DISSCUSION QUESTION: After reading Issue 9 in Taking Sides, consider whether or not you would support the legalization of germline genomic editing in humans. You should consider both benefits of this type of action in terms of human health as well as potential consequences to human development and evolution.
Discussion question answers should be thoughtfully written and citations are often appropriate. However, because these are meant to be relatively short writings, I do not expect you to include a formal bibliography. It is sufficient to simply cite the author/first author, the name of the publication it was published in, and the date it was printed (or volume and pages). Place this information inside parentheses at the end of the statement or paragraph in which the reference was cited.
Basically, you want the reader to have sufficient information to be able to look up the reference herself if she so desires. The citations themselves will not count towards your word counts. You are expected to present thoughtful, researched responses to the questions posted. Your answers should provide other students with ideas to discuss further or challenge. However, you should present your arguments concisely. Therefore, your answers should be between 500 and 700 words in length.
Your answers should provide a thoughtful analysis of the question posed. It should reflect your effort to review the assigned material (and, when directed, additional material of your choosing) and synthesize a reasonable response that thoroughly answers the question. In order to earn maximum points in this category, you should reference the appropriate reading material. You may choose to include quoted material from other sources to convey arguments. However, you should always expound upon the arguments you present, rather than just quote another author without providing your own interpretation and perspective. (Quoted material will not count towards the total word count for the purposes of the Length of content category.)
Your answers to questions each week should demonstrate to the reader that you understand the issues being discussed in the question, and that you can reasonably and appropriately apply foundational principles of biology to the question being answered. To earn maximum points in this category, you should discuss appropriate biological concepts in your answer. You should correctly convey the meaning of any concepts you discuss. Your answer should adequately explain how each concept bolsters or undermines a given position you are discussing in your answer. Please keep in mind that the file attached is ‘Issue 9 in Taking Sides’.
