JCU bioethics 7: Two videos: controlling genetics, and what gives life meaning
Thu, Nov 5, 2026 · Week 11 · Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions)
Today's goal: Argue an assigned side of this question: Can humans be trusted with control over genetics? And: extinction, or life without culture?
This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.
Parallel case, not today's prompt: A public seed bank can edit a drought-tolerance gene into a staple crop, but the change may reduce genetic diversity if one engineered line replaces many local varieties.
Claim: The seed bank should run limited field trials while preserving local varieties and requiring ecological monitoring before broad release.
Evidence: The edited plants survive low-water conditions in greenhouse trials, but the test covers only one growing season. Local varieties carry different traits that may protect against pests, heat, or future diseases.
Reasoning: The potential food-security benefit is real, but a single successful trait does not justify replacing the wider genetic resource. Limited trials produce evidence while seed preservation keeps the decision reversible.
Strongest opposing point and response: Supporters may argue that drought is urgent and delay costs harvests. Urgency supports a faster monitored trial, not an irreversible replacement of diverse seeds before ecosystem and yield effects are measured.
My position after the debate: I support the claim only with the limits named above. A strong ethics argument states the value being protected, uses evidence rather than preference, answers the best counterargument, and names the condition that could change the decision.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: A complete debate worksheet that names the assigned side, gives three evidence-based arguments, answers the strongest opposing point, and ends with the student's own position.
- Write one defensible claim.
- Choose specific evidence that supports the claim.
- Explain the scientific rule that connects the evidence to the claim.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Submit one debate worksheet PDF in Schoology before the end of the block.
Turn in: Worked debate worksheet on a parallel case: editing crop seeds for drought tolerance
Go to Schoology to turn this in.
Submit one PDF. Put your first and last name in the document header. Name the file: FirstName LastName - Assignment Title - YYYY-MM-DD.pdf.
Open Schoology PDF upload helpIf you cannot get in, see Mr. Mendoza. Do not skip the work.
Claim ceiling: Today's evidence supports a classroom claim about today's lesson. It cannot prove causation, diagnose a real patient, or justify action outside this room.
One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.
Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.
It builds this reusable test skill: Selecting evidence that directly tests an ethical claim.
- Name the concept or data pattern being tested.
- Cross out choices that violate that rule or the evidence.
- Justify the best remaining choice before checking the answer.