Introduction
The appearance of genetic engineering opens up an entirely new area of scientific possibility, one that flies in the face traditional definitions and understandings for living things. Genetic engineering amounts to a radical break from traditional thinking about what constitutes a species.
Traditional biological classifications, which are based upon the ability of organisms to reproduce and produce fertile offspring, are being overturned by genetic manipulation. This transformation of the conceptual framework for life questions many hitherto unquestioned things about both life itself and our responsibilities as human beings in society. With it, come new ethical paradoxes to discuss.
The Traditional Concept of Species
Historically, a species has been defined as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. This definition-in-practice has always had its limitations, especially when applied to organisms living asexual or those which are widespread throughout the environment without any clear boundaries being drawn between them at all. Nevertheless, all of the demands of the species concept for convenient classification have been basic statutes.
The Advent of Genetic Engineering
With genetic engineering it is now possible to modify the DNA in living creatures with an accuracy hitherto unattainable, thanks in part due newer technologies-such as CRISPR-Cas9. So scientists can now either add to or remove sections of genetic information; even change genes in ways they never dared dream possible before. One result is that we see organisms gaining altogether new characteristics which are within no species or indeed come from someone else’s species. In this way therefore the distinction between different groups of creatures is becoming increasingly blurred over time as we lessen how highly we value things like purity and difference.
Transgenic Organisms are blurring the boundaries between species
“Transgenic organisms” are one of the most famous examples of cases in which gene-splicing blurs the boundaries between species. They are biologically what crossbreeds are in terms of society and their essential nature is the same. That definition is (though not always clear it can sometimes help to distinguish species communities such as humans and dogs), generally two life forms that can interbreed with each other.
But now, thanks to the entry of change into Nature through this one definition of species, some entities have undergone mutation: no longer does the genetic material have part history in one ancestor or even both but it also has some from others; so this makes at least part-if not altogether (as we saw earlier)-what we used only as a classification for species. This phenomenon now referred to as “gene mixing” raises fundamental issues: If an animal contains genes taken from another species of life, can it really still be called (to any extent) “of the same species ”?
Western pigs have been given genes from jellyfish so that, under ultraviolet light, some of their rare features can be seen. The question then becomes this: For as long as an organism contains genes taken from another species, both at biochemical level (e.g., as to what sort of molecular structure it makes) and in respect of its phenotype what property does it show? can it justifiably still be considered a member of its original species?
Synthtic Biology and the Creation of New Forms of Life Things unthinkable without genetically modified organisms being out of bounds, replication and extension: what the prev year was held at bay by our natural boundaries capital and Science is now a reality. Now scientists are free from fetters place upon their work completely; any organism which takes their fancy to tinker with is fair game for them too.
These synthetic organisms may well have genetic combinations that have never existed before in nature; traditional species concepts are struck yet another blow. When biologists produce a life form “in vitro,” how is it to be classified–can it not belong to its own species, or simply fails fall under any conventional category?
Is it possible for this sort of creature to mate with others like itself and thus is some completely new form-all together (But tell me why)?Ethical and Ecological Consequences of the New Definition of Species by Recombinant DNA With profound ethical and ecological consequences, “Transgenic organisms” in addition to being theoretically outlandish. On the ethical front, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are gradually prompting the big question: What is man’s role in the manipulation of life? Should there be a cut off point as to what new species to create-how many life forms we want among those naturally in existence already? But these organisms released into Nature by genetic engineering also carry potential ecological risks. They may out-compete the natural species, upset food chains and even produce results that are more difficult to foretell with increasing complexity.
The Future Of Species Classfication
Reports on birds in the wild are so well up to date that someone can now provide you with live footage from any part of the world. So, while species classification might have been opposed to video data in the past, it is now possible electronically and at no cost. Ecological testing of each new strain tried It is quite natural that different scientists have different opinions about what constitutes a species.
Nevertheless, something may be said in general: If two populations of organisms cannot be crossed at least in principle, they are different species. In animals this test has been applied to birds; in the case of plants so far as I know it has not yet been attempted. This is not the only criterion for making such distinctions, however. For example, in some cases it may be a matter of reviewing existing knowledge rather than doing any new experiments. Some scientists believe that if genetic engineering is finally accomplished, it will be impossible to maintain the traditional concept of species.
They advocate using much more fluid and dynamic generalizations for other living things than our present biological categories offer us. These would take genetic manipulation as one of the essential factors in defining life forms. Others think that future attempts may completely overturn such criteria, more complex and bizarre forms of life require increasingly different kinds of classification. No matter what kind of world tomorrow is, we can certainly expect that with ever-rising technical capacity, our definition of species must advance as well.
Conclusion
Genetic engineering fundamentally changes the concept of what a species is. With socalled experts making new findings every day and science constantly pushing its limits, all old definitions–and the classifications based upon them that for centuries have guided biology–come into question. Although this redefinition opens up new directions, it also entails that we must carefully consider the ethical and environmental consequences. In this new world, we must deal with species at the frontier of science as well as from an ethical standpoint.