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how about designing them to change their own nappies ? (Baby-sitter with sense of smell ) Quoting rayilynlee <[log in to unmask]>: > Designer babies are coming > The Fertility Institute recently stunned the fertility community by being > the first company to boldly offer couples the opportunity to screen their > embryos not only for diseases and gender, but also for completely benign > characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and complexion. The > > Fertility Institutes proudly claims this is just the tip of the iceberg, and > > plans to offer almost any conceivable customization as science makes them > available. Even as couples from across the globe are flocking in droves to > pay the company their life's savings for a custom baby, opponents are > vilifying the company for shattering moral and ethical boundaries. Like it > or not, the era of designer babies is officially here and there is no going > back. > > For decades now a technology called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or > PGD, has enabled In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinics to screen embryos for > more than 100 potentially debilitating and often deadly diseases before the > embryo is implanted into the mother. A medical revolution has thus unfolded, > > enabling literally tens of thousands of couples and their babies to sidestep > > some of the world's most terrifying diseases. > > Take the case of Cindy and John Whitley. Their first child died at the age > of 9 months from a deadly genetic disorder called spinal muscular atrophy. > Genetic analysis uncovered that the Whitley's statistically had a 1 in 4 > chance of creating a child with spinal muscular atrophy each time they > conceived. Unwilling to risk having another child with the deadly disorder, > the Whitley's used PGD to conceive three children, all healthy. > > Yet PGD allows scientists to screen embryos for much more than just genetic > diseases, and therein lies the promise - and the peril - of designer babies. > > Gender was the first major genetic trait beyond genetic disease to be widely > > manipulated through PGD. The Fertility Institutes is a leader in the field, > claiming nearly 100% success in providing couples with a baby of a > predetermined gender. Completely healthy and fertile couples from all over > the world are coming to The Fertility Institutes everyday to confront the > risk, the expense, and the discomfort of conceiving their baby in a test > tube, all for the ability to choose the sex of their baby. > Gender selection is a big business. Dr. Steinberg, Director at The Fertility > > Institutes, claims that they are performing on the order of 10 gender > selection fertilizations every week, each for a fee of $18,400. Although In > Vitro Fertilizations were originally designed to help parents that were > unable to conceive children naturally, Steinberg says that a staggering 70% > of their clients have absolutely no difficulty conceiving children, coming > to the Institute purely for opportunity to choose the sex of their baby. > > Now, in the latest twist in the march towards designer babies, The Fertility > > Institutes says they will soon be able to offer couples the ability to > screen their embryos for eye color, hair color, and complexion. The > Institute cannot change the DNA of the donating couple - if neither the > mother nor the father has genes for green eyes, for example, then the > Institute cannot give them a baby with green eyes. Yet within the > constraints inherent in the DNA of the donating couple, The Fertility > Institute is willing to screen embryos for these traits. The Fertility > Institute wants to offer several other customizations, and many more are > sure to be released in the coming years as the science behind screening for > them is developed. > > In many countries around the world PGD is heavily regulated and designer > babies are strictly out of the question. Yet in a strange paradox, even as > the United States is one of the world's most regulated nations in several > areas of medical research and development, PGD is completely legal and > unregulated in the United States. Hence, even as the United States is > hindered by regulation in areas such as stem cell research, the country > seems poised to be a world leader in the designer baby revolution. > > At the moment, The Fertility Institutes carries the mantle as the company at > > the forefront of this revolution, and as such they are a lightning rod for > the praise and adoration, but also the bitter and severe anger, of those on > both sides of this great moral debate. > > The genie is officially out of the bottle, in fact it probably has been for > a long time. There is no stopping the designer baby revolution. Even as some > > countries try to clamp down on it, others will allow it. Progress, if we > call it that, will continue unabated. A similar phenomenon has unfolded with > > embryonic stem cell research in recent years. Even as the Bush > administration almost completely strangled US investment and research in > this promising field, other countries invested heavily and advances > continued. > > A new generation of genetically enhanced designer babies is inevitable in > the coming decades. Yet for those of us that are merely "normal", do not > despair. Even as we are outmatched by the next generation genetically, a > host of new technologies from chip implants to gene therapy may allow us to > keep up, allowing us to enhance ourselves in equally transformative ways. > The future will indeed be interesting. > > Rayilyn Brown > Director AZNPF > Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation > [log in to unmask] > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------- This mail sent through http://www.ukonline.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn