Germ Line Engineering (Designer Babies)

Germ-line Engineering is the process that creates genetically modified humans a.k.a. designer babies.  This technology is based around how bacteria defend themselves against viruses. When the bacteria is attacked, it sends guide RNA. The guide RNA, goes to the virus and, using enzyme CAS9, cuts out parts of the DNA, and replaces them. Scientists created CRISPR which is based off of bacterial defense mechanism.

CRISPR allows a scientist to screw around with an egg or a sperm's DNA. A scientist can remove a mutated part and replace it with a healthier part. They can also change the eye colour, change hair colour, skin colour, mental power, physical strength, etc. This all sounds great, but it is unpredictable. In an MIT study, only 20% of monkeys that had Germ-line Engineering, had the modified genes at birth (or any other time). So it only works in 20% of cases. In the 80% of failures, unfortunate mutations might arise. Also, some trials resulted with the death of the patient. So, it is not a good investment.

An issue with genetically modified humans, is the lack of genetical diversity. If everyone is changing their genes to create some desired qualities, then it is safe to assume the genetical diversity will slowly go away. Imagine a world were almost everyone is the same. Now imagine a world with genetically modified humans. You should be imagining the same thing. Now imagine if a superbug would arise. It would be the Irish Potato Famine, but with humans.

Many people complain about the rich having more opportunities then the poor. Well this would make the advantages a lot bigger. A "designer baby" is expensive. So only the rich could afford to create a prefect child. Now that sounds unfair.

Also, playing god is never a good thing. God made us in his image. Why mess it up?

(If you don't believe in God) We evolved into a powerful race. Why should we mess it up?

Evolution WILL create the stronger and superior race we desire. While we are tampering with genes we might screw up, big time. There are hundreds of horrors that could result from screwing with our genes.

We should stop researching into designer babies. NOW!

Cockroaches and Individualism

Hi, Locke here. Lets talk about science. Many animals move in herds. They think as a group. Ants, act as one large individual. Many insects do the same. In an experiment they found that cockroaches are different. They placed 16 cockroaches in a large container with shade in the center. Each pest had a tracker on it's back. They were able to use the tracker to time the cockroaches.

The experiment was meant to find out how cockroaches make decisions. If they all came to the shade at the same time, then they are one entity and like ants. If each one of then moves there at different times, then they are individuals like sheep, bats, and humans. The findings tells us that we are like cockroaches. We are individual.

Each cockroach had a different time and a different "personality". Some roaches went straight for the shade, others took their time. The roaches that explored their confinement, were bold and explorations. The roaches that went straight for the shelter are shy, and meek. They began to have personalities and individualism.

Since I don't believe in a Procrustean Society, I like differences amongst people. People really aren't that different. The people who say that they are individuals, "their own person" and stuff like that, are normally the people who are the most similar. No really, they try so hard to be different they end up being almost the same. They have become what they most fear, part of society. Then the other social caste all contain people that are very similar. I am not saying that this is bad, just interesting.

The next time you kill a pest, think about its individualism and how it had a family to feed, or just kill the thieving pest. Your choice.