Week 6: Bio Tech + Art

The wings of a painted lady butterfly generated with a gene-editing technique. 

BioTech in contemporary art involves artists entering labs to work with flesh and cellular tissue level. The human genome structure was a fresh palate for artists to manipulate. Most of these artists pushed the boundaries of human genetics that even scientists thought they were crazy. As a Philosophy major, the ethical considerations of biotech and art is what interested me the most. I believe that regardless of the reasoning as to why these genetic experiments are being conducted does not determine whether or not it is ethical. I think that when something genetic is done for art, then it is seen as unfavorable. I also believe that when things are manipulated for medical purposes, they are also unethical.  

Alba, the fluorescent bunny

One example of this is the alteration of the patterns on the wings of butterflies, which no other medical purpose other than being cosmetic, altering the genetic structure of these animals is inhumane and cruel. In the situation of the addition of fluorescent jellyfish genes using a process called zygote microinjection into the bunny Alba. The glowing properties of the fluorescent genes can be used to tag specific genes of proteins. This tracking ability allows scientists to identify the effectiveness of medicines without having to conduct surgery. They would use the help of light to track the enhanced glowing properties. 

People might be inclined to think that because we are using animals like mice and monkeys to conduct these tests, it can be ethical. We are still manipulating the natural design of organisms for our benefit. Many might see mice as disposable, but the truth is that they are more similar to humans than we might have initially believed. Most would not conduct these experiments (regardless of the purpose) on humans, so why perform them on other living organisms? 

This unwillingness to do genetic tests on humans is a reason why there should be limits to human creativity. Ethical debates would spark about the existential nature of humans as a species. Regardless of the purpose of experiments that are being done, I believe that the alteration of the genetic structure of any animal is unethical. 

"Genes Color a Butterfly's Wings. Now Scientists Want to Do It Themselves." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 22 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/science/butterfly-wing-color-patterns-gene-editing.html.

"Human Genome Project 2: Should Scientists Synthesize Entire Human Genetic Code from Scratch?" Genetic Literacy Project, 12 Jan. 2018, geneticliteracyproject.org/2017/03/03/human-genome-project-2-scientists-synthesize-entire-genetic-blue-print/.

"Transgenic Bunny by Eduardo Kac." Genome News Network - Home, www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/03_02/bunny_art.shtml.

Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube, 18 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg.

---. "5 BioArt Pt2." YouTube, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&time_continue=49&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I.