What If? Genetically Modified Organisms and Synthetic Life

Scientists have already mapped the human genome and successfully applied their knowledge of its structure and the functioning of genes to correct defects and aid healing. But this same knowledge can be used to artificially enhance human capabilities or even produce variations on existing human physiology and reasoning far beyond our present powers to imagine—let alone predict or plan for. Ethical considerations of this power tend to focus on the “rights” and “duties” of human beings as we know them today as the one desirable norm. This paper briefly reviews the progress of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) technology to date and considers how different conditions in the future might justify—or even require—applying various genetic modification techniques to help ensure the survival of the human species.