Designer Babies

My name is Caspar Zialor and today I am going to be discussing designer babies. First I would like to read to you the definition of designer baby (below).





Considering that the a designer is someone is whom devises designs; that designer products are contrived. A designer baby must be a baby with contrived attributes.



"The belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology." - The Oxford Dictionary



The first keyword (above yellow) I would like to discuss is evolve. Evolution is the gradual process by which the living world has been developing in time. The processes of evolutionary development can have one of two consequences.

Illustration 1:

Depicts, Anagenesis, the progressive evolution within a species. The characteristics of the population may change, however they remain as one inter-breeding population. Change is to be expect in a species over time. In humans, the genes that govern innate malaria immunity are becoming more and more frequent.

Illustration 2:

Represent divergence,  Each species is a branch in Darwin's drawing "I Think", any branching in the tree shows when one species becomes two non-interbreeding populations. Divergence something we need consider in light of, "haves and have nots", of designer baby technology. Those who can afford the technology may be a at a significant advantage in life.

The second key word is technology (above blue) so let us consider what modern technologies people typically use to create new organisms.

For 10,000 years people have used, artificial selection. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a man made selection process. Screening for molecular diseases (e.g. sickle cell anaemia and hemophilia) will select against defective genotypes, the alleles associated with genetic diseases will deplete within the human population.

In more later times genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been used to fill industrial niches (see below). Recombinant DNA occurs when, original genetic material, is spliced with DNA of foreign origin. Gene cloning occurs when when recombinant DNA is replicated within a living cell.





 How might biotechnology be used to improve human physical fitness?

Muscualr hypertrophy (MH) occurs when the gene that would ordinarily code for the protein myostatin is defective. The resulting organism in lacks the specific protein, myostatin, is an inhibitor of muscular growth. In absence of myostatin muscular tissues are free to develop in excess.

Muscular hypertrophy, also known as muscular doubling, has been observed in naturally and artificially in mammals such as mice, cattle and dogs. Clever scientists have isolated the genotype that causes muscular hypertrophy and have genetically engineered a trout to express the phenotype.

How might biotechnology be used to over come our psychological limitations?

Efforts to consolidate a specific gene associated with intelligence are still in are in development however the impact of heredity on intelligence is also in debate.

If we where to apply engineering to human children we may all be parent children like Richard Sandrak. He was born in 1992 and his country of origin is the Ukrainian-American. He is not genetically engineered and is suspected of taking steroids.

This was created  by Dougal Dixon born in Scotland in 1947. He published the book "Man After Man, An Anthropology of the Future" in 1990.

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Frank Herbert's Dune

Copy write 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune captured my imagine nation from start until finish and truly had me in suspense at the end which is rare, for all my effort to avoid plot spoilers I must admit I accidentally read some. Dune captures so much epicness! In this book you observe a son of a murdered father and his mother first be indoctrinated into perhaps the most violent community imaginable. Then face the empire that ha done wrong to them in a tale that is political as much as it is amazing. The planet Akkaris where most of the happenings take place has a diverse history an even an fictional ecosystem. I enjoyed this book so much I also got the film as to hang on to its essence a little while longer. I know it wont be as good but it should be a fun night in.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov, 1951

foundation
Originally uploaded by Caspar William

Truly epic story capturing in exiting realism the speculated sociopolitical and economic crises in a distant future of an entirely populated galactic empire. The book is set over a vast space of time and the foundation covers 3 generations of characters. Asimov isn't the heavy weight in science fiction.

Their is a movie set to be directed by Michael Emmerich and i have fears that the holly wood cinema will not do the full content justice. I found this book impossible to put down, the copy i had was missing a few pages however I am buying the entire saga with a replacement on ebay.com and look forward to my next installment. the cover is by tim white and the art really capture my imagination! i refuse to buy any other publishing exempt for the the ones sporting this dated but awesome design.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Originally uploaded by Studies in Solitude

I have just finished reading brave new world. The book is a dystopian sci-fi novel that captures a prophetic speculation of the distant future. Written by Aldous Huxley in the 1930 the book covers themes like the limits of mass production and the teachings of Freud.

Huxleys preface states his stance on the choice between the two lunacys of social [dis]order of civilisation or savagery. The book is a tried an tested classic that brings home both the horrors of narcissism in human civilisations. Its amazing how good his scientific predictions mirrors todays reality.

Aldouse Huxley is the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley or other wise know 'Darwins Bulldog'. And this is reflected in the concise scientific dialogue. Aldouse also co-existed with his grand fathers close associate Darwins nephew Francis Galton. Galton who wrote 'Hereditary Genius', inspired the nazis and englishmen to support them like Bernard Shaw and is the founder of eugenics. Huxleys fear of such excessive intervention in human breeding and sexual propaganda are great. I found this book inspired, I may one day read it again!