Designer Babies: Okay, I needed to squeeze this issue somewhere on the A to Z Challenge. There is a ethical and moral debate regarding Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis to screen embryos for genetic defects. Follow this through, and designer babies are not far off on the horizon.
This is a topic that is a mini-series just waiting to happen. And it will. So I will leave this very entertaining video clip for you to view. With great power comes great responsibility. Will we as a race properly steward our ever-increasing understanding of DNA?
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And yes, this is my new blog. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. Please take a moment to follow. Thanks!
Science is progressing all the time, the first Test Tube Baby Louise Brown though was born in a different part of the UK, her family live not far from where I was living, she was brought home to the family home when she was a few months old.
ReplyDeleteSo designer babies could most probably be a thing of the future.
Great topic.
Yvonne.
Perfect Josh was funny.
ReplyDeleteDesign babies so they will turn out smarter, disease free, less prone to violence... Sounds good, but it also sounds like playing God. Not to mention something else that only the people with money will be able to afford.
Ditto what the captain said!
Deletethe only thing Sci-Fi is making is genetic mutation and aliens. Designer babies should be taken up by someone :p Happy to connect. Do visit www.disha-doshi.blogspot.com I am following you via #AtoZChallenge
ReplyDeleteThe thought of designer babies really creeps me out, for the reasons Alex stated.
ReplyDeleteBut, if they are designed, they still have to develop the stamina to fight off illnesses as a child to enable them to survive to adulthood and yes, you will need money.
ReplyDeleteJO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
Some believe humanity will split off into two races, those who have the money to create a super race, and the rest of us who will remain "as is."
ReplyDeleteAren't we all designer babies to some extent (thinking of the evolutionary process and the survival of the fittest)?
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have my designer dinosaur (the herbivore kind) first. ;)
A question with a lot of answers, I think. Using genetics to put an end to certain diseases and conditions is awesome, especially if it can be accomplished before the baby is born. Using it to design what you believe to be the perfect combination of genes or choosing a Model G1, G2, etc., is a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carol above. However, designing babies seems like a bad idea to me. For me the beauty of people is in their imperfections. Jennifer a.k.a Urban Gypsy Girl
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question in bio ethics. Though I can understand why people would want to do it, I agree with what others were saying that there is beauty in imperfection.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Loved it! I guess you know something's missing: the effect of environment on that genetically engineered human. My guess is that will trump the engineering in the end, so I don't worry about the ethical considerations. But then, I'm not much for philosophizing. Mary at Mary A to Z
ReplyDeleteWhat's that line from Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park? You were so busy seeing if you could you didn't bother to stop and think if you should.
ReplyDeleteI'm betting that if something like this is done, it'll turn out not being as perfecting as some believe it could be. Life is simply not that simple :)
ReplyDeleteFascinating topic, and filled with lots of ethical issues.
ReplyDeleteThat designer baby stuff is scary. I love my children and couldn't have made them any better if I'd genetically-manipulated them.
ReplyDeleteThe more we interfere with what we know of as natural life, the more "god-like" responsibility we take on. I'm not very comfortable with us making decisions of that order, based on the faulty decision-making we are capable of.
ReplyDeleteWe're playing with fire when we interfere with the DNA of human beings and plant life. Someone once said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
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