Bio-Science at the Crossroads

nice article Gill sahib.

I think we are on the threshold of a biotechnology revolution: in the next 50 years we will be able to, for the first time, choose the characteristics of our offspring by manipulating their DNA via genetic engineering, cloning and nanotechnology.

As for cloning, I think that although we do need ethical committees to debate the specifics it is only a matter of time before someone produces the first human clone--unless it has already happened. If some governments ban it, scientists will just move to somewhere where it isn`t banned. also, after initial uproar, most people will just forget about it and by 2020 it will become just another technique for reproduction for infertile couples or individuals. Just like IVF.
I am deeply interested in this area of science and have considered retraining in it--perhaps in a few years.

The danger will lie in the disparity between the rich and the poor: the rich will have the means to clone themselves and also to produce `designer babies` which could create a class of `supermen` and superwomen with perfect supermodel looks (whatever is considered attractive at that time by society), enhanced intelligence, and disease-free.

of course, by the end of the century we will all be able to redesign our bodies and complament our natural intelligences by interfacing with computers and through the virtual realities which will become commonplace, replace old and aging body-parts and so on.

Will we even be able to lengthen human life-spans? That is the holy grail of biological science research and I think the answer will be `yes`.

Books to read which I recommend:

Visions by Machio Kuko (?)
Engines of Creation - Eric Drexler

No comment



http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1980978,00.html