Genome Research - Dangers of Genome Research

Dangers of Genomic Research

Biological information can easily be used for nefarious ends. The wealth of information offered by the Human Genome Project offers the promise of helping the human race in a myriad of ways, yet the knowledge can likewise be easily misused.

Genomes tell information about each individual's proclivity for disease, personality traits, and behaviors, and such information could potentially be used as a basis for discrimination. The knowledge we are now acquiring will also allow us to alter our genes. Since the information is now new, boundaries about what is appropriate in controlling our genetic destiny and that of our offspring have not been clearly laid out, and since human life is at stake, they are likely to remain fuzzy indefinitely.