Research in molecular genetics has made great advances in recent years that have wide practical applications. At the same time, it has been confirmed that not everything provided by modern genetic research is good and beneficial for humans. In particular, the discovery of the CRISPR/CAS9 method has made it possible to interfere very effectively with an individual’s hereditary characteristics, which has forced doctors, lawyers, ethicists, sociologists, theologians and representatives of churches to take a clear stance on the issue. The need for further scientific development requires the limits of research to be defined in order to avoid irreparable damage to the gene pool of humanity. The aim of this article is to examine the Magisterium of the Catholic Church in dealing with current bioethical issues arising from new scientific discoveries and to present Christian principles in the context of the possibilities offered by molecular editing using CRISPR/CAS9. The position of the Catholic Church on current developments in the field of biomedicine, even at a time of significant biomedical discoveries, is based on a holistic view on human life, its value and mission. In the deepest sense of the word, gene therapy should be a therapy for a specific disease of a given organism that respects the integral good of the human person. Clinical interventions aimed at improving the genome of an individual, and therefore of society, are unacceptable. Human life must not become the object of a eugenic positivist-materialist mentality. The teaching office of the Church promotes scientific development for the common good of humanity and, at the same time, strives to preserve the dignity and integrity of every human being.

Four Ostracoda species belonging to one family, Halocyprididae, were found in plankton material collected from the Scotia Sea and off the King George Island (the Antarctic) during the austral summer 1988/1989. Alacia belgicae, A. hettacra and Metaconchoecia isocheira were dominant making up to nearly 99% of all Ostracoda. The horizontal distribution was modified by variability of hydrological conditions. The higher concentrations of chlorophyll a and phytoplankton, which were found in the mid- and eastern parts of the Scotia Sea, coincided with the highest densities of Ostracoda. The influence of ice pack presence in the Scotia Sea upon the higher abundance of Ostracoda in the period investigated in comparison with the earlier studies was distinctive. A vertical distribution analysis confirmed that the three above-mentioned endemic species were most abundant in the mesopelagial. The population structures of A. belgicae, A. hettacra, and M. isocheira were analysed. The presence of the youngest stage of A. belgicae in the Scotia Sea confirmed the beginning of reproduction of this species at that time. The vertical distribution patterns of A. hettacra and M. isocheira populations were similar, although their age structures in comparison with A. belgicae differ significantly. This was consistent with their higher “mean population stage” values.

Nematodes occurring in the Antarctic bony fishes are reviewed, and keys based on morphological features are presented. Five valid species: Ascarophis nototheniae Johnston et Mawson, 1945; Cystidicola beatriceinsleyae (Holloway et Klewer, 1969); Dichelyne fraseri (Baylis, 1929); Hysterothylacium aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802); Paranisakiopsis weddelliensis Rocka, 2002, and one unnamed form, Capillaria (Procapillaria) sp., have been reported from the Antarctic teleosts. Also, larval anisakids, in the adult stage parasites of marine mammals, birds and fishes, occur commonly in the Antarctic and Subantarctic bony fishes. They belong to Contracaecum spp., Anisakis spp., Pseudoterranova decipiens (Krabbe, 1878) and Hysterothylacium aduncum.