Genetic Modification (Involving Animal DNA)
Many of us have the same memory of being in middle school or high school and watching GATTACA (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/plotsummary). At the time, thinking about changing how you looked or the idea of not having any illnesses seemed magical…wonderful but impossible. Now, before writing this blog, I knew that you could ‘tamper’ with the DNA and RNA of individual cells of virus, we could get testing to see if our eggs would pass on diseases, etc. However, when I read Nerdist’s article on how close we actually are to this movie. (https://nerdist.com/article/20-year-anniversary-gattaca-genetics/), I shocked to find that we actually are already there. In the article it details how scientists are already able to select the gender and eye color of your child by reading the DNA of the embryos. It’s honestly an insane thought to have.
Despite the overall coolness of this discovery and the potential to expand to something like the movie, this does raise concerns of segregation and identity theft, as shown in the movie. On top of the ethical and moral complications that may arise, there are also religious people who may say that you are ‘playing God’, doing a job that mother nature is supposed to be doing. But I would like to pose another argument…over time would we lose our individuality? Imagine if a couple raised one child, misses them when they move away, and are able to create a second child *almost* exactly the same phenotypically.
Now…
With all of that science and all of those controversies in mind, what if we incorporated animal DNA? In the story for my final, one of technologies that is introduced to taking teenagers to get cell modification to be enhanced with special abilities for combat (typically from other mammals). I came up with this idea because teens are young enough for their bodies to be adaptable while being able to speak for themselves. Well this got me thinking about what one of my teachers told me in high school, how his daughter worked at a college and was studying using jellyfish DNA to help treat Alzheimer’s and Dementia. More examples on how animal DNA is used to cure illnesses in humans https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/treatment/animal-cures-for-human-diseases/) But if what we expanded this to a fantasy aspect. Cat DNA for longer names. Skunk DNA for pheromone manipulation. The possibilities are endless. What moral or ethical or religious concerns would arise from this? Would consent make it okay? Would they still be human or would they be considered an animal?
The closest thing that I could find in real life was animal bodies harboring and growing human organs for donor and transplant purposes (https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170222-the-uneasy-truth-about-human-animal-hybrids). This apparently has already attracted some controversy even though one day over of those hearts or kidneys could be used to save a sceptics life? In this case however, it’s not necessarily a merging of the two, as is represented in my story.
I know I’ve covered a lot in one blog but I’m honestly interested in your guys thoughts, opinions, and concerns.
Gene modification, especially with animals, is a really interesting field. I agree with you that this is a conversation that needs to be had in advance. Considering the implications for teenagers is particularly fraught: “Would consent make it okay?” For teens, consent is not just their own, it would legally involve their parents. We see this playing out for trans teens, they have to convince their families to allow them to modify their bodies. “Would they still be human or would they be considered an animal?” This is a super tangled question too! There’s an interesting anime on Netflix, “BNA” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOTU8JZriE) that explores some of this. In the show, there are “Beastmen,” naturally born beast-human hybrids (they’ve always existed but they can hide their animal traits to look human). Some factions want to live alongside humans with all the same rights and responsibilities, while some consider themselves a separate race of beings that should self-determine how they live. Maybe in our world, people who elect make themselves hybrids (or decide to have hybrid children) would not want to be considered human. Maybe they are trans-human furries who want to be something else entirely: https://furscience.com/whats-a-furry/