My new hero of science!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sean Murphy on March 2, 2012 at 6:02am

I think it would still be subject to the same knee-jerk silliness that any mention of genetic engineering applied to humans does. Personally, I like the idea - I would want any child of mine to have gills and possibly chloroplasts, and any other advantage that could be transferred over from the plnt and animal kingdoms without compromising intelligence, but the ability for that child to change what is passed on would be very attractive as well.

Permalink Reply by Susan Stanko on March 2, 2012 at 8:30am

I wouldn't call trying to change a child's sexual orientation to be knee-jerk silliness.

Permalink Reply by Sean Murphy on March 5, 2012 at 6:11am

Neither would I - I was referring to the protests and the claims of the end of the world and the comparisons to Nazis and to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" that inevitably  accompany any advancements in genetic engineering, especially when applicable to humans.

The arguments and fights that would erupt over the possibility of using genetic engineering to change a child's sexual orientation in utero would be vastly entertaining. Especially since most of the people who would want to use it have been busy denying that it was genetic for a while now...

Permalink Reply by Nontheist Central on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pm

Never thought about the implications for "knocking out" the homosexual gene.  It would be funny to watch the people who always said it was a choice to jump on the bandwagon to change that gene marker.

My first thought was the immediate eradication of genetic diseases.  Wouldn't that be awesome!

Permalink Reply by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on March 2, 2012 at 9:08am

Remember when Carl Sagan mentioned Earth's entry in the Galactic Encyclopedia (or some such), he said "No genetic prosthesis." It looks like we're moving up.

Permalink Reply by Nontheist Central on March 30, 2012 at 5:03pm

I personally think it's something we'll need to do if we're ever going to be able to travel to other planets, which I think is an awesome idea!  It'll be centuries, I think, before we ever figure out how to do that effectively, but what a cool thought, huh?

I've never heard of Capecchi, but I'll definitely be looking into his ideas!  Thanks for sharing!