Apr 18 2011: Having an opinion about this is very important. Is it morally right to genetically alter these creatures? Yes and no. They were bred for this purpose and so it is only right we do what we intend to do with them for the benefit of research. However, not everything we do to them is making a clear benefit to research. Take the glowing animals for example, it benefits research in the sense that it shows we can effectively alter the genes of an animal and implant those altered genes into an egg which then becomes the animal. Even though it benefits research it serves no useful purpose for the animals to glow in the dark.
I think work will greatly be suspended if laws are passed to stop the research on animals. Simply because researchers think that their work will lead them to something worthwhile or valuable does not mean that they have a right to do their work. They must consider the opinions of other people and find out what they think about the subject and whether or not they also think that it will benefit them as a society. If researchers were the only ones who chose the criteria that needed to be met I think that science would be a lot further along than it is right now. Society has stopped science from progressing as fast as it would have without considering ethical questions. It is the considerations of others that make scientists think whether what they are doing is right or wrong and the progress of science also influences their decision.
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A reply on Conversation: Misunderstanding Ethics and the purpose of this talk
I think work will greatly be suspended if laws are passed to stop the research on animals. Simply because researchers think that their work will lead them to something worthwhile or valuable does not mean that they have a right to do their work. They must consider the opinions of other people and find out what they think about the subject and whether or not they also think that it will benefit them as a society. If researchers were the only ones who chose the criteria that needed to be met I think that science would be a lot further along than it is right now. Society has stopped science from progressing as fast as it would have without considering ethical questions. It is the considerations of others that make scientists think whether what they are doing is right or wrong and the progress of science also influences their decision.
-Jonathan D.