78 replies to this topic

[shrooma]

Spore, on 19 February 2013 - 02:03 PM, said:

I think its a bad idea. Genetically modified anything is whole-heartedly unnatural. One of the main reasons why there are so many diseases is becauce of modified food etc.. If its not natural then theres no point in continuing with the process.

_
we are ALL genetically modified.
our genes have, over time, modified us from single-celled organisms, into the fine specimens of humanity we see today, and if genetic engineering will eradicate women with hideous, pumped-up ducklips, victoria beckhams, and gingers*, then i'm all for it!!
.
(*humour.)

[shrooma]

Spore, on 19 February 2013 - 02:03 PM, said:

If its not natural then theres no point in continuing with the process.

_
not natural like what? eating cooked food? wearing clothes? metal alloys? plastics?
there are many things we take for granted that a tiger would consider unnatural, but that doesn't make them wrong.

Edited by shrooma, 19 February 2013 - 07:56 PM.

[shrooma]

glorybebe, on 19 February 2013 - 04:26 PM, said:

IMO, absolutely not.  I don't agree with any way shape or form of Genetically Modified food or humans.

_
by that rationale, if you could genetically modify corn to grow in desert conditions, and save millions of people from starving to death, you wouldn't? on principle?

glorybebe, on 19 February 2013 - 04:26 PM, said:

IMO, absolutely not.  I don't agree with any way shape or form of Genetically Modified food or humans.

_
by that rationale, if you could genetically modify corn to grow in desert conditions, and save millions of people from starving to death, you wouldn't? on principle?

[Rlyeh]

freetoroam, on 19 February 2013 - 06:17 PM, said:

And can they genetically modify the minds?
The problem in our society is not the way people look, its the minds of the mad which is our problems!

The mind is influenced by the brain, so yes to a certain degree. Though some people wouldn't know what to do with it if they had one.

[Detective Mystery 2013]

Spore, on 19 February 2013 - 02:03 PM, said:

I think its a bad idea. Genetically modified anything is whole-heartedly unnatural. One of the main reasons why there are so many diseases is becauce of modified food etc.. If its not natural then theres no point in continuing with the process.

You raise a good point. We don't know or understand the possible ramifications down the road when we modify genes. Will short-term gain lead to long-term pain if we alter events that are better left to nature without artificial human interference that may disrupt the cycle of life? It could be like the admonition to not pluck one blade of grass if you should ever get the chance to travel through time.

[Detective Mystery 2013]

Taun, on 19 February 2013 - 06:34 PM, said:

Another way to look at it...

Let us assume for the sake of arguement that genetic engineering actually works as advertised...

I'm sure the process would not be cheap and/or readily available to everyone... So we would end up with the people with the most cash/influence designing their unborn children to be 'perfect' - i.e. ultra handsome, ultra beautiful, faster, stronger, smarter, etc...

These 'super children' (when adult) would dominate the culture especially in sports, entertainment, finance, business, science... Where would 'ordinary' children get a chance?... Ditch diggers, port-a-potty emptiers, dish washers and laborers... Yes someone has to do all those... but it would forever split the species along not only financial/social lines but genetic as well...

You think it's hard to get ahead now... Wait until this happens and see what a normal persons chances would be...

Your post brings "Brave New World" to mind with its categories of human beings. I can see your post coming to pass if society takes things to extremes. We catch glances and glimpses of it in our ordinary world. We already see how genetics are destinies in some ways. For instance, it's no coincidence that Peyton and Eli Manning have the same father with the same talent. You see examples of this all of the time, but my example was a dramatic one. However, we learn from history that this is a dangerous road that can lead to all sorts of destructive ends. We should tread lightly. We should acknowledge that eugenics and genocide are possible in our day and age too. Regular citizens were forcefully sterilized in the USA in the 1970s. That's not too long ago, and there likely were other cases that took place after that. The scary thing is that your post applies to certain aspects of society now, as can be seen by the growing gap between economic classes.

[bmk1245]

Apparently, possibility to eradicate hereditary illnesses is unspeakable evil...

Eerie dark ages... Potatoes will cause all imaginable diseases.

[green_dude777]

I think the option should be available for those who want to utilize it.  I personally don't care what each individual's belief on it is, I would use the service in a heartbeat.

After a few generations of people utilizing the service, the others would catch on.  Someone already mentioned it, but the movie 'Gattaca' covers this very scenario.

[AsteroidX]

I was picturing Star wars Stormtroopers myself. Once they genetical engineer the perfect human then clone it enmasse and blamo a ready made army. Take away its free will and rights and blamo. Star Wars.

It wouldnt be the first time we developed reality out of sci-fi.

[freetoroam]

green_dude777, on 20 February 2013 - 09:02 PM, said:

I think the option should be available for those who want to utilize it.  I personally don't care what each individual's belief on it is, I would use the service in a heartbeat.

After a few generations of people utilizing the service, the others would catch on.  Someone already mentioned it, but the movie 'Gattaca' covers this very scenario.

Who are the people this will be available to? the rich who will not be using it for the "right' reasons, but will use it to have a child with a certain eye and hair colour.
How do we know a healthy couple will have an unhealthy child until that child is born? or is this only going to be available to people who have a history of illnesses, if that is the case then they will either have to be rich to be able to afford it or be happy to be a guinea pig and even then there are no certainties.

Edited by freetoroam, 20 February 2013 - 09:12 PM.

[Hasina]

AsteroidX, on 20 February 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

I was picturing Star wars Stormtroopers myself. Once they genetical engineer the perfect human then clone it enmasse and blamo a ready made army. Take away its free will and rights and blamo. Star Wars.

It wouldnt be the first time we developed reality out of sci-fi.

The first time?
http://www.thinkwith...the-future.html

Edited by Hasina, 20 February 2013 - 09:40 PM.

[green_dude777]

freetoroam, on 20 February 2013 - 09:10 PM, said:

Who are the people this will be available to? the rich who will not be using it for the "right' reasons, but will use it to have a child with a certain eye and hair colour.
How do we know a healthy couple will have an unhealthy child until that child is born? or is this only going to be available to people who have a history of illnesses, if that is the case then they will either have to be rich to be able to afford it or be happy to be a guinea pig and even then there are no certainties.

Available to everyone.  As to the rest of the post, the idea is to prevent the uncertainty of having a healthy child, attempting to bring the probability of an unhealthy child to 0%.  As far as the 'right' reasons, if someone wants a child with a certain hair color or eye color, more power to them.  Not sure why that would be an effective argument against.... Is it a concern to humanity how many people have what color of hair?

The cosmetics are minor, and couldn't care less about people designing the cosmetics of their offspring. I'm more focused on the degenerative diseases being eliminated from the gene pool, enhancing our bodies to fight off infectious diseases, increasing our regenerative abilities, maxing out our intellectual capabilities, and so forth.

On the flip side, if people want to keep it 'natural', go for it.  Just don't deprive someone else of something because you don't want to use it.

[bmk1245]

freetoroam, on 20 February 2013 - 09:10 PM, said:

Who are the people this will be available to? the rich who will not be using it for the "right' reasons, but will use it to have a child with a certain eye and hair colour.
[...]

Every single thing can be used in wrong way (take toothpick - excellent weapon to pick the eye, with the credit card you can slice someones throat, etc, etc, etc).

freetoroam, on 20 February 2013 - 09:10 PM, said:

[...]
How do we know a healthy couple will have an unhealthy child until that child is born? [...]

What is healthy? Any of us have hundreds of "faulty/bad" genes. In the long turn it may give bad results. And how we will know couple will have an unhealthy child until that child is born? Screening.

freetoroam, on 20 February 2013 - 09:10 PM, said:

[...] or is this only going to be available to people who have a history of illnesses, if that is the case then they will either have to be rich to be able to afford it or be happy to be a guinea pig and even them there are no certainties.

Computers were very expensive few decades ago. Nowadays you can have pretty good PC of $1000 (and 10 year old PC you won't buy for $100). New technologies are always expensive, with time it will become cheap.

[freetoroam]

green_dude777, on 20 February 2013 - 09:32 PM, said:

Available to everyone.  As to the rest of the post, the idea is to prevent the uncertainty of having a healthy child, attempting to bring the probability of an unhealthy child to 0%.  As far as the 'right' reasons, if someone wants a child with a certain hair color or eye color, more power to them.  Not sure why that would be an effective argument against.... Is it a concern to humanity how many people have what color of hair?

The cosmetics are minor, and couldn't care less about people designing the cosmetics of their offspring. I'm more focused on the degenerative diseases being eliminated from the gene pool, enhancing our bodies to fight off infectious diseases, increasing our regenerative abilities, maxing out our intellectual capabilities, and so forth.

On the flip side, if people want to keep it 'natural', go for it.  Just don't deprive someone else of something because you don't want to use it.

I am skeptical about it working. Which at the moment, we do not know if it will and i think it will take a few generations to see if it does.
We are finding out today that many GM foods are not as "healthy" as some people thought.
There have been a few "experiments" with drugs too which have turned out not to be as safe as we were told.

But i can not see this as being cheap and think only those who can afford it will take it up, but not until the poorer people have been used as guinea pigs first.
I would not be surprised at all if it is going on right now behind closed doors as we type.

[AsteroidX]

My child is perfect and non GM.

Edited by AsteroidX, 20 February 2013 - 09:43 PM.