as safe as their natural counterparts” (Davis, Rouche 70). In fact the RAC reports that “there has
not been a single case of illness or harm caused by recombinant [engineered] bacteria, and they
now are used safely in high school experiments” (Davis, Rouche 69). Scientists have also
devised other methods of preventing bacteria from escaping their labs, such as modifying the
bacteria so that it will die if it is removed from the laboratory environment. This creates a shield
of complete safety for the outside world. It is also thought that if such bacteria were to escape it
would act like smallpox or anthrax and ravage the land. However, laboratory-created organisms
are not as competitive as pathogens. Davis and Roche sum it up in extremely laymen’s terms,
“no matter how much Frostban you dump on a field, it’s not going to spread” (70). In fact
Frostbran, developed by Steven Lindow at the University of California, Berkeley, was sprayed on
a test field in 1987 and was proven by a RAC committee to be completely harmless (Thompson
104).
Fear of the unknown has slowed the progress of many scientific discoveries in the past.
The thought of man flying or stepping on the moon did not come easy to the average citizens of
the world. But the fact remains, they were accepted and are now an everyday occurrence in our
lives. Genetic engineering too is in its period of fear and misunderstanding, but like every great
discovery in history, it will enjoy its time of realization and come into full use in society. The
world is on the brink of the most exciting step into human evolution ever, and through
knowledge and exploration, should welcome it and its possibilities with open arms.
Works Cited
Clarke, Bryan C. Genetic Engineering. Microsoft (R) Encarta.
Microsoft Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994.
Davis, Bernard, and Lissa Roche. “Sorcerer’s Apprentice or Handmaiden
to Humanity.” USA TODAY: The Magazine of the American Scene [GUSA] 118
Nov 1989: 68-70.
Lewin, Seymour Z. Nucleic Acids. Microsoft (R) Encarta. Microsoft
Corporation, Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, 1994.
Stableford, Brian. Future Man. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1984.
Thompson, Dick. “The Most Hated Man in Science.” Time 23 Dec 4 1989:
102-104