http://gizmodo.com/british-researchers-get-approval-to-genetically-modify-1756345810
I cant help but think of the movie Gattaca.
I cant help but think of the movie Gattaca.
Designer babies 1 set closer in the UK
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anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
Ah yes..."Taking control of our own evolution". Well, no...this is "engineering". Nothing naturally selective about it.
I like the implications for possibly eliminating genetic mutations that cause disorders that create intense hardships for that baby's life and their caretakers. And to create more gingers in the world.
anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
I don't. I say let nature take its course. The perpetual search for a perfect, genetic model of humanity is exactly what will do us in as a species. I firmly believe that. Changing things with some weird idea that we know the future is vain. I hear people say all day "This will happen, so will this if we don't do this!!" Horseshit. No one knows a god-damned thing about the future. At all. Anyone that does is delusional, or from the future themselves and I find that unlikely, much less...hypotheticals that should drive legislation to remove a person's sovereignty over their own body, regardless of genetic composition. We could be wiped out by an asteroid next week and what value would that give to all of our "progress"? This exactly what Germany started to do in the 1930s with Heimler. The next step is mandatory sterilization of people that carry genetic disorders that CAN be passed on (but not always). That's stepping over the line. The second we remove natural selection from evolution it becomes engineering. If nature hasn't done it yet, no need to meddle. Engineering can cause more trouble than it may resolve, as we have learned with food...
Whether humans are cognizant of it or not...there is a purpose for disease and genetic deformity. At the least we learn from it and can celebrate a diverse society that has a place for people with special needs.
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I'm not saying to design a person who is free of genetic disorders that are more annoying than anything like ADHD or color blindness, I'm saying to stop things like severe Down Syndrome, sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, Prader–Willi syndrome, Hemophilia, etc etc- genetic disorders that shorten lifespans, wreck havoc on a family's finances, very much lower the quality of life for the affected individual, add to the concern of who will take care of this person who can't take care of themselves once the parents die, etc.
If we were actually allowing nature to take its course, then yes there would be a purpose for overall genetic disorders in our evolution- but we aren't allowing those with negative genetic disorders to just die, which means those bad mutations get passed along. So the solution is either take away all modern medicine that helps those with genetic problems live on and pass their genes along, which I doubt will ever happen, or find alternate ways of reducing the amount of genetic disorders that happen.
That's why this is interesting to me, not that my problems (chronic asthma, life-threatening allergies) affect my quality of life as much as some of the genetic disorders I've listed but if there was a way of making sure that any future kids wouldn't have to suffer passing out from not being able to breathe (asthma) or being terrified at birthday parties that something that could kill you gets mixed in with your food, I would absolutely love options to modify any genetic abnormalities that could lead to a worse quality of life. (I don't believe the next step is mandatory sterilization of anyone who carries, say, a dormant gene for a disorder.)
Again, I'm only looking at how interesting it could be to be able to rid ourselves of negative genetic mutations that don't serve the purpose of advancing us forward in evolution or add to the diversity of the human race.
what if developing these tools of "genetic engineering" IS a next step of evolution for the human species?
To be fair, I'm also being selfish because if we were to let nature "take its course", I wouldn't have made it past a few months old. Or maybe that first day since I was born with an allergic reaction. So I'm totally for finding ways of getting rid of these disorders. (and yeah overpopulation blah blah)
Your mom had no problems with my genitalia! /@Barrister
Those life threatening allergies/disorders will just be the start. After a few years of that, picking the height/weight, color of the eyes, and size of the nose will quickly follow.
Seriously, go watch the movie Gattaca.
anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
You made it past a few months old because we have the ability to care for those conditions and manage it based on people that had similar that lived before you. We learned. Maybe 50 years ago we couldn't do the same. I'll meet you in the middle there...
anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
Evolution and engineering are the anti-thesis of each other in biology. It is the difference between a mule and a horse. In biology, it is pretty fundamental. A species is not considered naturally "evolved" or "evolving" when it is manipulated by an outside intelligence. A mule cannot reproduce and is the product of human engineering. It is not, in any way, a product of evolution. Dogs are another example as they are the product of guided breeding, a form of engineering. Dogs would not exist without our manipulation of the canus lupus genome, no matter how primitive the manipulation may be. They have become a sub-species, canus lupus familiaris, with very little ability for environmental adaptation if they suddenly become released into the wild. They have become symbiotic.
That said, just because we "can" does not mean we should. I'm still seeing a large number of people in the world that are born just fine. The end-product of genetic manipulation is solely the homogenization of the human genome. What if a severely autistic child that is blind and could barely hear, that would be eliminated per your idea of the future... is someone as a mathematical savant, designs an endless energy source?
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anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
In addendum...if you were to resolve the genetic imperfection of, let's say, sickle cell...then you would doom a large part of the central African continent as that has naturally become a defense against certain blood-borne illnesses from certain viruses and bacteria, which explains it's large representation in many African Americans.
While I love that movie, I don't think it will get that far within our lifetime. And I personally don't think it'll become a thing, but who knows, I could be eating my words in a hundred years.
anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
And I myself...we could be greeted by a hyper-evolved sentient energy-being that can 3d-print at the sub-atomic level tomorrow and it can say "SUCKERSSS!!!!"
You're incredibly naive if you think it wont go that far. People with money and power will certainly invest in it.
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