a noble cause?

Though I'm sure cloning technology has given scientists some of the valuable data they were initially seeking, it is the non-research based motives of third parties that make the pioneering of this technology disturbing. Today there is a company called Genetic Savings and Clone (I'm not making this up) which will create you an exact clone of your deceased cat for the low price of $50,000. The motives of this company are quite a bit different than those of the original pioneers of this technology.

If the technology existed to clone humans, would someone do it? How much would some people pay to have a child that died of unnatural causes cloned?

Unless there were clearly defined, strictly enforced laws against it, it would happen just as soon as technology permitted it. Though currently not as financially enticing as cloning technology, I believe this same model holds for the genetic blending of animals and humans. Certain people are going to do it just because they can.

You don't have to consider yourself a religious or even spiritual person to see the danger in these experiments.

Compromising the genetic code of humans by blending it with other species is an area of genetic research that needs strict limitations, if not a total ban.