Genetic Engineering and Repairing Nature

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[wiscidea]

"In their prime, the American chestnut trees stood a hundred feet tall and six feet wide. Now, they're typically no bigger than shrubs, thanks to a fungal disease that spread down the East Coast decades ago, virtually wiping out the hardwood tree.

But researchers in the University Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, with support from ArborGen LLC, a leader in tree improvement and commercial production of trees, have developed a method for inserting anti-fungal genes into the tree's DNA. They hope the new genes will fight off the fungal disease and help restore the American chestnut to its former glory."

Go to ...

http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/07/14/News/Uga-Researchers.Work.To.Restore.American.Chestnut.Tree-3751596.shtml

... for more information about why some people find this important.

Here's our moral/ethical question for the day, especially for people concerned about genetically engineering food...

Is it a good idea to use genetic engineering to save species driven to close to extinction by other human activity? Especially a keystone species of what was once a very important ecosystem covering a large part of North America?

I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is: Is genetic engineering absolutely wrong or are there times when it is perfectly acceptable or even desirable?

Since this website is largely devoted toward discussing religion, I encourage people to post relevant religious teachings—oral, written, or other channels.

[wiscidea]

Here's a photo of what European settlers found in eastern North America...



Media Credit: Courtesy UGA News Service

Now largely reduced to shrubs. Imagine the wildlife once supported by these trees... the food, the shelter, dens for large and small carnivores. Can we bring it back?

[SteveC]

That's some very impressive wood.

[ChicagoHeathen]

My religion really has nothing to say about genetic engineering. Myself, I do have some ethical concerns about it. The biggest concern I have is what other effects the engineering might have other than fighting the fungal infection. Will it cause the nuts to be unsafe to eat? Will the trees produce toxic chemicals? What are the side effects, as it were, of this engineering?

I am certainly not adverse to continuing with the chestnuts and doing a trial, seeing if it can, indeed, restore the chestnut with no adverse effects. If so, I would support it. I just think we need to be very careful with genetic engineering.

[River]

I'm not worried about it.  I'd like to see the trees restored and the land too.  I'd also like to stop what I call genetic engineering by shooting wolves from airplanes, and letting the ice melt in the north leaving the polar bears to starve etc. etc.

[Mountain_Man]

Here's our moral/ethical question for the day, especially for people concerned about genetically engineering food...

Is it a good idea to use genetic engineering to save species driven to close to extinction by other human activity? Especially a keystone species of what was once a very important ecosystem covering a large part of North America?

Yes. Absolutely. In several hundred or maybe a thousand years, or so, the tree would have produced a fungus resistant variety anyway.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is: Is genetic engineering absolutely wrong or are there times when it is perfectly acceptable or even desirable?

There is nothing wrong with genetic engineering. There is a lot of hype and hysteria going on about it, but not one of them has come up with anything more solid than a big giant maybe.

Since this website is largely devoted toward discussing religion, I encourage people to post relevant religious teachings—oral, written, or other channels.

Since I have no religion, I'll quote Carl Sagan:
We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

[fenn]

As long as they check everything thoroughly before they go planting these trees everywhere, it rocks as far as I am concerned. Much better use of genetic engineering than tomatoes with pig DNA - yuck! But the science in itself could be of huge benefit, give it a chance...

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