Rapid progress in the fields of genetics and gene therapy is likely to have profound effects on people's lives in the foreseeable future. By altering people's genetic make- up, it may be possible for doctors to cure hereditary diseases, and for parents to choose important characteristics for their children such as their sex or level of intelligence. Such a development would be a major breakthrough for humanity and would solve many present-day problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The main aim of

gene

therapy

until now has been to cure or prevent

diseases

which may, in part, have a genetic origin.

However

, outside its medical applications,

this

area of science has a range of other possibilities, some of which are controversial. One objection to

gene

therapy

concerns the long-term consequences genetic manipulation is possible to have. Some of the techniques used in

gene

therapy

involve artificially altered human genes being passed down from one generation to another. It is argued that these genes might well mutate in unexpected ways, and might even cause new and possibly worse

diseases

in the future.

This

argument,

however

, is unconvincing, since all new medical techniques involve some degree of uncertainty.

While

it is quite possible that there will be some undesirable side effects, the potential benefits, particularly the eradication of crippling hereditary

diseases

, make the risks worthwhile. Another reason why some people oppose

gene

therapy

has to do with individual consent. There is every likelihood that some

parents

will want to take advantage of

gene

therapy

in order to enhance their

children

's characteristics,

such

as hair colour or even intelligence. Opponents of

gene

therapy

argue that

parents

would be doing

this

without the consent of either their

children

or the future generations who would be affected.

However

, it is highly unlikely that

parents

would choose to alter their

children

in ways

which

Correct word choice

that

show examples

the

children

themselves would not want. A final objection is that some governments might try to use

gene

therapy

to create a kind of 'super-race' of people who are physically and intellectually superior, but lacking in genetic diversity.

This

argument,

however

, is unjustifiable for two reasons.

Firstly

, in every probability, it would be impossible to practise genetic manipulation on

such

a massive scale.

Secondly

, there is little evidence to suggest that a person's personality is determined by genetics alone. In fact, people will always acquire their individuality from their upbringing and education rather than solely from their genetic make-up. In conclusion, I believe that

gene

therapy

has a number of interesting possibilities, not just in curing

diseases

, but

also

in allowing

parents

to ensure that their

children

enjoy the advantages of growing up to be healthy and intelligent.