Designer babies
Futurist Topics - Cloning
Should genetic engineering or human cloning be used to create designer babies?
Every parent wants a perfect child - but what happens when a parent wants a designer child - a child built to order, a pedigree child, a super-breed, super-human or just a baby with higher intelligence? Sex selection is just the start of the process, a form of designer life: parents deciding that only a certain type of perfectly normal child will be allowed to be born.
Latest research is turning all these dreams into reality, using technology developed originally for use in animals.
The simplest way to a designer child is human cloning: taking a cell from an adult and combining it with a human egg to make an identikit clone of the adult. This is the ultimate pedigree child with guaranteed genes. What is more, we know from tracking the life of the adult exactly what the designer baby will look like at the age of two, ten, twenty, thirty and so on. We know what diseases the designer person will be likely to catch. We know a lot about the personality profile of the growing child. Studies of identical twins reared apart show us just how much more than we think is influenced by our genes. Of course all identical twins are individuals who make their own choices, but our genetic makeup is extremely important in who we turn out to be. There are technical hurdles still perhaps to be overcome before human cloning will be a reality but the race is on.
Another more difficult way to make designer people, or a super race, is to take sperm or eggs, or cells in a developing embryo, and add new genes to them. This is called germ cell alteration. Although this sounds very difficult, designer animals are made routinely using genetic engineering. Indeed, official government statistics show that almost a million designer animals were made in UK laboratories alone, many as transgenic animals, combinations of more than one species - say a cat and a dog, or a mouse, fish and human (yes they have been made). Usually only a tiny amount of genetic material is added, enough to influence development.
A third way is to alter cells after birth. This is called somatic cell alteration. Here, the effects will die out when the person dies, and will not be passed onto a second generation of designer babies. This is unlike the germ cell alterations which will always be passed into every generation afterwards - perhaps for thousands of years with totally unknown consequences for the future of the human race.
The technology for all these things already exists - with the exception of a practical safe method of human cloning. However, they will remain costly, controversial, and risky to the child physically and perhaps psychologically.
Despite this, the lesson of history is that whatever can be done, will be done somewhere, sometime by someone and designer people will no doubt be made. When they are they will deserve the same love, care and emotional understanding as any other children - perhaps they will need a lot more.
We urgently need global agreement outlawing selection of children on the basis of sex, intelligence potential or any other characteristic in the normal range.
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I think that there are lots of Pros and Cons for Cloning.
The con's are that there are risks of abuse in the tchnology and health risks.
The Pros are That it could save lives and replace organs.
yea i think the world should have designer babies so we can have a powerful super army in the states. like whoa and then we can make super people everywhere like we could probably mix people with like a bird and then we can have super people that can fly...YEA!!
cloning is wrong its like all these scientists are trying to play god it needs to stop
i like the idea of cloning to make an army of super babies that look innocent but are really deadly ninjas
i'm all for this technology of designing your own children. but when it comes to mixing humans genitics with animals that's the part i'm against.
who wouldn't want a child that has a strong immune system?for example.
i agree with u one the immune system thing. & with the the human/animal spawn thing too. if scientists can create a gene that is specifically for a strong, healthy immune system, then why not give our children that advantage?
Thanks for your comments - I read every one with interest. The longer the comments, the more likely they are to be read by some of the 12 million different people who have used this site to find out more about their future. You will also find more resources on www.youtube.com - 2 million video views on future issues. Patrick Dixon - site author and Futurist.
lol i have an assignemtn on cloning :P it would be deeply appreciated if someone told me what affects it has on other organisms and itself
i'm doing an assignment also and i think cloning is not ethical because we as humans would be playing the part of god as we artificailly recreate life.
Who came up with this theory?!?!?! :-/
Because the cloning is the best for the future..........
I think genetic engineering would be fine, as long as they don't use it to create the perfect baby. Taking out genetic diseases (if that's possible) would enhance peoples lives in the future.
i got a report 2 do on cloning i don kno nun about cloning
I recently discovered that to my surprise, I am a clone.
As you can imagine, this has turned my life upside-down.
Unfortunatly it has had the same effect on my face. (at least I now know theres a reason for that)
However so far i have experienced no serious side effects!
well, for one you are NOT a clone. it is against the law to clone so you are lying. sorry to burst that bubble of yours. (:
is this wrong?
It seems fine so far....
The amazing system we enjoy today is that the society takes a great care of your baby. Your baby is its baby too. In that sense, good luck with your baby that is entrusted in your hand.
Cloning makes me sick. Its wrong and think of all tha casualities it will produce along the way? Casualities that are most likely to be innocent babies!
Hey so far i think im siding with you cause i think it is pretty cruel but i am typing an essay on it you wanna help me? I dont really understand how it works im totally confused
i agree cloning is wrong and unethical
I want my clone
Can someone help me
I agree with cloning, but I think that changing DNA would be wrong and greedy unless it is a proven technology and for the good of the human race.
