Ethical Bioengineering

 Ethical Bioengineering

This week’s material has changed my perspective on certain ethical considerations in biology. After learning about bioengineering projects and their artistic implications, I began to question how invasive these experiments can become and remain ethical.

Many bio-artists have tested this consideration and have different perspectives on what is considered life, what is considered property, and what experiments are considered art. “These artistic efforts include the identification of basic components of life and reproduction, exploration of entities that straddle boundaries, and the consideration whether animals or body parts, such as genes, should count as property” (Levy 2)’

Eduardo Kac, a famous bio-artist whose work involves genetically engineered organisms, performed alongside geneticists to create a “glowing” species. By inserting fluorescent genes into different organisms, causing them to have an internal luminescence, he inspired other bioengineers and bio-artists to experiment with this concept.
“Alba”, a genetically engineered rabbit, had this fluorescent gene inserted alongside “GloFish”, a black and white zebra fish. The “GloFish” became commercialized and was later reproduced for sale as a “pet”. This situation sparked an ethical conversation among artists and bioengineers. Is the “GloFish” considered a scientific experiment, or an artistic piece? Can life be considered art?
“As suggested by the similarity between Kac’s GFP projects and the commercial GloFish, the boundary between a work of art and a genetically engineered invention can be ambiguous.” (Levy 9) While some bio-artists hold the perspective that creation of life forms can be property and a form of performance art, others argue that manipulating living organisms can lead to the harm and exploitation of organisms who are valued less culturally. 

Bioengineering artists have sparked the ongoing conversation of whether artistic expression can be synonymous with scientific experimentation.


SOURCES

Vesna, V. “5 bioart pt1.” Bruinlearn. 7 May 2024, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/183769/pages/unit-6-view?module_item_id=6671250. Accessed 7 May 2024. 

Vesna, V. “5 bioart pt2.” Bruinlearn. 7 May 2024, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/183769/pages/unit-6-view?module_item_id=6671250. Accessed 7 May 2024. 

Vesna, V. “5 bioart pt3.” Bruinlearn. 7 May 2024, https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/183769/pages/unit-6-view?module_item_id=6671250. Accessed 7 May 2024. 

Levy, Ellen K. “Defining life:” Context Providers, 27 May 2014, pp. 275–298, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv36xvqqx.16. Accesssed 7 May. 2024.

Mitcham, Carl. “Ethics in Bioengineering.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 9, no. 3, 1990, pp. 227–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25072029. Accessed 13 May 2024.

IMAGES

Russel, Quincy. Eduardo Kac. 15 Dec. 2014. SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, MONA LISA PRODUCTION, https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/c0155195/view. 

Kac, Eduardo. GFP Bunny . 2000. Https://Www.Ekac.Org/Gfpbunny.Html, KAC. 
Skinner, Penny. Is It Cruel to Keep Glofish? June 2023. Https://Pethelpful.Com/Fish-Aquariums/Is-It-Cruel-to-Keep-Glofish, PetHelpful. 

Comments

  1. namnuyenDESMA9May 19, 2024 at 7:39 PM

    Hi Abygayle, thank you so much for your thoughtful response! I appreciate your discussion about ethics as it's a major issue when discussing the intersection between art, technology, and biology. As new technology continues to develop, it's crucial for ethics to be regularly updated and emphasized. In my opinion, biological engineering can be considered art if the artist follows ethical guidelines and doesn't commercialize it through methods like mass production. Overall, this was a very thoughtful read.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Two Cultures

Image
The Two Cultures Hello! My name is Abygayle, and I’m a first year business-econ major! Personally, I can resonate with Snow’s complex separation of two cultures. This week's materials have provided me insight into why I've found myself drawn more towards art and literary humanities than towards scientific studies within my education. The two cultures idea displays the barrier between humanities and sciences, and why this separation is potentially negative to society. Snow’s ideology argues that this cultural divide is a setback in American educational society, and further implies that a middle-ground or third culture would bridge these disparities. In the “Changing Education Paradigms” video from this week, they highlighted how American education systems are outdated, in the sense that many teaching methodologies and classroom expectations were established for a different, expired cultural period. The education system has been a significant reason why there is such polarization...
Read more

Medical Technologies and Art

Image
 Medical Technologies and Art A personal experience with medical technology I can recall is when I received an x-ray and MRI scan for an ankle injury. Although I was sure I had injured myself badly enough to receive medical attention, I received an x-ray that showed no diagnosis. Later, an MRI scan was done that showed my torn achilles tendon, which was not visible in the previous medical scans performed. My experience with medical technologies shows how significant the development and use of medical technologies, such as MRI, CAT Scan, and X-rays. On the medical side, the introduction of medical technology and non-invasive imaging techniques has allowed for a further understanding of the human body anatomy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an essential development in medical technology, allowing for all soft tissues to be visible and precise diagnosis. In the case of my injury, I would not have received the correct diagnosis or treatment without this technology. MRI has...
Read more