Genetic Superbabies: Ethical or Not?

While reading Micheal Manson's "How to Teach Science to the Pope" (found in my course readings for my Scientific Revolutions class), the issue of the ethics behind genetically enhanced food is called into question. This sparked a discussion involving religion, personal morals, and unfair advantages. The topic delved into even deeper ethical territory when in class we discussed the idea of tampering with human DNA to prevent genetic disease, birth defects, and even enhancements such as greater athleticism or intelligence.

Patrick Tucker writes in Genetic Ethics and Superbabies: Drawing the Lines Between Preventing Ailments and..., "Inoculating children in the womb against serious diseases or disorders is not, on its face, controversial. But is manipulating cells to guard against traits that are merely undesirable ethical or unethical? Who gets to draw the boundary?"

His question is one that I find quite intriguing. Who doesn't want to be able to have a kid that could have the genetic potential to be the greatest person on Earth? But does the fact that we can genetically alter our offspring to be the best mean it is alright to do so? Would the idea of survival of the fittest suddenly turn into survival of the ones who have the most money to become genetically superior?

How would we regulate what is considered a genetic fault worthy of correction? For example, a person might consider that having a relatively unattractive child is detrimental to their life experience as a whole. Who is to say that is not true to some extent?

A line has to be drawn eventually. The question is where, when, and what will the repercussions be. Will we become a society of predesigned super creatures? What will happen to the people left behind if we do?

Mason, Michael. "How to Teach Science to the Pope." Discover Magazine. August 18, 2008. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope
Tucker, Patrick. "Genetic Ethics and Superbabies: Drawing the Line Between preventing Ailments and..." The Futurist. January 1, 2008. http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diseases-disorders-infectious/6201461-1.html

Comments? Feel free to leave one in the comments section!

Mmmm Potato Chips

I was thinking of doing some simple cooking sometime soon....just for fun...

Here was an idea:
(The video might take a second or two to load.)


Classic:How To Make Home Cooked Potato Chips

Sounds simple enough! Expect some results maybe next week sometime!

Got any good recipes? Feel free to share them in the comments section!

Shared Beliefs: Our Connected Society is Mixing Ideas of Science and Religion

*Please note that I originally posted this on my class blog as part of an assignment. I wanted to use the topic here because I feel it is genuinely what I find interesting today!*

In my Scientific Revolutions class we read about cosmology in today's culture.

In Cosmology and 21st-Century Culture Allan Burch talks about how science has created a story of the origin of the universe (the big bang theory) and how it was created by "a collaboration of people from different religions and races all around the world..." (Burch)

This idea reminded me of an article I came across some time ago about how science and religion can come together. Peter Wilby wrote an article called Religion and Science Do Mix in which he describes how religion should be taught in schools in ways where students can understand certain aspects of subjects better. For example, Wibly explains:

"Children should learn how Darwin developed his theory, how it was later tested and elaborated, how and why the Victorian churches opposed it, the spiritual anguish of many Victorians, and how some people, in defiance of evidence, have recently invented intelligent design to rescue a lost cause."

I believe that in today's world, our ideas are capable of being spread so quickly, that our beliefs in how the world began, or our concept of good and evil as well as many other things are being mixed. We now have people who are consider themselves a certain religion, but don't follow all of their practices. Some people pick and choose which parts of a religion they like best and they live by them. (I have one friend in particular who admits to doing this.)

Even religions try to explain themselves around popular beliefs. Wilby explains how the Church of England says that nothing in Darwin's theory of evolution "contradicts Christian teachings".

I think that our society is so well connected, that individual establishments that provide a foundation of beliefs such as the creation of the universe and what is right and wrong are starting to become less popular. Instead, people seem to want to pick and choose between them all (science included) and form their own cosmogony and ethics.

*Also please note i was tempted to use the term "cosmogony" instead of "cosmology" but I was not certain I fully understood the difference...*

Sources:
Burch, Allen. "Cosmology and 21st-Century Culture." Sciencemag. Vol. 293, September 7, 2001. www.Sciencemag.org.

Wilby, Peter. "Religion and Science Do Mix." New Statesman September 18 2008. http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/09/schools-religion-science.

Got anything to say? My opinion isn't the only thing that matters! Please use the comments section! Feel free to suggest future topics I could blog about to discuss later!