Babies to be genetically sequenced from birth

[Still Waters]

Babies will be genetically sequenced from birth within our lifetime so early treatment can be started for a host of diseases, experts have claimed.

Prof Anne Bowcock, Professor of Cancer Genomics at Imperial College, claims genetic screening of newborns will be the future of medicine and will be widely available within the next 30 to 40 years.

http://www.telegraph...ims-expert.html

[green_dude777]

Although I'm sure the fundamentalists will fight tooth and nail against this idea, I think it's great.

This may effectively end all degenerative diseases.

[Neognosis]

My girlfriend is pregnant, and at 3 months in, they were able to look at the baby's chromosomes and tell us if the baby had any genetic abnormalities FROM MY GIRLFRIEND'S BLOOD.

[+joc]

Although I'm sure the fundamentalists will fight tooth and nail against this idea, I think it's great.

This may effectively end all degenerative diseases.

Then again...it may effectively end all birth.

[Neognosis]

Right.. because being able to look at a fetus's genome will stop people form having children.....

FFS

[+joc]

Right.. because being able to look at a fetus's genome will stop people form having children.....

FFS

Depending on the outcome it may very well be the only factor in whether a couple has the baby or aborts it. Can you imagine a world without Steven Hawking? Do you seriously think he would have ever been born if this 'technology' had read his future?

[Neognosis]

Depending on the outcome it may very well be the only factor in whether a couple has the baby or aborts it.

You didn't say that. What you said was this:

Then again...it may effectively end all birth.

"all birth."

That's what you said.

If that's not what you meant, then you should say so.

Can you imagine a world without Steven Hawking? Do you seriously think he would have ever been born if this 'technology' had read his future?

I don't know.

If our child had downs syndrome, we were going to raise it. Lots of people do.... but I understand the debate.

I also understand that though very smart, Stephen Hawking is only a person, and there are lots of able bodied people that are as smart of stephen hawking. But these are decisions that parents will have to make, and I think that they have the right to understand what might be happening with their child. We wanted to know and be prepared and be able to make certain decisions.

[+joc]

You didn't say that. What you said was this:

"all birth."

That's what you said.

If that's not what you meant, then you should say so.

I don't know.

If our child had downs syndrome, we were going to raise it. Lots of people do.... but I understand the debate.

I also understand that though very smart, Stephen Hawking is only a person, and there are lots of able bodied people that are as smart of stephen hawking. But these are decisions that parents will have to make, and I think that they have the right to understand what might be happening with their child. We wanted to know and be prepared and be able to make certain decisions.

I may be righter than I even know. How about this for a future scenario: Thirty years from now...a TV ad: Get that perfect blonde, blue eyed girl you've always wanted...through, genome testing we can guarantee you 100% that your child will be perfect...order today...and we will throw in a complete digitized genetically proven mutation special...don't want blue hair...want that Antarctic Ocean Green that everyone's talking about>>we can do that too...forget braces...genetically perfected palatial honing will give your new kid the best smile on the block...and for a limited time only...a surrogate will deliver your baby for you and you can pick it up a mere 48 hours after our birthing center calls you. Order today and we'll throw in a free tanning portrait...just dial in the color of skin you want your child to have and the sun and our geneticists will do the rest....

[Neognosis]

Thirty years from now...a TV ad: Get that perfect blonde, blue eyed girl you've always wanted...through, genome testing we can guarantee you 100% that your child will be perfect...order today...and we will throw in a complete digitized genetically p.....

You're making a radically fantastical leap.

It is a pretty unfounded and, frankly, paranoid and silly leap from diagnosing a fetus in the womb for certain diseases or the potential for certain diseases to building a child through active manipulation of base genetic material.

Not to mention that, as a parent and a member of a peer group that is largely parents, it is an extremely fulfilling experience to see yourself reflected in your children. It's not about having a child that looks a certain way, it's about having a child that looks like a combination of you and the person you love.

And as a parent, if we could find out that our child was, for instance, genetically disposed to (or already afflicted with) a certain disorder, we could start treating for it much sooner and be better prepared for whatever that is going to mean.

And AGAIN, as a parent, I can tell you that the process of carrying and birthing a baby (according to my girlfriend and ex wife) is a very fulfilling and fundamental part of being human. I don't think that people are going to give that up anytime soon, any more than they are going to give up having sex or giving each other hugs.

50 years ago, people with your fantastical and paranoid attitude were saying that in the year 2000, we would get all our nourishment from concentrated pills. Which is possible today. But why don't we do that? Because eating is a fundamental human experience, like making a baby the way humans have done so as long as there have been humans.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Neognosis

[+joc]

You're making a radically fantastical leap.

It is a pretty unfounded and, frankly, paranoid and silly leap from diagnosing a fetus in the womb for certain diseases or the potential for certain diseases and building a child through active manipulation of base genetic material.

Not to mention that, as a parent and a member of a peer group that is largely parents, it is an extremely fulfilling experience to see yourself reflected in your children. It's not about having a child that looks a certain way, it's about having a child that looks like a combination of you and the person you love.

And as a parent, if we could find out that our child was, for instance, genetically disposed to (or already afflicted with) a certain disorder, we could start treating for it much sooner and be better prepared for whatever that is going to mean.

It's a joke silly Edited January 11, 2014 by joc