Designer Babies

[Enforcer Productions]

I recently watched a video on genetic engineering and the idea of designer babies. And it got me thinking: What would happen if designer babies were a thing?

My theory is that it could happen, but if it did, only certain people would be able to do it. Because of this, these genetically engineered babies could either be made custom(which would be higher-priced) or designer(like a purse or dress). If they were designer, they would have a pre-set set of traits in their DNA.

Come ot think of it, that could make a good cyberpunk book, couldn't it?

 

[Vertigo]

Been done already called Brave New World though they didn't really know about genetics when it was written...

 

[Danny McG]

I can envisage, maybe twenty years in the future, that being one of the tests at Olympics and track and field events.

They do it now for drugs that boost performance and they'll end up doing it for genetic tampering.

Otherwise we'll have two minute miles and weightlifting a tonne!

 

[Vertigo]

It's an interesting problem and I'm not sure how you will be able to test for it. Particular genetic combinations might result in better performance at some competitive skill, but the thing is those genetic combinations might happen by chance just as easily. So long as we aren't introducing non human DNA then there is nothing they can really detect.

That said, was it Gattaca where they listen to a piano piece that could only be played by a pianist with six fingers on each hand?

 

[Edward M. Grant]

As I understand it, this is happening already in some countries, by using IVF to create a bunch of embryos and implanting the ones that have the right genes.

In twenty years, it will probably be the norm, except it will happen by modifying the DNA directly rather than relying on chance.