What is designer babies?

Designer baby used to refer to a baby from a genetically screened embryo for set of traits that closest match those customized by their parent's wishes during the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process. In the IVF procedure, often many embryos are made for implantation to increase survival rate in the process. With technological advances, it becomes possible to screen the embryo for traits in addition to health to guide the implant outcome favoring parent bias.

The Natural Process: How to Build a Human,

by Eleanor Lutz at TabletopWhale.com

Beyond genetic screening and onto possible alteration
As seen in the animated gif above, technology plays a role to obtain designer babies by pre-screen the embryo. Yet as technology continues to move forward, the baby's gender, appearance, intelligence, disease, and personality can be theoretically possible to be altered by biotechnology. This is designer babies who are genetically modified. The embryo, instead of screened, has been involved in some level of alteration. The term "designer babies" used to only refer to genetically screened babies is now also applied to genetically modified possibility that technology is able to deliver but many ethical and safety related questions are arising about whether genetic alteration should be allowed and the consequences.




Sources:
https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30742774
http://www.futureforall.org/bioengineering/designer-babies.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12141931

Pictures:
http://catholiclane.com/wp-content/uploads/designer-baby.jpg
http://tabletopwhale.com/2014/12/16/how-to-build-a-human.html

Inheritable Gene Modification- Pros and Cons

Customization of a baby

Inheritable gene modification is a modification of an inheritable genetic information so that the future generations can inherit the modified traits based on the altered gene. Scientists have been dedicated in studying gene modification because of three reasons: explore the ways of how an altered gene can fend off certain diseases, have certain animals create essential proteins, and learn how modified genes can help or harm an animal. There are various ideas about inheritable gene modification, especially when it comes to customizing a baby.

Pros
Some support such process because it would prevent the parents from passing down a disease such as Tay-Sachs, a nerve cell destroying disorder. Ceasing the inheriting spread of similar disease like these will allow humans to survive longer and become much healthier, which will allow them to contribute to the economy more effectively. This will improve the world's food supply and other economic and healthcare related matters, and countries will become more advanced and developed than now.



It can also allow the baby to possibly live longer, be more athletic, more intelligent, and incorporate with any other beneficial traits. This will allow parents to have a better control of their children in what they what their child to be like.

Cons
Along with all the possible benefits, there are also some who criticize the modification of nature's creativity. The process is irreversible, and the parents need to be forever grateful with what they have chosen. Soon enough, many genetically modified people will be treated as "objects," since they were modified and possible look alike with many others.


A common idea is that babies are not born for "show." Humans should accept what Mother Nature has created for them and not tamper with generations of inherited genetic traits hat might have other yet to be discovered benefits.


Sources:
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-there-be-designer-babies
http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=287
http://nlcatp.org/8-vital-pros-and-cons-of-genetically-modified-corn/
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/tay-sachs-disease

Pictures:
http://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/designer-baby-840x420.jpg?6055c3
http://designerbabies.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/4/3/2043707/3931696.jpg
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/media/images/80325000/jpg/_80325810_g3400060-human_cloning-spl(1).jpg

Should the Government allow Designer Babies?

What are "Designer Babies"?
For couples with infertility issues, in-vitro fertilization has often been their last hope to deliver the joy they hope for, and in recent decade, further advances have allowed couples to choose gender and even some traits thanks to the ability to genetically screen and select the embryo for implantation. However armed with the Human Genome Project data and more precision technological advances, there are moves toward DNA editing, or genetic modification. The term "designer babies" is being applied without distinction to genetic screening vs. genetic modification of babies. An experiment by a cloning scientist in 2013 raises the question of genetically modified "designer babies" which now needs to be addressed for all the implications associated with modification at the genetic level.

Technology Racing ahead of Ethics, Safety, and Law
In the days of embryo screening, there are no gene tampering, cutting, or piecing together. Embryo itself is respected and merely screened. With genetic modification, laboratories are making break-through, but yet again the long term ramifications unknown. The only gatekeeper is the government who should not allow designer babies until the debate can be resolved with hard data. It is an unnatural process, potentially with tragic impact if things go awry.
Humans make mistakes, and genetically modified designer babies is not a mistake-free process. One mistake will cause destruction of the baby, call forth moral and ethical questions, emotional trauma, with wasted money being the least of consequences. The safety of future offspring of these genetically modified "designer babies" is also questionable. Answers rely on real experiment but can the end reality be afforded is yet another unknown.

Case of genetically rectifying embryo 

from parent with known faulty gene 

Defining Parenthood

Even while the procedure would eventually be proven safe or allowed, the traditional family definition would be challenged. In the case where designer babies are done for medical reasons, how would the custody issue be defined and resolved would be a legal maze.








Sources:
http://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30742774
http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-there-be-designer-babies
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/designer-babies-ethical/
http://pitjournal.unc.edu/article/prospect-designer-babies-it-inevitable

Pictures:
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000008927/polls_BabyClonesWhiteBackground.jpg_5900_542069.jpeg_poll_xlarge.jpeg
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/the_dubious_ethics_of_creating_children_with_three_genetic_parents

Human Genome Project

How The Thought Began
In the 1980s, decoding the human genome was discussed in academic circle, and the Department of Energy (DOE) was interested in obtaining data to protect gene from radiation, i.e. how radiation-caused genetic mutation be avoided. Funding was approved by Congress in 1988 for the two agencies, National Institute of Health (NIH) and DOE to head up the task, and the Human Genome Project (HGP) was born in 1990.

Original Purpose: Establishing Genome Knowledge of a "Hypothetical" Human 
The original goal of the Human Genome Project (HGP) was to create a resource of reference genome that represents humanity, since the gene information is from more than one person to form this big gene library. Although the library represents a hypothetical human, the determination of the DNA sequence of the entire human genome is still beneficial because the variance to a real human would be statistically small. After identification of all the genes in the human genome, this project established an important baseline that was previously non-existent and created a foundation to be build upon to benefit other areas of research.

Opening Possibilities
HGP has made it possible to identify protein coding, disease coding, deeper understanding of cancer, tracing outbreaks, etc.. HGP enables more targeted research. HGP also makes it possible to sequence a person's gene. By combining the knowledge, it becomes easier to identify and possibly treat rare genetic diseases.
Agriculture and livestock could now be bred so that they become stronger and more resistant. Other examples of benefits include medicinal purposes. Molecular medicine will allow quicker and more detailed tests by using gene therapy. These tests relating to gene therapy will be useful in replacing defective genes in humans.

Sources:
http://www.genome.gov/12011239
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/science/the-human-genome-project-then-and-now.html?_r=0
https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/genetics/sect5.htm
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/hgp/goals
https://www.genome.gov/11511417
https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~mcclean/plsc431/students99/lee.htm

Pictures:
http://live.indivisible.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/human-genome-project.jpg
http://naturfagvg1st.wikispaces.com/Genom+og+genkartlegging

Should the Government allow Gene Therapy Research?

Unknown impact from shortcutting evolution
Since the initial gene therapy trial 20 years ago, there have only been 1,700 clinical trials of mixed results. Compare that with other more established cross-human procedures such as skin grafting and blood transfusion, it is easy to see why the government should not allow gene therapy. Skin grafting has been in practice as far back as 3,000 years and established as a standard medical procedure half a century ago. Yet, cases of rejection in the well established bio-transplant procedures remains common. For even the well know procedures, the rejection consequence can even be severe enough to be out of control.
At the delicate genetic level, tests are much harder to be conducted, and gene therapy in these limited number of trials has not been proven to be completely safe, and can have very serious health risks, such as cancer, toxicity, inflammation, and many more undiscovered risks since the technology is still relatively new.

Ray of hope for terminal conditions (video)

Despite the risks, gene therapy does shine a ray of hope for terminally ill conditions and those currently non-curable born disease or cancer. In those medical cases, reaching back to complete health is not so much a goal but rather life extension, and hopefully by extending the life human body's own miracle process can have a chance to kick in. Encouraging news as reported from Discovery News have happened back in 1990 in a young girl with naturally born disorder and diabetic dog.

Leave the door ajar
Genetics in nature have evolved over a long natural process to reach a delicate balance. Not everything is thoroughly researched on an abrupt change, since not all trial outcomes are favorable. Although it may be able to cure an inherited disease, it may have different effect that is still unknown. For hopeless conditions, gene therapy does provide a ray of hope but must be undertaken after deep evaluation and great care. Government laws should not close the door of hope, but also need to ensure laws have no loopholes to enable abusive practice. This would be disastrous since it is one mistake fixing another, which would make the second mistake harder to cure.


Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23618815
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6753699
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy?show=all#safety
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLI1Gfb0ynw

Pictures:
http://www.engage-science.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/shi_julie_graphic.jpg

Gene manipulation

Genetic engineering is a process in which a DNA strand is manipulated and added into a different organism.

Genes can be selectively cut at specific parts of the DNA. Proteins used to separate these parts are called restriction enzymes. This ability allows us to specifically isolate and analyze the part of DNA that was selected to be cut. Restrictions enzymes are used in gene splicing, where there are two DNA strands to begin with, and one end is cut to be replaced onto the other.

A method used to separate mixed up DNA, RNA, and proteins based on size is called gel electrophoresis. During this process, the different sections are put into a gel, which creates an electrical field that seperates the samples. The shorter molecules will move faster through the gel, while the longer ones slower. This process can help clone a DNA, as well as finding a duplicate of the DNA such as for solving criminal cases.

These different processes in genetic engineering result in transgenic organisms, which are animals with altered genes. Common examples of transgenic organisms are GMO foods such as corn and soybean, which have been genetically modified in order to fight pests and weeds on their own.





Sources:
http://knowgenetics.org/transgenic-organisms/
https://cellularphysiology.wikispaces.com/Gel+Electrophoresis
http://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/gel-electrophoresis-286
http://agbiosafety.unl.edu/basic_genetics.shtml
http://slideplayer.com/slide/5697522/
http://www.genesolutions.com/page8.html

Pictures:
http://biotechlearn.org.nz/var/biotechlearn/storage/images/themes/from_genes_to_genomes/images/restriction_enzyme/4713-1-eng-AU/restriction_enzyme_large.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Agarose-Gelelektrophorese.png
http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/gmofacts/images/1/1d/634155799840312500GFP_transgenic_mouse_4.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121216045652
http://ic-nutrition-hot-topics.wikispaces.com/Are+Genetically+Modified+Foods+Safe+to+Eat%3F

Genetic technology in humans and agriculture

The two primary uses of genetic technology are used in research for humans and agriculture.

Humans
Genetic technology in humans can be used to cure genetic diseases. However, though the cure will only affect that particular child, the gene has enter the actual human gene pool population by passing onto the future generation. The creation of Designer Babies also relates to genetic engineering in humans. By basing off the Human Genome Project which found all DNA sequences in the human genome, scientists are able to select the certain sequences that matches with the traits that the  parents desire. Although this seems as if humans can become a super-species with these technological advances, there has been many questions arising of whether such processes should be allowed in humans especially while theoretically sound, it is not mistake-free.

Agriculture
Humans have genetically engineered crops for many different reasons. To create more food, crops have been manipulated so that there will be higher and more effective yields. Some crops such as corn have been modified so that it has insect and herbicide resistance. Since most crops are grown for export, scientists have also modified crops for delayed ripening, that way it can be transported for longer distances without rotting.

Case Study: Papaya saved (video)

An example of making fruit insect resistant is the Hawaiian papaya story. The intervention of technology to combat the virus that crashed the papaya crop saved the farmers and papaya industry. However a glaring omission is: what is the guideline to call the resulting papaya safe?

Economics is driving current decision process

Even though genetic technological break-through may all seem like wonderful applications from economic perspectives, the technology is quite new and other environmental and health risks has not been discovered yet. Cross-species gene mix never possible before is happening. Evolution is being abruptly fast-forwarded without knowledge of long term consequence.

Sources:
http://www.infoplease.com/cig/biology/dna-technology-applications.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/food-agriculture/our-failing-food-system/genetic-engineering-agriculture#.VpHpXko76rU
https://www.probe.org/human-genetic-engineering/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G-yUuiqIZ0

Pictures:
http://www.futurehumanevolution.com/wp-content/themes/twentyeleven/images/headers/future-human-evolution-human-genetic-engineering-microbiology-fundamentals.jpg
http://www.scienceclarified.com/photos/genetic-engineering-2824.jpg