Star Trek Research Paper

Imagine a world where having a baby was like looking through a menu at some fancy restaurant. Imagine being able to choose how a baby will look and act. As mind-boggling as it sounds, scientists and researchers came across an unbelievable discovery: it is possible to design and edit a baby however a person may like. Hanson asserts that personality, gender, appearance, intelligence, hair color, and height can be changed using technology that was originally used for animals (Hanson). These babies are called designer babies. Phillip Ball, a science writer, claims that it is possible to change the genetic makeup of an unborn baby using bio-technology. However, these changes can have more negative effects than positive. Although most countries have not legislated the use of genetic modification, studies have been done on human embryos in China (Ball).

Modern technologies are constantly advancing in a multitude of ways to the degree that scientists have gained enough knowledgeable about the human genome to be able to find specific genes during the embryonic stage of reproduction. Scientists have already begun to use this knowledge to allow parents the ability to select the sex of their child and screen for genetic diseases via preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Sex-selection has already created world-wide discussion regarding the ethics of such a situation. However, scientists are now looking toward germline engineering which will essentially allow parents to select and alter genetic traits of their children before implantation of the embryo into

To start, human embryos should not be genetically modified. I believe this because the outcome could be either good or bad. For example, changing a certain gene “can prevent a baby from carrying out signals for pain” (Doc. 2). It can prevent people from experiencing pain, which could be harmful to the organism.

For many people, the term “designer babies” sounds like something that could only exist in the novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. But, science has now advanced to the point where faulty genes can now be singled out, discarded, and replaced with more favorable ones. Just like the 16,012 babies manufactured in the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre in Brave New World, human embryos can be selected for fertilization based on their genes. This is done through the processes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This involves removing mature egg cells from a woman and fertilizing it with male sperm outside of the body. The embryos are then analyzed for abnormalities and mutations in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The healthiest embryos are then implanted back into the woman’s uterus for regular gestation (Yount). The development of these techniques originated from the Human Genome Project initiated by the United States government in 1988 (Siegel-Itzkovich). Although established initially with the purpose of selecting healthy embryos free of disease, the same techniques can be applied to select genes that code for traits such as intelligence, strength, and beauty. IVF and PGD are useful techniques but should only be used for medical purposes, not for selecting the embryos of perfect children.

Renowned Physicist Stephen Hawking once said the following regarding genetically engineered babies, “With genetic engineering, we will be able to increase the complexity of our DNA, and improve the human race. But it will be a slow process, because one will have to wait about 18 years to see the effect of changes to the genetic code.” Like Mr. Hawking stated the potential negative effect of having a baby through this process would not only take eighteen years to see a minimal effect of babies procreated this particular way. Although we strive to

The idea for genetically modifying the embryos of humans came along a very long time ago, back in 1993, but since then the technological side of this has exploded. The first genetic

GM could even cure people with AIDS, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and others. Genetic modification to human embryos should be aloud because it could save millions of lives lost to preterm birth complications simply by genetically modifying the embryo of the baby. 1.1 million lives were lost to due to prematurity and low birth weight in 2012 and three fourths of these deaths were within the first week of life, if it was legal to genetically modify human embryos millions of lives could be saved every year. (http://www.businessinsider.com/genetically-modified-animal-experiments-2015-10/#dolly-the-sheep-1). (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_fish) Scientists have already made huge breakthroughs in genetically modifying animals by making mice and rabbits glow in the dark, making salmon grow twice as fast, cloning sheep and tiny pet

Imagine a world where maladaptive genetic diseases have ceased to exist, parents have the ability to alter and improve their unborn child’s attributes such as height, intelligence, and attractiveness, and each generation becomes healthier, smarter, and stronger. Sounds like an unfeasible utopia, does it not? However, due to scientific advancements in the field of embryonic gene modification, this fantasy may soon become a reality. In a nutshell, embryonic gene modification refers to scientists altering the genome of an embryo in vitro for a multitude of reasons, ranging from eliminating harmful genetic diseases to altering superficial characteristics. Although embryonic gene modification may seem like a dream come true to many, it is not without ethical concerns that require intense debate.

Genetic engineering or “genetic enhancement refers to the transfer of genetic material intended to modify nonpathological human traits” (Hanna 1). These enhancements are used to modify human embryos and during gene therapy. There are currently two different approaches to gene manipulation, embryo elimination or genetic alteration. There is a choice of either disposing of an embryo because it has a genetic defect or genetic alterations which are removing traits or enhancing them. Modifying human embryos and gene therapy should only be used for medical reasons because it will reduce health problems like birth defects or fatal incurable diseases thus eliminating the suffering and pain of both the children and their parents.

Human genetic engineering and eugenics have been a largely controversial topic over the past decades. Eugenics can be popularly defined as the science of improving and enhancing a human population or person through manipulating the human genes, selective breeding, and sterilization. The end goal and desired result of eugenics is to basically create a human race or people with more desirable biological, physical, or psychological traits. Eugenics and genetic modification is a current, pressing subject; in April 2015, a group of Chinese researchers, used a new gene-editing technology, called CRISPR to “[tinker] with the genomes of human embryos” (Adams). Presently, according to CQ Researcher, “New genetic technologies allow scientists to delete a mutant gene and insert a healthy one, which…has the potential to eliminate inherited diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.” However, these techniques have only been used on embryos belonging to laboratory animals. The big question here is whether or not science and technology are crossing an ethical boundary by using these techniques and performing genetic modification on human embryos. Do humans have the right to “play God” and alter nature?

Even though gene editing has been discussed and thoroughly gone through and examined, many scientists are still very skeptical and refuse to even do it especially on embryos.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 set off in different months from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The original purpose was to get close up views on Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings and the bigger of 2 moons. The spacecrafts were built to last 5 years, but as this mission went on they sent back data of objects in space and have reached our outermost planets of the solar system. The mission was on to a whole different level. For this all to happen in the first place there had to be extreme calculations of when the planets orbited and met each other so the voyager would see it. This asstonishing occurrence happens about 1 out of 175 years.

To start, designer babies are being formulated in many parts of the world. At St. Barnabas Hospital in New Jerssey it was announces that scientists “had created genetically modified babies with a technique called ooplasmic transfer,” (Cussins 2). Truthfully this practice is even happening in our home state of New Jersey. This practice could even start happening in U.K. fertility clinics, if they’re approved (Cussins 3). Furthermore, there are many ways to genetically modify a person. A reporter for CBS reported that PGD (Pre Inplantation Diagnosis) is used for gender screening and to screen for diseases (“Designer Babies?”). Additionally, 3-person IVF is used

Scientists have made tremendous advancements in human bioengineering, and have succeeded in providing thousands of infertile women with the possibly of having children with using in vitro fertilization. Furthermore, scientists have discovered ways to cut and paste DNA using the CHRISPR technique, that allows certain inherited diseases to be cut out of an embryo egg, therefore, eliminating ailments that can be passed down through pregnancy. The process of human bioengineering is a spectacular accomplishment for scientists, however, the process should be kept illegal because it is a potentially disastrous practice that can affect the economy, foster care system, and donor’s health.

New technological advances and scientific methods continue to change the course of nature. One of the current controversial advances in science and technology is the use of genetically modified embryos in which the study exceeds stem cell research. Scientists have begun planning for research involving human embryos in the genetic modification field. Many technological developments are responsible for improving our living standards and even saving lives, but often such accomplishments have troubling cultural and moral ramifications (Reagan, 2015). We are already beyond the days in which virtually the only procreative option was for a man and a woman to conceive the old-fashioned way (Reagan, 2015). Genetic modification of human embryos can be perceived as a positive evolution in the medical process yet it is surrounded by controversy due to ethical processes. Because this form of genetic modification could affect later born children and their offspring, the protection of human subjects should be a priority in decisions about whether to proceed with such research (Dresser, 2004). The term Human Genetic Engineering was originally made public in 1970. During this time there were several methods biologists began to devise in order to better identify or isolate clone genes for manipulation in several species or mutating them in humans.