Week 6 BioTech + Art

The topic of "BioTech + Art" this week is something that I find very interesting. As time has progressed, humans have discovered new technologies while still being fascinated by deep questions. The question posed in this week's discussion is whether or not life can be used as art. I think this is much more complex than people make it out to be and yet still there are many advances in the field. As discussed in our lecture, there have been considerable advancements in genome studies but also the use of animal experiments such as the Vacanti Mouse.

These experiments bring a larger question into my mind: what is the limit going to be? At what point will the line be drawn where scientists are not allowed to further explore animals and humans as art. Now I'm not saying that humans can't be used as art but I believe certain things should be limited. Scientists are now beginning to cross animal DNA with human DNA which feels wrong to me. The exploration began with Dr. Joe Davis as mentioned in the lecture but has since gone further than what he might have planned. The line is starting to blur and it reminds me of the latest Superman movie "Man of Steel"

At the beginning of the movie, Superman’s dad steals a codex that contains the DNA of all Kryptonians that is used to create children. DNA had been collected over hundreds of years and was being used to genetically create people. Each child is born with a set DNA making them specialized for one specific task. I fear that if boundaries are not set, someone might try to collect the DNA of humans and begin to explore more what is possible.

Works Cited:

1. “Animal Biotechnology.” YouTube, 25 July 2008, https://youtu.be/qCIvAuwaf-o. 

2. Weiss, Josh. “Japan Approves Experiments Splicing Human DNA with Animal Embryos.” SYFY Official Site, SYFY, 31 July 2019, https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/japan-approves-animal-human-dna-splicing-experiments. 

3. Vesna, Victoria. “5 Bioart PT1.” YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://youtu.be/jUENH6GLzXY?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7. 

4. Vesna, Victoria. “5 Bioart PT4.” YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://youtu.be/2qSc72u9KhI?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7. 

5. 15, Usha Lee McFarling April, et al. “International Team Creates First Chimeric Human-Monkey Embryos.” STAT, 15 Apr. 2021, https://www.statnews.com/2021/04/15/international-team-creates-first-chimeric-human-monkey-embryos/. 

6. “Man of Steel.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 14 June 2013, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/.