Biotechnology especially in genetics, the human genome project and the greater understanding of how DNA and genes effect living organisms can be considered the greatest advancement of human knowledge in centuries. The relatively recent in depth knowledge of genetics has so many applications medically but some of them are controversial. Genes aren't simply physical characteristics passed down from generation to generation, they are literally certain parts of one's DNA (made up of base pairs) that is a recipe for a certain protein that serves a function in ones body. Many diseases can be caused or prevented by the function and expression of certain proteins.
One example is the HIV virus, HIV is an epidemic and a pandemic that has effected basically the entire world and is has an almost 45% death rate. We know from genetic population analysis that some people are resistant to HIV most commonly in Scandinavian countries. It has been found that the HIV virus depends on a receptor on cells called CCR5delta32, and in the case of HIV resistant individuals they have a genetic or random mutation (any sort of change in DNA) that causes the absence, disfunction or blockage of this receptor. Genetic analysis allowed us to develop a cure for this disease by taking drugs that block the receptors so the HIV virus cannot enter into cells. This cure has been unsuccessful because of rapid mutation of HIV strains but cures are just one application of the new knowledge of genetics.
The applications of this technology allows us to insert and removes genes via transposable elements, example would be the fluorescent green gene in jelly fish. It can be said that in the near future adding desired genes and being able to know all of the diseases or conditions that one is genetically predisposed to. However is this ethical? A world where these things are possible is not far away and was visited in the 1997 film "Gattaca" the video is a trailer for Gattaca. We also see controversy surrounding genetically engineered food.
Allers, Kristina, et al. "Evidence for the cure of HIV infection by CCR5Δ32/Δ32 stem cell transplantation." Blood 117.10 (2011): 2791-2799. Feschotte, Cédric, Ning Jiang, and Susan R. Wessler. "Plant transposable elements: where genetics meets genomics." Nature Reviews Genetics 3.5 (2002): 329-341.
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