[Newsbot]

Title: Baby born free of cancer gene (Genetic Screening)
Category: Health
Posted By: DerbyX
Date: 2009-01-09 06:07:24
Canadian

[roger-roger]

Thats the best news I have heard all year.

[DerbyX]

Opens alot of possibilities but alot of controversey as well. Eliminating all embryos with a defect gene like say the defective one that causes CF will bring down harsh criticism.

Gene therapy was one of the areas I studied. The idea is to transpose a working copy of defective gene at the invitro vertilization stage and it's theoretically possible. Fascinating stuff wuth great potential.

[DerbyX]

Gene Therapy primer

[roger-roger]

DerbyX DerbyX:

Opens alot of possibilities but alot of controversey as well. Eliminating all embryos with a defect gene like say the defective one that causes CF will bring down harsh criticism.

I guess it all depends on when you think life starts, I would have no problem failing any 'defective' embryos.

[DerbyX]

Eisensapper Eisensapper:

DerbyX DerbyX:

Opens alot of possibilities but alot of controversey as well. Eliminating all embryos with a defect gene like say the defective one that causes CF will bring down harsh criticism.

I guess it all depends on when you think life starts, I would have no problem failing any 'defective' embryos.

I don't either. It will bring out the people who do, the people who say this is playing god and probably the harshest of all, people afflicted with a particular gene disorder objecting to being screened out of existence.

Hopefully gene therapy will quell that as we aren't screening out anybody mearly correcting an existing defect.

Still this area always give people the creeps. Look at the whole GM foods criticism. Now we are talking people. (did that last sentence make you think of soylent green)?

[roger-roger]

I dont know why people get freaked out by GM foods either

Well I doubt the states will catch on to this, I hope Canada does though.

[Heavy_Metal]

CYLON HYBRID!!!

[commanderkai]

Eisensapper Eisensapper:

Well I doubt the states will catch on to this, I hope Canada does though.

I'm not sure why you think it won't catch on in the US, when the article states the US already used this system before...

[roger-roger]

I missed that last little nuggest at the end, Im quite suprised there isn't a public outcry about it.

[Brenda]

Now, of course I see the good parts in this... But where is the "Let nature take it's course" thing, if we are gonna decide our children cannot get sick?

I mean, don't get me wrong, but there is a reason some people have that gene, and others have not. There is a reason some people are stronger, others are not. It's called natural sellection. Do we humans have to own everything? Do we have to cure everything? If we do, the Earth gets over populated, and what brings us that?

(I am not trying to make this personal, I am trying to see the bigger picture.)

[commanderkai]

Eisensapper Eisensapper:

I missed that last little nuggest at the end, Im quite suprised there isn't a public outcry about it.

I see no issue with correcting small genes, and believe me, if this process can correct whatever gene that causes psoriasis, I will, for my child's sake. However, and just like GM foods, how much can we modify before we're not human anymore? And if we all do this, do we, sooner or later, become nothing more than lookalikes if parents can start modifying physical features of children (changing brown hair to blond, hazel eyes to blue, things like that)

I have no issue about changing small genetic defects, but my big issue is having gene treatments being just like cosmetic surgery.

[acidcomplex]

i think this is stupid. Nothing like playing god

[roger-roger]

yes lets have our childeren suffer from dehabiltaing and painful diseases, while we are at it lets stop all the God like medicine stuff...

[acidcomplex]

Eisensapper Eisensapper:

:roll: yes lets have our childeren suffer from dehabiltaing and painful diseases, while we are at it lets stop all the God like medicine stuff...

oh right cause everyone who has a CHANCE at getting a dieseas should be killed. Give me a break, when do we start searching for the gay gene and parents abort the baby cause of it?. Very slippery slope here