Modified Organelle In Cell

Electron microscope (EM)

In Matthayom 4 (grade 10), the first time I studied Biology, the first chapter was about Cell, the smallest unit of every organisms, containing many organelles, processing unit of cell inside. I could remember that their sizes were so small that all of them can't be seen by using only light microscope in common laboratory but now the scientists are able to change something inside organelle only seen by using  electron microscope (EM) that magnification range is more than 500,000 times or 250 times to the best magnification of light microscope.

The BBC News's "Mitochondria editing tried in mice" (2015) reports that "Researchers have developed a technique to edit out bits of mitochondrial DNA that could otherwise pass on incurable diseases, a study in mice shows.". However, There are also many warnings from specialists about risks and from dr. about coming arguments and hurdles, especially in ethics and religions, to overcome if this is going to be used to treat with humans in the future.

Mitochondria seen with TEM (a kind of  electron microscope)

I think there are always many arguments and objections about the issue like this, as you can see very often when talking about cloning, storing some organs to revive the belonging one day in the future, many methods of genetic engineering, etc. The world organisation about ethics, religions, science, medicine and organisations associating with these kinds of problems should find out the same agreements or laws (may be rules) to use the same standard globally. Because, nowadays, they are more and more problems like these, due to the fast progress of science and medicine, that slow our progress in discovering new methods to cure patients like this discover, creating new genes for vegetables that could produce more immunity or products to us, way to create new organs for defectives etc. If we still get stuck at these kinds of problems, we will loss the opportunity to get better things and to get longer life. We need the conclusions and agreements of these issues as fast as we can.

For me, I usually, not all, agree with treatment or discover like this because I focus on the life and well-being of the human more than ethics and some religions or belief. I think making people alive and happy is the main purpose of ethics. Therefore, something like these are quite make sense for me.

However, I think it is very very very difficult to find the same agreements of these issues because of the difference in nationality, religion, culture, thought, background, knowledge, belief, etc. You have to find the same regulations or laws for about different 7,000 millions people in the world, that's really difficult. If you could, I'm pretty sure that there would still be some people who would break these laws. It's common to human's society.

"Where one door shuts, another opens", I strongly believe that this quote is always true even if it doesn't tell when or how the problems would be solved. However, it gives us the power to face and try to overcome the problems including these kinds of problems. One day in the near future, we must get the procedure to deal with these problems, I believe.
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Reference

Mundasad, S. (2015, April 26). Mitochondria editing tried in mice. BBC news Health. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32434347