Week 6 : Biotech & Art

Week 6 : Biotech & Art

May 11, 2019

This century has established the era of biotechnology, the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other purposes, especially the genetic manipulation of microorganisms for the production of antibiotics, hormones, etc. Biotechnology is faced with many moral dilemmas such as its ability to edit out genes creating a "designer baby".A designer baby is a baby whose genetic makeup has been selected or altered, often to include a particular gene or to remove genes associated with disease. The idea of editing out a gene for an fatal disease is amazing, but there is a small difference between that and editing genes to get a baby with planned genetics.

The problem with choosing one's babies genetics is used for an artistic statement showing how clinical and artistic purposes bisect . Also, there’s the proposal that gene editing is going against natural selection and it is still a question today whether or not this is moral.This idea is similar to art in many ways. One example being there is a specific reason why certain animals don’t naturally glow green in the wild,  it isn’t promoting survival for these animals so they have no reason to naturally activate the GFP. This can be related to Ellen Levy’s combination of nature and culture that she explains  in Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.

There is a lot of talk surrounding biotechnology being combined with art.  Artists are now able to create art that was nearly impossible before. However, no one knows all the possible consequences of gene editing at the moment which creates effects that are different, but may also have others that won’t be seen for an unknown time period. Nonetheless, this concern is also seen in hospitals, laboratories, and etc. One example being, Dolly the Sheep which created a new concern no one had ever thought about yet, but the manipulation of biotechnology in this scenario won’t even be seen for decades.

Sources:

“Dolly (Sheep).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep).

Levy, Ellen K.. “Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.” DESMA 9.

“Saynsumthn's Blog.” Saynsumthns Blog, saynsumthn.wordpress.com/tag/green-fluorescent-protein/.

"The Life of Dolly." Dolly the Sheep. University of Edinburgh, n.d. Web. 15 May 2017

“Why You Shouldn't Worry Too Much About Designer Babies.” The Crux, 10 Dec. 2018, blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2018/12/10/why-you-shouldnt-worry-too-much-about-designer-babies/#.XNkXci-ZNQI.