Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are present throughout our world. The most common form of GMOs are found in our daily food supply. These foods' DNA are modified in order to grow larger, faster, or even to be more nutritional. Due to the discovery of many new and innovative technologies for genetic engineering it has made the ability to create GMOs easier than ever before. In addition, these new genetic engineering technologies are not just limited to crops, lab rats, and insects, but can also be applied to human beings. In fact genetic engineering could be used to cure many different genetic disorders and mutations present in today's society. On the other hand, it could be used to enhance certain human attributes, such as intelligence, appearance, and physical ability. Genetic engineering goes beyond the organism that is modified and could be used on a much larger scale to fix global issues such as food shortages or alternate energy sources. There are many different opinions on the ethicality of genetic engineering, and how its applications should be used. Although there is currently a strong opposition for specific uses of genetic engineering, the possible health, global, and individual possibilities are too revolutionary for the technology to be misused, which is we need to make a decision on how to proceed with the use of genetic engineering.

To begin, genetic engineering is used to ultimately change an organism's DNA sequence specifically to remove or add certain traits. The ability to disable genes is just as important as adding new genes because scientists are able to undo a modification to an organism or disable a gene to test what it codes for. A DNA sequence or gene codes for specific proteins. Additionally, these proteins are vital in the same way certain ingredients are needed in a particular recipe. By using genetic engineering it is possible to change the different proteins a strand of DNA codes for. In the light of recent advances in the field of genetics, it is possible to go above and beyond creating individual genetically altered plants. It is now possible to edit a whole species genome. A genome is all the different genetic material that makes up an organism. Specifically, each organism's genome contains all the information to build, create, stabilize and maintain life. Genetically changing an organism for a new or advanced trait is called genetic enhancement. Unfortunately, decreasing global biodiversity is leading to a rise in concerns for preserving the natural world. One of the most promising solutions for this situation is the use of new genetic engineering tools in order to enhance organisms to address human needs. This solution is well known as synthetic biology. Likewise, the genetic engineering of humans could be used to cure numerous genetic disorders, give people desirable physical traits, or even increase capacity of human intelligence. While these are all only theoretical applications the possibilities are simply endless.

One of newest and most promising technologies is CRISPR-Cas9 which allows unprecedented precision in the deletion and addition of DNA sequences. Before the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, other gene editing techniques were extremely expensive, time consuming, and very unpredictable. In addition, CRISPR-Cas9 can be used not just as a tool to edit a single individual, but that direct individual's offspring as well; thus it is known as a genome editing tool. This includes the ability to edit humans or even the entire human genome. One of the reasons this technology is so revolutionary is because of gene drives. Specifically, these gene drives allow all the modified genes to bypass natural selection. In "Genetically Engineering Almost Anything," an article published by PBS, gene drives are described as, "They [gene drives] essentially let us exploit evolution to force a desired gene into every individual of a species" (De Chant and Nelsen, n.p.). Consequently, the ability to force genes into further generations comes from the engineering of an organism's reproductive cells or it's ("germline"). Henceforth, the CRISPR system is so powerful that its applications could be the solution to many health and global problems present in our world.

One of the easiest, simple, direct, and effective uses of genetic engineering in humans is the ability to cure genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, or color blindness. An online article about CRISPR-Cas9 by Reason Magazine states: "The development has been hailed as a milestone in medical science because it promises to revolutionize the study and treatment of a range of diseases, from cancer and incurable viruses to inherited genetic disorders such as sickle-cell anemia and Down syndrome" (Bailey, n.p.). Therefore, using the CRISPR-Cas9 editing tool could not only help cure certain diseases present in a person's body, but it could ultimately eliminate the genetic disorder from being passed down to further generations. Additionally, the use of genetic engineering to help cure diseases and disorders is known as gene therapy. Generally, gene therapy is performed by removing the DNA sequence causing the illness in an individual and replacing it with new, healthy, resistant DNA.

Another way of using genetic engineering to cure diseases is the ability to prevent the spread of illnesses. An example used by many scientists is Malaria, a parasitic virus carried by mosquitos. The theory behind eliminating Malaria is to disable the gene sequence used to code the Malaria virus. Kevin Esvelt, a postdoc at Harvard University and spearhead of using deleterious genes to fight Malaria, says, "If everything were to work perfectly, deleterious traits could sweep through populations of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in as few as five years, wiping them off the map" (De Chant and Nelsen, n.p.). As a result, the elimination of the Malaria would have many global and economic repercussions, "Each year, the [Malaria] disease kills over 200,000 people and sickens over 200 million more ...  The direct costs of treating the disease are estimated at $12 billion, and the economies of affected countries grew 1.3% less per year" (De Chant and Nelsen, n.p.). Consequently, eliminating the Malaria virus would be saving lives and boosting the global economy. In addition, disabling the Malaria virus in this way would be an example of large scale use of genome engineering.

Large scale genome editing could be used to solve many global issues other than curing or eliminating diseases. It can be used to modify plants to produce more food or be more tolerant to environmental factors such as temperature or water. Creating these new genetically modified organisms for human needs is known as synthetic biology. Additionally, Genetic engineering can go beyond the medical field and curing diseases, and it can be used to solve global issues plaguing today's society. In a scientific journal by Kent Redford, William Adams, and Georgina Mace claims that: "many of the major global problems, such as famine, disease and energy shortages, have potential solutions in the world of engineered cells" (Kent et al 1). This ability to combat global issues such as famine and energy shortages would create a more united, prosperous global society. Another example of large scale genome editing to fight environmental issues is to reduce human size or height. In "Human Engineering and Climate Change," the authors state: "Human ecological footprints are partly correlated with our size" (Liao et al 208). The article explains how a change in human size would reduce the amount of food consumption because the more body mass a person has the more nutrients and energy they need to maintain their body mass (Liao et al 208).  

Agreeing to genetically enhance humans is a not very popular which is why it is the most controversial application of genetic engineering. Some of the potential abilities are humans with greater intelligence, physical strength, endurance, or longer life spans, but in reality the possibilities are endless. In Enhancing Human Capacities the authors classify enhancements into five categories: : cognitive, physical, mood, moral, or life extending. While these abilities sound great in theory it makes humans confront the idea of being mechanical and programmable. The possibility to create these "superhumans" poses a dilemma though of what attributes would be beneficial to the human genome. Mark Coeckelbergh, a professor of philosophy of technology at the University of Vienna, focuses on the engineering of the human genome and classifies modifications as essential and desirable. When it comes to choosing what to add to the human genome Coeckelbergh says, " ... we have to reflect on how we want to shape our lives, our societies, and ourselves as humans and as individuals" (92). He suggests that it is time to rationalize what traits would be beneficial to humans before it is too late. Many people don't believe that the possibility of engineering humans is real and think if the field of genetic engineering moved slower there would be no need to decide now how these tools should be used. In reality though there is no way to slow down the advancements of technology. Bob Adams, journalist for Business Insider, believes that the progress in the field shouldn't proceed slowly, but that a decision should be made on what to do with the technology that exists. In his article, "People Aren't Ready for the Imminent Rise of Genetic Engineering," he states: "It is not a question of how quickly we move in a given direction, but what direction we are taking" (n.p). He's saying that genetic engineering cannot move forward until there is an agreement on how it should be used.

Not all possibilities of genetic engineering are hailed as milestones though. In particular the ability for parents to choose what traits their children will have. The children of this process have coined the name "designer babies" (Bailey, n.p.). Even though no human child has been genetically modified for specific traits Journalist Ronald Bailey of Reason Magazine states: "Scientist fear parents will begin genetic engineering to choose their children's appearance, intelligence, and physique ... the prospect of so-called "designer babies", has led to it being made illegal in Britain and many other countries" (n.p.). Surprisingly, countries like Britain have taken drastic measures in making illegal the use of human embryos in genetic modification. This quick and rash decision is in response to the unknowing potential and uses of editing the human genome. If there were laws and guidelines in place for how genetic engineering should be used there would be no need to fear what how the technology will be used.

In addition to the fear of genetically modified humans, some argue against genetic engineering because they believe the ability to edit what society perceives as imperfections like height or physical appearance is selfish and goes against human nature. However, Professor of Philosophy in the Biomedical Sciences, Timothy Murphy, defines a change in human nature as: " ... an effect [that] would have to show up in millions if not billions of people to register as a change in nature" (191). Thus, the belief that a change in human nature could occur from genetic engineering is possible, but highly unlikely. In "The Ethics of Impossible and Possible Changes to Human Nature," Murphy gives an example of genetic engineering humans to have capabilities that are already in the gene pool, " ... genetic tinkering produced hundreds of hyper-intelligent people able to learn languages and tackle advanced mathematics effortlessly. These capacities are not unknown in people already, so in a sense geneticists would not be creating anything new in kind" (191). He is arguing that making an uncommon trait such as hyper-intelligence wouldn't be a change in human nature because it already exists in the human gene pool. The only effect it have is making a trait more common among a population. Murphy then states: "Moreover, the number of individuals produced this way in my example, hundreds of people  --  would represent a minute fraction of the world's people, hardly a palpable alteration in the ordinary give and take of human social life." (191). Proving that if a trait such as hyper-intelligence or height was genetically engineered in humans the amount of genetically altered humans would not be enough to cause a change in human nature. The fear of genetic engineering changing human nature is just another reason to decide how the technology should be used.

Genetic engineering has endless possibilities to offer, but some of its potential could be used in unwanted ways. Jennifer Doudna, co-founder of CRISPR-Cas9, asked for a " ... global pause in any clinical application of the CRISPR technology in human embryos, to give us time to really consider all of the various implications of doing so" (n.p.). Her statement as a co-founder of this technology shows just how incredibly important it is for a discussion to determine how this technology is used. She knows if there is not a consensus for how to use genetic engineering, then it will fall victim to its worst applications. Additionally, in order for new technologies such as Crisper-Cas9 to be used effectively rules and guidelines need to be created in which a consensus is reached on how these technologies should be used. Until an agreement is reached none of the possible benefits like curing genetic disorders or fighting famine can be discovered.

