Block 4 Unit 7-2 Blog (Ryan)

It’s amazing how quickly technology and genetics are evolving through the years. Things that were unthinkable to the people of past centuries are now being discovered. Who knows what we could be capable of doing in the near future. With all these technological advances in genetics, we are able to do the impossible. Soon it is possible that we will creating our own evolution, it all starts in the DNA.

As shown in the movie Gattaca, there was an instance where Vincent’s parents had the option of selecting traits for their next child. Now even though this is a science fiction movie, studies in genetics are increasing very rapidly and it is possible that may have the option of doing something like this in ten years or so. Personally, i feel like it would be great to catch genetic diseases when it is possible, but when it comes to physical traits, they should be left to fate. When we begin to intervene with human genetics. we begin to create our own evolution. In Gattaca traits such as eye color, hair color, height and other specific phenotypes are up for option in offspring. It’s scary because in reality, this will be possible in the future. We already are beginning to predict and test for genetic diseases such as Huntington’s and diabetes. In the article, Peering Into The Future, the business and economic issues are discussed about this topic. As science advances, business follows. Today genetic testing takes place in special clinics. The impact on society is unknown to me. I believe that the genetic diversity in our society is very important in keeping sanity in society. If everyone was perfect in certain traits, there would be no competition for anything.

Like i said, no one can predict what will happen to our society after genetics become a larger part of lives. The options to choose phenotypes of your offspring is just remarkable. If i was faced with the choice of picking my child’s traits i would have no idea what to do. I think some part of our offspring should be left to fate, but if we could make our children the best they could possibly be, wouldn’t we? It is a very touchy topic and in the near future will become more and more talked about. I am anxious to see what the future in genetics entails and wonder what choices will we be left with for our children.

Block 4 Unit 7-2 Blog (Matt)

In the movie Gattaca we saw a world that was truly controlled by humans. The people of this sci-fi movie are able to literally create every part of their child. Whether it is how tall they wanted the child, or how athletic they would become no matter what it was the trait could be genetically altered to meet the parent’s requirements. This may sound impossible, or at least not going to happen for another 100 years, but as a matter of fact this scientific advancement is only 10 years away according to the article “Peering into the Future”.

            If this ability is possible in the coming years then the entire world around us would slowly change. I believe the first change that would be seen in our society would be the eradication of almost, if not all, genetic diseases. The most obvious reason that I think that is because it is already slowly happening today. Diseases like Huntington’s pose a serious threat to anyone who has a family history of it. However, only 5% of the people with a family history of it actually get tested. Mainly because they do not want ruin their lives by learning the horrible truth. But, if they were to test positive they could engineer their embryos to make sure that their children would never have to deal with the threatening disease. If the genetic engineering of our future children becomes a popular choice you can expect to see a much healthier society and also a much more structured one. In Gattaca you saw how uniform the society was and how the children were genetically engineered to perform a certain task. Such as the pianist who was created with 12 fingers to perform with excellent skill. This leads me to think that industries may some way pay parents to create their children with certain attributes allowing them to work or in certain jobs to the best of their abilities. An example is that the army could modify the babies to be the best soldiers to their abilities from before being born. Or enhance athletic abilities like swimming to help them win Olympic medals. These changes will indeed help with employment and also the economy will most likely improve, but the society in which this would take place in would be very similar to the one in Gattaca’s. Fortunately I doubt it would extend to the point where the world is a boring, gloomy, and repetitive place.

I myself would want the best for my child and would indeed make the choice to use the genetic engineering option. Our brain is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, why on earth would you deny something to enhance the abilities of man? While this may happen within the up and coming years, I doubt that it will be affordable to the masses for another 15-20 years later. With that being said there is no question that the world will change. Most likely it will change for the better, but if society tries to use it for their own benefit than the world will change into a dark place. The real question is how will the world as a whole use this ability, for it is the integrity of the human population which will determine the outcome of this new scientific world.

Block 4 Unit 7-2 Blog (Jordyn)

10 years from now, the world will be nothing like it is today. Instead of practice makes perfect, kids will be engineered to be a parent’s ultimate dream. It will be a package of choosing whether you want your kid to be smart or athletic. But under all the picking and perfection, a real problem is approaching. I believe the future holds something very similar to the movie Gattaca. For the first time, our population will get a real feel for what it would be like to truly engineer their kids. I don’t think a positive road is ahead at all.

            The main reason I feel a lot of negativity towards genetically engineering is because it’s all going to be about who has money and who doesn’t. Another social boundary will take hold because half of our world will be full of perfect people, while the other half will be the underdogs. In Gattaca, Vincent can’t fulfill his dream and ends up cleaning bathrooms because he isn’t genetically fixed. To be honest, that’s my only fight against it. Other then that, it all seems like a great idea, but I just don’t think our world will be able to handle yet another boundary between all of us.

            The only time I would ever genetically engineer would be if I had a disease in my family that could be passed to my kids. The article Peering into the Future explains how embryos can be created so your genetic disorder isn’t passed along. I think that’s really beneficial and worth it. If money wasn’t an issue, I think it could be a great way to make our world fight back against our genes, but I just don’t think its fair to leave many in the dark, while only the rich get the advantage.

Block 4 Unit 7-2 Blog (Brittany)

This article for me was very interesting and rather exciting to read. It discusses about genetic testing and the way that is changing medicine. Having “knowledge about how genes affect our health is transforming the way diseases are understood, diagnosed, treated- and even predicted.” This article was written in 2006 and during that time gene tests were available for more than 1,300 diseases. There are two schools of thought, I think its a great advantage to be able to know about any disease that you are a carrier of and to be able to possibility treat it before it surfaces. On the other hand if nothing can be done about it, it may just cause extra worry. Another advantage of having genetic testing is for couples who are interested in having children and becoming a family, can identify if they are carriers of certain diseases and find out the risk factors that it holds. If found to be carriers, couples can create embryo’s and screen them for genetic disorders; however this is not common in 2011 due to high prices. Another plus of genetic testing is, based on someone’s genes you can predict somebody’s reaction to medication, called pharmacogenetics. Being able to ensure that your children do not have certain diseases is beyond amazing. Plus, also knowing that you yourself are pre-disposed to certain diseases can help in managing your own lifestyle. The author included many stories about people who used gene therapy and were affected positively. He also included an example of someone who didn’t want to be testing to show it is a personal decision. I strongly agree with it being a personal decision because some people go by the belief of “everything happens for a reason,” so following that you would stick to letting nature take its course. I think the more you can have science eradicate diseases the better. Maybe someday genetic testing will be standard for every birth and it won’t be so costly to eliminate possible diseases. I am hopeful that science will someday cure all diseases through genetic testing, which is why I also believe in stem-cell research.  I was a little disappointed this article was written in 2006, I am still curious about how genetically more advanced we have become on this research.

Block 3 Unit 7-2 Blog (Kenny)

In today’s world, we are rapidly enhancing what we already know about biology and human genetics. After reading “Peering into the Future,” it definitely seems possible that people someday might live in a world like in Gattaca. It might be for better or worse, as we discussed in class, but I imagine that life could be parallel to that in Gattaca. To me it may be extremely beneficial but have some negatives as well.

Technology today could be so advanced in ten years that it could help us nearly eliminate potential diseases and disorders that are genetic. In “Peering into the Future,” it talks about couples who screened their potential embryos and choose one that did not have Huntington’s disease in its gene code. This was exactly like in Gattaca when Vincent’s parents were able to have their embryos screened and chose the child with the best start. I think that’s amazing because soon, people could have children and not have them ever have to worry about any future fatal problems. I think this is also a problem though, because then there would be no natural selection in life because humans would basically have control of evolution. Also, if everyone is born with such high chances of living, the world population will grow rapidly to a point where the Earth might not be able to sustain all this life. It sounds morbid but it’s true. Also, I’m not sure a lot of people would want to choose the life of their children, just like how Vincent’s parents wanted to leave some things to chance for their brother. That’s why in Gattaca, I think it was perfect for them to put the quote, “Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” – Ecclesiastes 7:13, is perfect.

In the future if this technology is available, I’m not exactly sure if I would want to screen my potential children and choose the best child. I think it would be good if I could do this if I knew a child of mine had a high risk of a serious health problem though. To conclude, I think after reading, “Peering into the Future,” we have a lot to expect for our future.

Block 3 Unit 7-2 Blog (Jenn)

I think that in the future, our people will be able to make the technological advances that we saw and talked about in Gattaca. We have already seen some of the ways that scientists have been able to alter genes, and because research is ever continuing, there is not a doubt in my mind that it will eventually get to that level.

In the article we read, one family was able to screen their kids before fertilization to see if they would have Huntington’s. This kind of screening was extremely costly, so many people don’t use it. In Gattaca, people used this method to not only screen for disease, but also to screen for things like balding, eye color, and obesity; in order to create ‘perfect’ children. In Gattaca, however, there was the idea that people would never be more than their genes said they could be, and Vincent proved that that theory was incorrect, because he lived longer than he should have. Most recently, scientists have completed the Human Genome Project, which has really been the catalyst for all of the advances in the genetic field. Because scientists are working with genes in many different fields, including things like birth, cancer treatment, and disease prevention, they are getting more and more of an understanding as to how our genes work. I don’t think that, by the time our generation is having kids, we will have quite as many options as Vincent’s parents did, mostly because the American society is aimed towards the idea that everyone being different is good.

I think that yes, one day scientists will have developed the technology to create the choice of genetically modifying babies, but it won’t be soon, and it won’t be nearly as mainstream as it was in the movie Gattaca.

Block 3 Unit 7-2 Blog (Caryssa)

      After reading Peering Into the Future and watching the movie, Gattaca, I realized that those science fiction ideas aren’t so fiction after all. For example, the article said that, “…type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and depression. If the scientists are right, genetic tests for some of these diseases could be available by 2010”. I was curious to whether or not this deadline was met and found out through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory  and the CDC that all of these diseases have some kind of genetic testing available.
      I still cannot grasp the idea of genetic testing. If genetic testing grows to become what the world in Gattaca was the world would be so different. There really would be no diseases and the only causes of death would be accidents or old age. The article said that you can pay tens of thousands of dollars to ensure that your child will not get the genetic disease. Personally, I do not think this part of genetic testing will become available in a large scheme for a long time but I do think that in around ten years, everyone will be screened for all the diseases. As a result of that, I think there will have been so many clinical trials on people that test positive for a particular disease that a cure will be found for diseases like Alzheimer’s.
     To be honest, I really don’t know if such an increase in genetics will be positive or negative. Until there is a cure for these diseases or a cheaper way to avoid them, I really would not want to know if I had a disease before symptoms showed. If I knew I had a incurable disease, personally I would not be able to live my life the same. I would live in constant fear and depression. For me, ignorance is bliss. I can see how some people however would want to know if they were going to die from a disease or even just get diagnosed with cancer or something later in life.  As for impacting society, I feel as if  it could be positive because like I said earlier more cures could be discovered or negative because people might live life differently.

Block 3 Unit 7-2 Blog (A.J. M)

     The movie “Gattaca” shows a possible future in which people are genetically engineered by their parents.  In Vitro fertilization is the preferred option for creating an embryo.  Those born through a natural birth are discriminated against because their genetic code is not ideal.  The technology seen in the movie may seem like science fiction but we are well on the way of developing much of the technology seen in the film.  The impact that this technology will have on society is yet to be determined.

     In Vitro fertilization is already an available technology for those who are unable to become pregnant.  In Vitro is not as perfected today as it is in the movie.  In “Gattaca” the scientist was able to implant only one of the egg cells in order for Vincent’s mom to become pregnant with Anton.  The procedure today involves injecting many fertilized egg cells in the hope that at least one will develop into an embryo.  This often results in multiple embryos.  The article mentions that Congress need to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.  The society in “Gattaca” is based upon the discrimination of those individuals that do not have the ideal genotype.  If Congress passes this act it may prevent any future discrimination based on someone’s genetic identity.

     It is in my opinion that having the technology available that is seen in “Gattaca” will have both positives and negatives.  The positives are that many of the genetic disorders, like Alzheimer’s or cancer, may be prevented or possibly cured if we are able to understand what genes cause them to happen.  The downsides are that the society seen in the movie arises.  Even though genetic discrimination was illegal the law was not enforced.  Only time will tell how genetic testing will affect the future generations.

Blog 7 #2: Gattaca DIRECTIONS

Watching “Gattaca” we observed one person’s view of a world where a person’s genetic code matters more than anything else. In the article, “Peering into the Future,” we learned that current technology is, in some ways, approaching the technology imagined in the movie. Remember, all of the technology discussed in “Peering into the Future” was science fiction just 10 years ago when Mrs. Stone was in high school. What will the world be like in another 10 years when many of you will be starting your own families? You may be making the same choices that Vincent’s parents were making in Gattaca. For this week’s blog I would like you predict how technological advances in genetics might impact our world and our society. Your response should be no more than 300 words and include an introduction, body paragraph that includes evidential support from both the movie and the article, and a strong conclusion paragraph. Include your own opinion as well. Will these changes impact our society in a positive or negative way, or maybe a little bit of both? What choices do you think you will make and why?

“Peering into the Future”

Blog 7/Block 4: An Error in the Code (Sean)

This article talks about Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is a disease that occurs in young boys. There are around 100 cases of it in the world.  This syndrome causes the boys who have it to want to eat their fingers and tear themselves apart. It also gives them uric acid in their pee and orange sand in their diaper.  This disease is caused when there is a mutation in the HPRT protein. Usually only one letter has to be changed to cause this syndrome. Many patients are afraid of their hands. Patients also usually die young.

            The author chose to talk about this disease by giving many examples of people who had it. When the reader reads about the actual patients who live with the syndrome they can better understand what they feel like and the behavior factors that go into it. The author also includes other symptoms of the syndrome such as high levels of uric acid to help readers identify if they know someone who has it. I think that the interview with James Elrod proved most effective in making the reader feel bad and more interested in this disease.  I think that the interview is truly terrifying because we learn what the patients have to deal with. “My hand could grab it and put it in my eye” Elrod tells us when he is talking about a pencil. It was also very gross when the author talked about how the patient’s lips, fingers, and even their tongue could be missing. That was very gruesome and sad to think about. I think towards the end of the article, all of the sentences explaining scientists who contributed to the knowledge of this syndrome was pretty boring and probably should have been condensed.

            I think the author did make a good point because I was really interested in this syndrome and I think he wanted to inform people of it, which he did effectively.  I couldn’t connect to this article because I have never heard of this syndrome before, it was very new to me. I probably wouldn’t recommend this article to a friend unless they had a weird baby that was always hurting themselves and pooping orange sand.