Designer babies is the start. Like I already believe if you're "selecting" something like your baby's gender, you're fuckin Hitler. But then, my roommate was all, "Well what if you could remove the trait for Huntington's that runs in the family?"

So there's clearly a spectrum of ways that genetic engineering could go.

The most interesting case to me is of He Jianku, who reportedly began studying and modifying human embryos. CIA fear disinfo, or Chinese scientists just marching ahead and setting the new standards of the 21st century?

  • lvysaur [he/him]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    If like, 40 or 50% of the population has that gene, your kid can have that gene.

    Simple way to prevent the "white blueblonde" scenario from happening: take the logical converse of this

    Only if <5% people in all populations have the gene, THEN you can get the gene altered. That way nobody can edit eye color etc. but you can still fix parkinsons cystic fibrosis sickle cell etc

    • SerLava [he/him]
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      edit-2
      4 years ago

      Ah yes, basing it on removing the gene should be important.

      Come to think of it, it should be both ways: only remove rare genes that substantially hurt, and only add genes that are common.

      • lvysaur [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        and only add genes that are common.

        that's just designer babies though.

        • SerLava [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          Yeah but who the fuck cares. 2 blonde people can fuck

          You could also add a restriction where the gene has to be in some of your zygotes, or in the zygotes of someone in your lineage, however this would only allow some diseases to be cured and not others.

          Could be approved list of diseases only, with the same 40 or 50 percent restriction as part of the basis, so people can't define "unable to leap like a gazelle" as a disease

          • lvysaur [he/him]
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            edit-2
            4 years ago

            Yeah but who the fuck cares. 2 blonde people can fuck

            I was just making sure. My instinct was that most on here are against designer babies. Because it could lead to loads of people choosing to be "white".

            You could also add a restriction where the gene has to be in some of your zygotes, or in the zygotes of someone in your lineage

            You can find virtually all phenotypic genes in virtually all groups of people. The difference is frequencies.

            • SerLava [he/him]
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              edit-2
              4 years ago

              Yeah I would never do a designer baby, but I'm more thinking about what should be illegal, and that doesn't qualify (assuming future technology where it's safe). I will relentlessly mock people for doing it though, like seriously just have a goddamn kid.

              Also yeah I wouldn't allow people to pick like, genes that arent anywhere in their family, but if some of their sperm is blonde kids, who cares