DESIGNER BABIES? Oh, Lord!

Linda and her wonderful sister, Carolyn

The newest edition of The Economist has an article you can’t afford to miss.  Read it here:

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/11/07/modern-genetics-will-improve-health-and-usher-in-designer-children

(Tangentially, my computer won’t let me open links like this simply by clicking on them.  Instead, I must cut-and-paste.  If you have such a recalcitrant machine, do likewise; this link is worth reading.)

So, this article attempts to bring us up to snuff (an odd phrase) on recent advances in human engineering.  It explains how it now is possible to screen embryos for susceptibility to many diseases.  That being true, how long before (designer babies) we are flooded with blue-eyed blonds with perfect teeth.  Thank the Lord I won’t live to see it.

Well, yeah, those last sentences are way over the top.  Nevertheless, the pace of advancement in genetic manipulation is such that it becomes important for people to take notice, and form opinions.  This article is a little bit heavy, I admit.  To ease your passage, here are some tidbits:

SNPs:  Single nucleotide polymorphisms. This is the substitution of a  single base (T, say) for another (A, for example).  These substitution can be located in a gene (where it may or may not wreak havoc), or in the non-coding part of the genome, part of which regulates gene expression.  It turns out that many human traits are dependent on a combination of a large suite if SNPs.  This can be studied only through….

GWAS:  Genome-wide Association Studies.  As far as I can tell, these involve the statistical evaluation of suites of SNPs in light of human phenotypic variations.  For instance, after analysis of thousands of genomes it should be evident that people like Tom Brady carry a package of SNPs that differ substantially from the package carried by people like me.  It turns out that most characteristics are conditioned by the cooperation of large numbers of SNPs. 

Despite the possibility of designer babies (which society soon  must confront), GWAS and study of things like SNPs ultmately are valuable.  That’s why, when 23andMe,  Ancestory.com, or similar outfits ask if they can contribute your genome to research, you should agree.

By the way, I have purchased a 23andMe kit, but have yet to send it in.  I expect them to tell me that I am northern European, male - and too old to worry about anything else.