Combating Tuberculosis

In one article about the battle to cure tuberculosis, an ambitious scientist enthusiastically announces a plan to fight the terrible genetic disease, which kills around 2 million people a year. William R. Jacobs Jr., a professor of microbiology & immunology and of genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, developed a game plan that would be effective in combating tuberculosis. He announced that his plan would involve "knocking out" every gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the gene that causes the disease itself. In Jacobs lab, specialized transduction will be implemented by researchers to generate transducing phages that will be used to "knock out" the genes necessary for the bacterium to defend against antibiotics. Afterwards, the researchers will find out what else the genes are responsible for in order to more effectively combat the disease.
The scientist talks of using biotechnology as an overall weapon against the genetic disease tuberculosis. In addition, vaccine studies are also being mentioned with the non-pathogenic derivatives. The use of non-pathogenic derivatives of infectious diseases are positive steps toward the finding of a vaccine. Using the actual disease to infect a host in an attempt to create an immunity is a negative step, especially if the disease is difficult to cure. It is possible that if non-pathogenic (not disease causing) derivatives are used instead, research would be safer concerning the host because of another possibility of the existence of the counter agent within the non-pathogenic derivative. The counter agent can fight the biology of the infectious pathogen and possibly beat it. Lastly, certain methods of biotechnology are within the margin of morality, being that only organic contents are used for the research. Biotechnology begins to leak into the immoral realm with the use of inorganic contents or chemicals not derived from living organisms in an attempt to control biological functions. Biotechnology can still be immoral with the use of organic contents, but even more so by using unnatural methods to help cure diseases. The reason for this is because nothing inorganic should ever be used for long-term treatment of living organisms.