Social Applications and Implications
This video gets students thinking about genetic research and the implications it can have on society. Ethical, Legal, and social issues are raised, which students should be exposed to as they are our future who will be tackling these situations.
CLASS DISCUSSIONS:
Class discussion on controversial issues in genetics are important for students to put learned material into perspective. The Natural Human Genome Institute provides short vignettes, accompanied by discussion questions that consider ethical, social, and legal issues faced by people today. Facilitators of these discussions should be aware of the personal make up of the class, as some of theses vignettes incorporate sensitive topics such as loss of a parent, the death penalty, discrimination, diseases such as breast cancer and Alzheimer's, etc. Teachers should anticipate that students in their classroom might feel uncomfortable with some of these scenarios due to personal reasons. While conducting these discussions, students often start to believe that "genetics" is everything, but they should be reminded that interactions with the environment also pay a big factor in an individuals health and behavior.
CASE STUDY:
The exploration on the topic of genetics students can take are vast. Student can develop case studies on the many different stakeholders that exist within the issues surrounding genetic testing and genetic therapy, which paves the way for a rich conversation about the legal, social, and ethical issues surrounding genetic research. In essence, gene therapy in the introduction of functional genes into specialized cells to prevent or cure diseases. Genetic testing is the diagnosis of the chances of an individual having or being a carrier of a disease. Both gene therapy and genetic testing can have major legal, social, and ethical issues in society.
These are all relevant issues that exist in society that students should be able to consider. Stalk-holders in these case students could include families, genetic counselors, religious orders, genomic researchers etc.
- Insurance companies could discriminate or increase prices for individuals vulnerable to certain diseases.
- Parents finding out they are carriers of a particular disease through genetic screening, such as cystic fibrosis, and opting to abort their children. This could cause a sharp increase in abortion rates due to the increased likelihood and financial impact it can have on families.
- Employers selecting for certain members of society with "ideal genetic make up". This could cause serious economical impacts as certain individuals would get discriminated against because of their genetic make up.
- Gene therapy has the potential to be misused – for instance the concept of “designer babies”, where specific genes are selected in order to create the perfect child
- Healthcare issues in terms of who should pay if one chooses to have a baby with a disorder.
- lack of knowledge and understanding of the genetic treatments are not fully known meaning that its safety is unknown.
These are all relevant issues that exist in society that students should be able to consider. Stalk-holders in these case students could include families, genetic counselors, religious orders, genomic researchers etc.
PRESENTATION:
Group presentations are also a great way to get students to assess the societal impacts of genetic research. Allowing students to present on biotechnology, genetic engineering, or research on companies that are involved in these areas could be beneficial in terms of carrier implications for students.
- Link of the top genetic engineering companies students can explore.
- Link of examples of genetic engineering
- Students can also present on the industrial, agricultural, health, and environmental impacts of genetic engineering