Gene modification debated by ethics scholars

Gene enhancement might one day alter the face of the world -- literally.\nThursday afternoon's Matthew Vandivier Sims Memorial Lecture featured a discussion on enhancement in human development.\nThe lecture invited Professor Ronald M. Green, from Dartmouth College, to deliver some of his research and thoughts about the topic to an audience of students, professors and members of the community. \n"My mission is to trouble you," Green said. "We are talking about something quite unprecedented today." \nGreen spoke about the pros and cons of gene enhancement, saying some fears about enhancement might be unwarranted.\n"Gene enhancement could possibly cure diseases one day," Green said. "Every disease has a genetic disorder, therefore, if the DNA in an individual is altered, perhaps a cure for the disease could be found."\nToday, it is possible for a sperm to be modified to correct imperfections and then inserted into an egg.\n"A good nucleus could be removed and inserted into the mother's egg to grow into an embryo," Green said. \nHowever, gene enhancement could also be used for cosmetic enhancement. \nParents would have the power to choose characteristics their children could have, such as straighter teeth, taller height or special talents. \nGreen suggested that the majority of the world will be genetically enhanced one day. \n"We will surely see inheritable genetic modification aimed at preventing disease," Green said. \nThe Poynter Center, an IU center for the study of ethics, and the Matthew Vandivier Sims Fund sponsored the fifth annual lecture which took place in the Chemistry Building. \n"Ronald unsettled some customary assumptions about the promises and perils of treatment enhancement," said Richard Miller, a director of the Poynter Center and professor in the IU Religious Studies Department. \nAccording to the Poynter Center's Web site, the lecture was created to foster discussion in responsible communication between patients, families, professional care givers and counselors and in issues in biomedical ethics.