Post by crystalriver on Nov 28, 2009 14:01:35 GMT -5
74.6.146.127/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=gene+pool+of+interest+to+Nazi--&fr=slv8-dyc&u=www.fas.org/ota/reports/8415.pdf&w=gene+pool+pools+interest+nazi+nazis&d=chO0Hd29Tx7b&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=um1OCydFE4hMEB1WjtwtFw--
Tiny url for above:
tinyurl.com/y9alu9c
Human Gene TherapyDecember 1984NTIS order #PB85-206076“Where two principles really do meet which cannot be reconciled with one another, theneach man declares the other a fool and heretic. ”–Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1950-1951“Even in the extreme case where disagreement extends irreducibly to ultimate moral ends,the proper counsel is not one of pluralistic tolerance . . . We can still call the good good and
the bad bad, and hope . . . that these epithets may work their emotive weal.”“Thus we do what we can with our ultimate values, but we have to deplore the irreparablelack of the empirical checkpoints that are the solace of the scientist. Loose ends are untidy at
best, and disturbingly so when the ultimate good is at stake.”—Willard Van Orman Quine, 1981Recommended Citation:Human Gene Therapy—A Background Paper (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Office ofTechnology Assessment, OTA-BP-BA-32, December 1984.Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-601155For sale by the Superintendent of DocumentsU.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402PrefaceThis background paper is the fourth in a series of OTA publications on genetics,and the third in a series focusing on emerging biological technologies. * It was prepared
at the request of Representative Albert Gore, Jr., as Chairman of the Subcommittee
on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House
of Representatives. Preparation of the paper involved extensive assistance from and
review by experts and other interested parties (apps. C and D), and included a work-
shop convened at OTA on September 25, 1984.Interest in human applications of recombinant DNA technology has been expressedby numerous scientific, medical, religious, civic, and government leaders by Represent-
ative Gore’s subcommittee and resulted in congressional hearings in November 1982,
Human gene therapy is currently preeminent among the the topics of concern. This
paper focuses on the imminent development of human gene therapy, emphasizing early
medical applications. The governmental concerns related to human gene therapy, as
for other medical technologies, will include protection of subjects involved in research
and clinical treatment, ensuring safety and efficacy of the techniques in specific appli-
cations, and public discussion and education.Human gene therapy, if it is approved for use, will first be performed on patientswho have no better prospect for treatment, and who suffer from severe, rapidly fatal
diseases caused by defective genes. Treatment will involve inserting copies of the nor-
mal gene into cells where the new gene can be used to produce proteins that correct
a biochemical defect. Human gene therapy as currently envisioned would thus be ap-
plied to treat patients with specific rare genetic diseases, and not as the tool of a eugenic
social program intended to improve the human gene pool.Gene therapy in humans will first be done in cells from an organ or tissue otherthan germ cells, probably from a patient’s bone marrow. Such treatment would there-
fore not lead to heritable changes. Therefore, because cells that are used in reproduc-
tion are not involved, gene therapy of this type is quite similar to other kinds of medi-
cal therapy, and does not pose new kinds of risks. When considering gene therapy that
does not result in inherited change, the factor that most distinguishes it from other
medical technologies is its conspicuousness in the public eye; otherwise it can be viewed
as simply another tool to help individuals overcome an illness.Public interest in gene therapy suggests that utmost care must be taken to ensurethat the process for approving its early application is fair, open, and thorough. Several
Federal agencies, including the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee at the National
Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, are presently involved injust this process.It is generally agreed that gene therapy that affects only the patient is analogousto other medical technologies. There is, however, no agreement about the need, tech-nical feasibility, or ethical acceptability of gene therapy that leads to inherited changes.
Commencement of gene therapy that would involve inherited changes should not pro-
ceed without substantial further evaluation and public discussion.*The other OTA publications on genetics are Impacts of Applied Genetics (April 1981), The Role of Genetic Testingin the Prevention of Occupational Disease (April 1983), and Commercial Biotechnology: An International (Janu-ary 1984). The other publications on novel biological technologies are Impacts of Applied Genetics and Impacts of science (March 1984).
Visit the link for more--truly enlightening--how do we apply genetic changes for their good without raising concern? CR
Tiny url for above:
tinyurl.com/y9alu9c
Human Gene TherapyDecember 1984NTIS order #PB85-206076“Where two principles really do meet which cannot be reconciled with one another, theneach man declares the other a fool and heretic. ”–Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1950-1951“Even in the extreme case where disagreement extends irreducibly to ultimate moral ends,the proper counsel is not one of pluralistic tolerance . . . We can still call the good good and
the bad bad, and hope . . . that these epithets may work their emotive weal.”“Thus we do what we can with our ultimate values, but we have to deplore the irreparablelack of the empirical checkpoints that are the solace of the scientist. Loose ends are untidy at
best, and disturbingly so when the ultimate good is at stake.”—Willard Van Orman Quine, 1981Recommended Citation:Human Gene Therapy—A Background Paper (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress, Office ofTechnology Assessment, OTA-BP-BA-32, December 1984.Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-601155For sale by the Superintendent of DocumentsU.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402PrefaceThis background paper is the fourth in a series of OTA publications on genetics,and the third in a series focusing on emerging biological technologies. * It was prepared
at the request of Representative Albert Gore, Jr., as Chairman of the Subcommittee
on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House
of Representatives. Preparation of the paper involved extensive assistance from and
review by experts and other interested parties (apps. C and D), and included a work-
shop convened at OTA on September 25, 1984.Interest in human applications of recombinant DNA technology has been expressedby numerous scientific, medical, religious, civic, and government leaders by Represent-
ative Gore’s subcommittee and resulted in congressional hearings in November 1982,
Human gene therapy is currently preeminent among the the topics of concern. This
paper focuses on the imminent development of human gene therapy, emphasizing early
medical applications. The governmental concerns related to human gene therapy, as
for other medical technologies, will include protection of subjects involved in research
and clinical treatment, ensuring safety and efficacy of the techniques in specific appli-
cations, and public discussion and education.Human gene therapy, if it is approved for use, will first be performed on patientswho have no better prospect for treatment, and who suffer from severe, rapidly fatal
diseases caused by defective genes. Treatment will involve inserting copies of the nor-
mal gene into cells where the new gene can be used to produce proteins that correct
a biochemical defect. Human gene therapy as currently envisioned would thus be ap-
plied to treat patients with specific rare genetic diseases, and not as the tool of a eugenic
social program intended to improve the human gene pool.Gene therapy in humans will first be done in cells from an organ or tissue otherthan germ cells, probably from a patient’s bone marrow. Such treatment would there-
fore not lead to heritable changes. Therefore, because cells that are used in reproduc-
tion are not involved, gene therapy of this type is quite similar to other kinds of medi-
cal therapy, and does not pose new kinds of risks. When considering gene therapy that
does not result in inherited change, the factor that most distinguishes it from other
medical technologies is its conspicuousness in the public eye; otherwise it can be viewed
as simply another tool to help individuals overcome an illness.Public interest in gene therapy suggests that utmost care must be taken to ensurethat the process for approving its early application is fair, open, and thorough. Several
Federal agencies, including the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee at the National
Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, are presently involved injust this process.It is generally agreed that gene therapy that affects only the patient is analogousto other medical technologies. There is, however, no agreement about the need, tech-nical feasibility, or ethical acceptability of gene therapy that leads to inherited changes.
Commencement of gene therapy that would involve inherited changes should not pro-
ceed without substantial further evaluation and public discussion.*The other OTA publications on genetics are Impacts of Applied Genetics (April 1981), The Role of Genetic Testingin the Prevention of Occupational Disease (April 1983), and Commercial Biotechnology: An International (Janu-ary 1984). The other publications on novel biological technologies are Impacts of Applied Genetics and Impacts of science (March 1984).
Visit the link for more--truly enlightening--how do we apply genetic changes for their good without raising concern? CR