The Disadvantages of Biotechnology生物技術的弊端

文/路易絲·加耶 譯/李小雪

By Louise Gaille

The benefits of biotechnology can range from reducing environmental pollution to involvement in medical and industrial processes. Still, when biotechnology is mishandled, it can lead to the rise of several issues. Let’s take a look at some of these issues.

1. Genetic mutations are dangerous

Introduction of foreign genes to the diet may affect the health of human beings, the immune system may not tolerate the desired genes inserted through genetically modified food can be dangerous to the human body. This might cause allergies, sometimes cancer,and some diseases getting immune to drugs, which is a serious problem.

2. Impact on the ecosystem and nature

生物技術有諸多好處，從減少環境污染到助力醫療和工業。然而，如果生物技術被濫用，會引發一些問題。接下來，我們來看看其中的某些問題。

1. 基因變異有危險

食用引入外源基因的食品可能會影響人體健康。人體的免疫系統可能對于轉基因食品中植入的所需基因并不耐受，進而對人體造成危害——可能會引發過敏，甚至癌癥，以及一些疾病的耐藥性。這是一個嚴重的問題。

2. 對生態系統和大自然的影響

生物技術被用來修改生物的基因，其影響尚不明確。這些轉基因生物也包括細菌，能夠在環境中逃逸，可能會擾亂生態系統的平衡。因此，生態系統可能會失衡，而生命體，特別是人類，可能也會受到傷害。

Biotechnology is used to modify organisms, genetically, the effect of which is still not known. These genetically modified organisms, including bacteria,can escape in the environment and may disturb the balance of the ecosystem.This, as a result, may cause imbalance in the ecosystem and also bring harm to living organisms, especially human beings.

3. Adverse effects on cropland

Biotechnology has allowed more vitamins and minerals to enter our food chain, but it could be coming at a cost.Many crops obtain their nutritional content from the soil in which they grow.If that soil is overloaded by the crop, it may lose its viability, even with crop rotation occurring. That may reduce the amount of growing time each land segment is able to provide while extending its recovery period at the same time. In some situations, the croplands could be permanently ruined.

4. It can be destructive

Biotechnology involves genetic alteration of various organisms both for production as well as research purposes.During this process of genetic alternation, some new kinds of bacteria could be produced which might be dangerous.In the wrong hands, it could also be turned into a dangerous biological weapon and might cause massive destruction.

5. Lack of genetic diversity

3. 對農田的不利影響

生物技術使得更多的維生素和礦物質進入我們的食物鏈，但這可能是有代價的。許多作物從生長的土壤中獲取養分，如果土壤超負荷種植，就可能失去活力，即便是輪作也無濟于事。這可能會縮短單位土地的種植期，同時延長其恢復期。在某些情況下，農田可能會被永久毀壞。

4.或具毀滅性

出于生產和研究目的，生物技術需要對各種生物進行基因改造。基因改造過程中會產生一些新的細菌種類，有可能帶來危險。若受心術不正的人操控，它可轉化為危險的生物武器，造成大規模破壞。

5. 缺乏遺傳多樣性

各種不同的生物技術工藝可用來提高作物產量及其營養價值。醫療領域使用基因變異來檢驗各種生物過程和生物產品。但這種做法的代價便是群體遺傳學瓶頸效應。如果發生不可預見的事情，整個作物或醫療機會可能會付之東流，甚至威脅到某些物種的生存。

Different biotechnological processes are used to increase crop yield and their nutritious quality. In the medical field gene mutation is used to test different biological processes and products. But it comes at the price of a genetic bottleneck. Should something unforeseen happen, an entire crop or medical treatment opportunity could go to waste or even threaten the survival of certain species.

6. Field with many unknowns

Although our database of biotechnology has greatly expanded in the last generation, there are still many longterm unknowns that we face. What happens if we tinker with the genetics of a person to treat a disorder? What happens to the environment if we dramatically alter crops to grow in locations that would normally not support crop growth? Should every action have an equal and opposite reaction, future generations could pay the price for our research that is happening today.

7. It turns human life into a commodity

In the United States, the Supreme Court has ruled that DNA which is lab manipulated is eligible to be patented.The foundation of this ruling was that altered DNA sequences are not found in nature. At the moment, complementary DNA, or cDNA, has been specifically mentioned as an example of what could be patented. Obtaining such DNA and altered DNA sequences which can be sold as a profit opens the door tomany ethical questions concerning human life.It also highlights the immorality associated with the purpose of making money off of human lives, like ‘playing god’. ■

6. 充滿未知的領域

雖然我們的生物技術數據庫在過去二三十年間已經大為擴展，但我們仍然面臨著許多長期的未知數。如果我們修改一個人的基因來治療疾病，會發生什么？如果我們大幅改造作物基因，使其能夠生長在通常不長作物的地方，會對環境有什么影響？如果每一個作用力都有一個對等的反作用力，那么子孫后代可能會為我們今天正在進行的研究付出代價。

7. 它把人的生命變成一種商品

在美國，最高法院裁定，經實驗室合成的DNA有資格獲得專利。這項裁決的根據是，被修改過的DNA序列是在自然界中遍尋不著的。目前，互補DNA（或稱cDNA）已被特別提及，作為可以申請專利的一個例子。這樣的DNA以及經過修改的DNA序列可出售謀利，它們的取得引發了許多有關人類生命的倫理問題。這也凸顯出，意圖用人的生命賺錢，就如同“扮演無所不能的神”，是不道德的。 □