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THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
The Trillions of You
ISSUES
When researching the Human Microbiome, controversial and ethical issues are present. Some which include:
Participating in research: Not all of the aspects of the human microbiome are understood or discovered yet, meaning that when a person wants to participate in research (providing samples etc.), not all of the risks and benefits can be explained. This is an ethical issue because safety cannot be ensured for the participant.
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Privacy: New technology makes it easy to identify a person and their research results based on their genomic information, privacy becomes an issue. Ownership, control of genetic information and confidentiality sparks controversy. Usage of such information often includes: for insurance, employment, criminal justice, education, and adoption. [1]
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Ethical/Legal Issues
Manipulating the microbiome includes changing the genes of certain microbes, what bacteria a person is exposed to, and moving the microbes around. Some of the ethical and social issues are as follows:
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Protecting Offspring: In some jurisdictions, it has become unethical to manipulate the microbiome to the point where the changes affect the person's children when born. This can be justified because it is unethical to some people to make decisions on the baby's behalf.
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Changing the Face of Medicine:
As reseach continues and the microbiome is being applied to medicine, the perception of how we view bacteria and medicine changes. This can be good or bad. On one side, we are advancing medicine technology for the greater. On the other hand, we are becoming closer to the social issue of creating designer babies and gene manipulation.
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Education:
Funded surveys have revealed that most of the public and health professionals are not knowledgeable about genetics, genetic technologies and the implications of having genetic information. It is essential that the public understands the meaning of genetic information and that the nation's health professionals have the knowledge, skills, and resources to integrate this new knowledge and technologies into diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases. [2]
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Ethical/Social Issues
Manipulating an Infant/Child's Microbiome:
An adult's microbiome is thought to be fairly stable (it does not have a tendancy to change drastically. Because of this, there are questions raised when discussing the intended manipulation of a child's genes. It could become permantent and not change when they become adults. It also becomes a conversation about "designer babies" because it is the same principle.
IMAGE: In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) [4]
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