Discussion 1:
The healthcare world is changing and developing exponentially. What was considered a breakthrough
innovative technology twenty years ago now is considered evidence-based standardized medical treatment.
One of the directions in which healthcare is expanding is the use of genome in medical treatment. Based on
Mendes (2019), 100,000 genomes were discovered in the year 2017. The Human Genome Project was the
first company to open up the genome map (Mendes, 2019). Now there is hope to further expand the genome in
the near future.
So what does genomics provide? Nowadays, genomics provides information about the presence or absence of
specific cancer development. One such cancer in which genomic mapping is able to identify is the BRCA gene.
This gene is responsible for the development of breast and ovarian cancers. Women with the presence of this
gene might make a decision to remove predisposed organs before cancer starts. Angelina Jolie, a famous
cinema actress is among women who decided to undergo a double mastectomy after she learned of the
presence of predisposing factors(“Research Identifies Factors in the ‘Angelina Jolie Effect” on Breast Cancer
Screening’,” 2015). Some women followed this trend and also underwent double mastectomy.
In ten, twenty, fifty years, genome mapping will go further. It is possible that in fifty years, treatment for all
disorders will be tailored based on that particular patient’s genome code. Medication, treatments, pills, creams,
and lotions will contain the genetic material of the person and might also contain the genetic material of a
healthy individual with a strong genome code (Mendes, 2019). It is a very exciting future for the development of
genomics.
Discussion 2:
Genes are parts of DNA that are responsible for creating proteins. The alignments of these proteins is what
gives each person their individuality. Simple rearrangements of these genes is enough of a variation to make
each person different (National Human Genome Research Institute [NHGRI], n.d.).
In recent years, scientists and researchers have unlocked the code to understanding how these genes are
arranged. As such, it is now possible to understand the human body at a level that was previously just a myth.
For health care, this means that scientists and doctors can now change the course of humanity by developing
interventions that are made for a single person at a cellular level (NHGRI, n.d.).
Genomics is the study of these genes, which also includes the interactions genes have with any type of
environment. With this knowledge in hand, the future of health care is unlimited. Developers can now make
products, medicines, and treatment plans that are based on a single person’s genetic structure (Blum, 2020).
This means that patients can have tailor made treatments made for them.
While this information is powerful and will change many lives, it also raises the ethical question of “Are
researchers and doctors now playing controller of the universe?” Although it is impactful for patients that
genetically specified treatments can be created, where does the line between human and beyond human stop?
When does life happening without interference start? And further more, what are the costs for these
treatments, and what happens to those who cannot afford it?
Medicine has the duty to first do no harm. That creed has been a long-standing ethos of the medical
profession. However, at some point, the amount of interference with how life goes must end. To that question,
there is no right answer. With genomics, the possibilities are endless. Illnesses can be cured, Deformities can
be discovered and fixed, health can be optimized, and medicines can be developed to meet the individual
needs of any patient (Blum, 2020). This topic will be debated for many years to come. But we do know that
over the next few decades, genomics will continue to revolutionize health care. With that power, developers
must also respect the responsibility to proceed with integrity and morality.