The Potential Dangers of Genetic Engineering.

      The debate over the dangers and merits of genetic engineering has raged ever since the first experiments were done.  Shortly after they began working with these techniques, the scientists involved called a moratorium on their own work so that they could establish standards to ensure that such research was done in a safe and ethical manner.  Still, concerns have lingered over what could happen if an experiment went wrong, what might happen if a genetically engineered organism was intentionally released into the wild (a common practice, particularly in agriculture), or if an altered organism fell into the wrong hands.  More fuel was recently added to the fire with the development of a strain of bird flu, or H5N1, that can easily be passed from person to person and is just as lethal as the original strain.  The difficulty of passing the virus from one person to another played a large role in preventing the initial outbreak from becoming a global pandemic.  The exact way in which the virus was altered to allow easy transmission is unclear, but likely involves some sort of recombinant DNA technology that added a gene that allows the virus to be passed through the normal methods of transmission, such as inhaling airborne particles or touching contaminated surfaces.  Currently, the paper is under review for publication and is also being reviewed by a federal biological security board to ensure that it does not provide the means to creating the deadly virus to groups with nefarious purposes.