Week 4: Anatomy and Controversy

In this week’s lecture about the human body and medical technology, one unifying factor between each of the major advances in anatomy and medicine appears to be its controversial nature. This is no more prominent than in the growing discontent with the Hippocratic Oath; many feel that it is outdated and does not fit well with our large world influenced by a myriad of social, economic and political elements (Tyson).  

 

Performing an MRI Scan

Of course, this is not always the case. Many procedures are necessary to save lives and fulfill the Hippocratic Oath to one’s best ability, including the CT scan, the MRI and plastic surgery. However, there are many who would abuse or overuse this technology, knowing the many political and ethical factors that would accompany it. For example, excess use of the CT scan, or CAT scan, will cause a radiation buildup within the body (radiologyinfo.org) which has the potential to generate malignant and benign mutations (DNALC Blogs).

Warwick's Robotic Hand

Even amazing advances in technology and robotics are controversial; Warwick’s Project Cyborg, while amazing, intrudes upon the ethics of human testing. He is able to essentially run his entire building without moving a muscle (kevinwarwick.com). Warwick’s work on robotics has begun experimental trials on humans and many question the ethics of human testing.

From my experience, science is composed of a series of trade-offs. A large portion of modern biology utilizes model organisms, such as the rat, in order to continue research into biomedical topics (Genome). Consequently, all of these model organisms are killed, harvested or caged for the entirety of their lives, unable to live as they would in the wild. Regardless, the benefits from researching with model organisms far outweigh the ethical concern for their well-being. We do save many more lives in performing such research, such as the development of many vaccines and cures.  Personally, I believe that some ethics can and should be bypassed if there is a substantial benefit to the well-being of the community.

 

Common Model Organisms

"Body CT (CAT Scan)." Body CT (CAT Scan). 23 Sept. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodyct>.

"Cyborg 1.0." Cyborg 1.0. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kevinwarwick.com/Cyborg1.htm>.

"Radiation Can Cause DNA Mutations, 3D Animation with Narration :: DNA Learning Center." DNALC Blogs. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.dnalc.org/view/15529-Radiation-can-cause-DNA-mutations-3D-animation-with-narration.html>.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

"What Are 'model Organisms'?" Genome. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_wtd020803.html>.