Notion of progress: what effect do the "advances" have on our society?

The notion of progress can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change in technical, scientific or social domains which contributes to making the world a better place.

What do people expect from the progress? Most of people in the world expect the material progress, like larger quantity and variety of available food, shorter work time and of course, above all, better health.

The technological breakthroughs and scientific developments are causing some people to question this progress. What effect do these “advances” have on our society? Do they always have a positive effect on the way we live?

In order to illustrate this notion and to answer these questions, I have chosen to talk about the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) and Designer Baby.

A GMO is the result of a laboratory process where genes from DNA of one species are extracted and forced into the genes of a different plant or animal. The GMO plays an important role in many fields, like agriculture and medicine. One of the first application of genetic modification was the creation of a bacterial strain capable of producing human insulin needed by the people with diabetes.

Some benefits of genetic engineering in agriculture are increased crop yields, reduced costs for food or drug production, reduced need for pesticides, enhanced nutrient composition and food quality, resistance to pests and disease, greater food security, and medical benefits to the world's growing population.

Now let us talk about the designer baby. A designer baby is a baby that is the result of genetic screening or genetic modification. Embryos may be screened before the implantation to create desired trait in a child. The process lets us change certain attributes in appearance, intelligence, gender personality and disease. So we are basically creating a perfect specimen.

Designer baby purpose is to lower risk of inherited medical condition. The world’s first known designer baby was Adam who was born in 2000. His birth was not just a medical breakthrough but a life saving purpose. His sister had Fanconi’s anemia which he would have inherited if he had been created naturally. When he was born, blood cells from this umbilical cord were transplated into his sister’s body, saving her from the disease. The designer baby will reduce the risk of inherited medical conditions such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and anemia.

These medical technology progress seem to provide us a world with plenty of available food and better health. But again in the end we are doubting about the effects of these innovations.

Several animal studies indicated serious health risk associated with genetically modified food, including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastro intestinal system.

Many opinions raised against the idea of designer baby.

Science moves fast, and now designer babies are not just created for the safety of the new born, but also the idea of a ‘perfect child’ for the parents and the public. It is not right for the parents to be able to make such decision about the genetic of their child in order to have their ‘perfect child’. We are messing the genetic engineering of the child and it is not safe. People don’t think about the consequences of this dangerous procedure. It may seem great

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