Do you remember when designer jeans came out? I was in fourth grade when Sassoon, Jordache and Gloria Vanderbilt's were all the rage. Special stitching on the pockets were a must. I was - or at least I felt like I was - the only girl in my class that did not have a pair and I knew I wasn't going to get a pair either. In my head I knew they were unnecessary. There was nothing about their jeans that meant they were better than mine but for some reason I still longed to know what it was like to wear a pair of those "special" jeans.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think 30 years later I would see the the transition from designer jeans to designer genes.
I preface all of this by saying I love science - specifically biology. I find it fascinating to learn how we work and function. I was passionate about seeing my students catch the fire. It was exhilarating to see them understand how the systems of the body work together, how the organelles of the cell all have specific roles and work together to synthesize and transport a protein. I enjoyed challenging them with what were cutting edge topics back then - the work on the Human Genome Project (which has now been completed) and the potential issues that the completion of this could catalyze in the future. We talked about ethics and science and the role that society plays in the utilization of scientific discoveries. This is where I get frustrated - not with science but with society.
Needless to say, it wasn't surprise that I felt when I read "Special Deliveries: Are designer babies arriving?"
I don't advocate that scientific research be stopped but how do we prevent ourselves from crossing the line? Can we say "no" even when gobs of money is dangled before our eyes and bank accounts? I think the track record for our society hasn't been very good in this area. How can that type of self-control be developed in our society? Is it even possible?
It causes me to think about my classroom - we'd circle the chairs around and discuss these topics. We hypothesized how society could be altered by designer genes into the "haves" and the "have-nots". My hope was to get them thinking about this information now because I knew that they would be the future doctors, politicians, moms, dads, business men and women, decision makers, nurses, etc. All of my former students are over 21 years old now. That's amazing to me. May their generation have a positive impact on our society and not be solely governed by the almighty dollar.
Regarding this topic...have we already passed the turn-back point on this slippery slope?
You can see what others are saying here.
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Milk and meat from cloned animals (we need to provide food for everyone), glow in the dark kittens (to help identify genetic disease), genetically manipulated yeast programmed to live 10 times longer than its natural life span (oh, we need to extend man's lifespan) and embryos fashioned from cows eggs injected with human DNA named cybrids(?)...sounds like science fiction, but instead, today's reality!!!
Revelation 6:9-11
"And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will yearn to die, but death evades and flees from them.
The locusts resembled horses equipped for battle. On their heads was something like golden crowns. Their faces resembled the faces of people.
They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.
Their breastplates (scales) resembled breastplates made of iron, and the [whirring] noise made by their wings was like the roar of a vast number of horse-drawn chariots going at full speed into battle.
They have tails like scorpions, and they have stings, and in their tails lies their ability to hurt men for [the] five months.
Over them as king they have the angel of the Abyss (of the bottomless pit). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon [destruction], but in Greek he is called Apollyon [destroyer]."
Is this passage symbolic?
May God have mercy upon us!!!!
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/04/holy-cow-cybrids-manufactured-in-uk.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/01/15/fda.cloning/index.html
"Organism Lives 10 Times as Long After Genetic Tinkering"
By Dave Mosher, LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 14 January 2008 09:01 am ET
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRM8U57zvCnlmclb0PbMKYQTEFYg
Isn't it sad that we live in a world where human life can be created and destroyed based on a whim. My question is what happens if these designer babies do not live up to expectations and then again, what if they do? Will my children and grandchildren be refused scholarships and employment because they don't come with pedigree papers?
Great post! I've been mulling this same issue all week. There are no easy answers in today's climate. Even as it connects to the recent birth of the octuplets and the genetic/scientific manipulations that created that birth circumstance. I do know that our culture is completely unprepared for most of the consequences that come from these experimentations. And that as a result, many children will continue to suffer as a result. On both sides of the issues.
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