Genetically modified .... humans

[Coveny]

Humans have already shown that it’s going to be a slippery slope when designer babies pick up full steam. PGD is widely used around the world currently to allow parents to select some of the traits of their children, such as gender and eye color.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a19313/genetic-engineering-allow-parents-select-gender-eye-color-children/

First genetically modified human embryo happened this year.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/world-s-first-genetically-modified-human-embryo-raises-ethical-concerns/

Is genetic modification of humans to remove genetic illnesses like some cancers, color blindness, Sickle-Cell, Hemophilia, etc. a matter of if or a matter of when? A U.S. Panel has already endorsed it for these serious diseases. 

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603633/us-panel-endorses-designer-babies-to-avoid-serious-disease/

Ethically and morally I see it as a positive thing. The ability to remove genetic diseases from the world is huge in and of itself, and I think it more than overcomes the possible abuse by parents to make perfect little designer babies. But we live in a capitalist world so is it just going to become yet another way that the 1% is “better” than the rest of us? Or on the other end what about genetic mistakes happening in third world countries doing bargain basement genetic modifications? 

So do you think the benefits of genetically modified humans outweigh the negatives?

[Coveny]

Making us more resilient could pose other problems to the symbiosis we call the human digestive system. If they wanted us to be able to get the nutrients we need without bacteria and other lifeforms living in us, they would really have to rework the human body to overcome the deficiencies. Also there are issues with creating a totally different type of class warfare where you have the designer people of means versus then randoms who can't afford it.

[Daecon]

30 minutes ago, Coveny said:

Also there are issues with creating a totally different type of class warfare where you have the designer people of means versus then randoms who can't afford it.

The movie Gattaca was not supposed to be a documentary.

[Coveny]

I just saw this video about fetuses in a pod.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgmdF9l7K9o

Sorta on topic methinks.

[Anthony Morris]

I think the genetic modification fears are mostly hype. Genetic modification is actually pretty cheap and people can do this sort of thing in a kitchen. It's better to understand what we are doing than to let unethical individuals do this in the dark somewhere out of sight. I know of no attempts to modify how we digest food though. Better to understand our natural biomes and find ways to correct genetic problems there. More good from the technology. There are potential problems, yes but holding the technology back will not solve them and will in fact make the evils of biotech proliferate with nothing for us to do to protect ourselves from them.

[Amy Connolly]

I think that the positives of genetic modifying of humans have the potential to outweigh the negatives once they are carefully modified and controlled.