What about the danger of the genetic engineering?

[dapifo]

So far we have conducted genetic experiments on plants and animals, what will happen when you start experimenting with humans?

 

When we will have the first "clone" human?

 

When we will have the first human genetically perfected?

 

When we will have the first hybrid beings?

 

I think that genetic engineering may be the end of the human race as it is now.

 

The current races of animals are the result of a slow evolution through millions of years.

 

When we have the power to manipulate genetically beings, we can make changes of species in a short time. Generating species evoloción never appear in a natural.

 

Much is said about dangers of nuclear , "environmental effects", .. but I did not heard too much of the dangers of genetic engineering.

 

I do not think we are so far away from it. And while they may have laws that control it, we all know that "every law has a loophole ..."! "

Edited June 27, 2012 by dapifo

[KatzAndMice]

Interesting topic, what is the danger you superimpose?

 

check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKxmqMH4w_A

[MonDie]

How will the human be "perfect"? Perfectly intelligent and moral? Perfect for raising children? Will they be a gorilla-man hybrid perfect for combat?

Will perfection be as subjective as our preferences for different varieties of fruit?

 

Edited June 28, 2012 by Mondays Assignment: Die

[dapifo]

Interesting topic, what is the danger you superimpose?

 

check this out http://www.youtube.c...h?v=AKxmqMH4w_A

 

 

Vert interenting documental...thanks

 

How will the human be "perfect"? Perfectly intelligent and moral? Perfect for raising children? Will they be a gorilla-man hybrid perfect for combat?

Will perfection be as subjective as our preferences for different varieties of fruit?

 

 

 

Perfect or not...we will generate new species... some will disappear and others will survive, and others may dominate the earth.

 

Similar to the natural evolution....but faster...very faster...too faster !!!

Edited June 29, 2012 by dapifo

[Jebus]

Whats wrong with clones? It would be like having a twin. I think genetically engineering humans might have some very applied benefits to our health.

 

Imagine removing (or turning off) a gene responsible for cancer? My knowledge of genetics is obviously very little and what I just said probably made no sense...

[Moontanman]

Centaurs would be cool, i want to be a centaur...

[Phi for All]

Centaurs would be cool, i want to be a centaur...

I'd love to see a physiological blueprint for a centaur skeleton. How do you replace a horse's neck and head with another spinal column? The thoracic vertebrae juts almost straight out, parallel to the ground, before joining the cervical vertebrae, so a human spinal column would have to begin at the wrong angle. Something tells me that six limbs is not a viable design for a mammal, otherwise we'd have seen something like it in the fossil records.

[Moontanman]

I'd love to see a physiological blueprint for a centaur skeleton. How do you replace a horse's neck and head with another spinal column? The thoracic vertebrae juts almost straight out, parallel to the ground, before joining the cervical vertebrae, so a human spinal column would have to begin at the wrong angle. Something tells me that six limbs is not a viable design for a mammal, otherwise we'd have seen something like it in the fossil records.

 

 

I think the number of limbs on vertebrates was set long before there were mammals. John Varley got by this impasse in his Gaen trilogy Titan Wizard and Demon by proposing that his centaurs while chordates were in fact not vertebrates and had a spinal column of cartilage, biological engineering has many possibilities...

[Arete]

Similar to the natural evolution....but faster...very faster...too faster !!!

 

Adaptive radiation can occur at ecological timescales - i.e. very rapidly. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01240.x/full

 

Under the evolutionary species concept' date=' a species is a metapopulation of organisms with a distinct evolutionary history. It is highly improbable that genetic engineering will result in a new human metapopulation and thus a new species. It would require that the engineering result in reduced gene flow between engineered and non-engineered humans through either reproductive incompatibility, reduced hybrid fitness, etc. This is not seen in currently GM species, where gene flow between GM individuals and non GM individuals is of concern and the primary reason most GM crops are sterile.

 

 

I'd love to see a physiological blueprint for a centaur skeleton. How do you replace a horse's neck and head with another spinal column? The thoracic vertebrae juts almost straight out, parallel to the ground, before joining the cervical vertebrae, so a human spinal column would have to begin at the wrong angle. Something tells me that six limbs is not a viable design for a mammal, otherwise we'd have seen something like it in the fossil records.

 

While not a direct example - manipulation of the HOM-C gene in Drosophila can turn either the antennae into another pair of legs, or a pair of legs into second pair of antennae. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hox_gene#Homeotic_mutations

[Electron]

Imagine removing all forms of genetic illness and breeding something that has a better quality life. Wouldn't you all want that in your son or daughter? Then the next goal would be lifestyle changes that prevent illness too. That and dietary modifications and a proper upbringing.

 

Personally I am in favor of ripping out testes and ovaries and implanting as near error free ones. Indeed it would change our status as a natural bred species to something merely doctored, however if we can get it right, we have more control of things. I wonder what would happen to healthcare if we did that?

 

I feel confident that given enough time, we CAN solve most of our problems indefinitely. It just takes hard thinking and practical science.

 

Sadly, some problems will always be present in our span of existence, that is just life. Even science has its own evolution.

[Moontanman]

Imagine removing all forms of genetic illness and breeding something that has a better quality life. Wouldn't you all want that in your son or daughter? Then the next goal would be lifestyle changes that prevent illness too. That and dietary modifications and a proper upbringing.

 

I admit that would be tempting.

 

Personally I am in favor of ripping out testes and ovaries and implanting as near error free ones. Indeed it would change our status as a natural bred species to something merely doctored, however if we can get it right, we have more control of things. I wonder what would happen to healthcare if we did that?

 

Whoa.... I just crossed my legs... Can I have a new prostrate too?

 

I feel confident that given enough time, we CAN solve most of our problems indefinitely. It just takes hard thinking and practical science.

 

I agree with this, science and it's methods is the key.

 

Sadly, some problems will always be present in our span of existence, that is just life. Even science has its own evolution.

 

This is true, it is all what we make of it...

[Emad]

What is the exact meaning of evolution? What is the exact meaning of perfection? What do we mean and want exactly?

You know, I think every single thing has 2 aspects: The bright side and the dark side. (You can either kill a person by a knife or save his life by a scalpel or just cut meat for cooking)

As an example extracting crocodile HB genes and transferring that into human RBC can make an ordinary person, a superman or a real monster which can stay under water for 20 minutes. So this person can save others or become a freaky blood splitter soldier.

But the genetic engineering is not the only danger. Artificial Intelligence, Cyborgs or Hybrids and other things that are just imaginations for now, can come true in the near feature. I'm afraid of the dark tomorrow. New slaves and masters may come to this world and one day we will find ourselves fighting things that we made by our own imagination. Should we limit our unlimited imaginations??? Should we make rules that can be broken??? what should we do!?

I don't know the answers, but I know two kings can not rule one country.