Designer Babies

          As reproductive technology becomes more advanced, parents and doctors could one day choose the genes that a child inherits. Like most other situations, there are pros and cons to having designer babies. By being able to modify or select genes, you can avoid heredity disorders such as Huntington’s chorea, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy. On the other hand, by picking and choosing genes, it creates many social problems as the genes that were chosen would be seen as the “ideal” genes and the genes that were left behind would be seen as “imperfect.” The vast amount of knowledge that is known about genetic processes today is very helpful for people who have genetic disorders but I think it is unnecessary to select desirable genes for cosmetic reasons.    

A lot of research has been done on genetics which has created technologies that enable us to be able to view the genes of a child before it is born. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) are used to create designer babies. Using these types of technology, genetic illnesses can be avoided and it helps to create healthy futures for those children. PGD is used with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and a cell can be removed from the embryo before it transfers back to the mother. The DNA in the cell can be analyzed for genetic errors such as Down syndrome, and then the embryo can be transferred back to the mother’s uterus. PGD makes it possible to detect genetic errors before the pregnancy is established. This is just one example of the many different technologies that have been developed from the extensive amount of research that has been done on genetic processes. 

I think that when you are able to avoid genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy, the research that was done on genetics is being put to good use. For example, someone with muscular dystrophy can be confined to a wheelchair by the time they are 12 which is very unfortunate. That child will not get to live life the way everyone else does so using technology to change those genes would be a positive thing. On the other hand, when this technology is used to choose genes for cosmetic reasons, it creates many social problems. I personally think choosing a child’s genes because you would rather have a tall child as suppose to be a short child is unnecessary. There are people that do not live past their first birthday because of a genetic disorder that they have so worrying about the little details of a child’s appearance is ridiculous. Most people were brought up believing that it is fine to be different and unique and it is, but designer babies completely go against that statement. I think using technology to choose genes for medical reasons is understandable but choosing genes for cosmetic reasons is pointless. 

Sources

By, Park/New York, and Thompson/Washington. "Designer Babies - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989987,00.html>.

Year, By. "PGD Technology Offers More Than Designer Babies." Medical News Today: Health News. 01 Apr. 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/144448.php>.

            "What Is a Designer Baby?" Bionet - New Discoveries in Life Sciences - Explore the Science and Debate the Issues. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm>.

             "Will Screening for Birth Defects Lead to 'designer Babies'?" Canada.com – Breaking News‚ Canada‚ World‚ Weather‚ Travel‚ Video & More. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. <http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/parenting/story.html?id=af85fffa-81df-4c47-b389-d7eefc2faccf&k=7781>.

 Blogs I Commented On

http://nicolesbioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/designer-babies.html#comments
http://maeisdabomb.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-build-stuff-toy-when-you-can-build.html#comments

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

The World Wildlife Fund is one of Canada's leading conservation organizations which work to protect the world's biological diversity, assure that the use of renewable natural resources are maintainable, and publicize the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. This organization works to reduce humanity's impact on natural habitats. WWF is one of the worlds largest and most respected conservation organizations. They have over 90 offices in over 40 countries around the world. Since 1985, WWF has completed over 11 000 projects in more than 100 countries.
The WWF has had many projects that have been a success and has helped to maintain the abundance and diversity of wildlife. For example, over 10 million hectares of wilderness in the Mackenzie River Basin are protected from industrial development. This benefits the many different species that live in that region including barren-ground caribou, wolves, lynx, grizzly bears, moose and huge populations of migratory ducks, geese, swans, shorebirds and loons. Another example of a successful WWF project includes shifting shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy. This helped to decrease the risk of deadly collisions with endangered right whales.

 This is a picture of a Northern Atlantic right whale. 

The Arctic is the largest but least inhabited region on Earth. It is one of the most important places on the planet as it is the most biologically productive and diverse. The Bering Sea attracts many animals from the Arctic, but the Arctic's future is at stake. In the United States, more than half the fish caught every year come from this sea. The Arctic is now threatened due to overfishing, toxic pollution, and more. WWF has been working to battle these threats to protect the Arctic's biodiversity since 1992.
WWF has had a lot of success in conserving the biodiversity of our ecosystems and this is another example of what they have done. An area off the coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut is now protected. This benefits the threatened bowhead whales as well as polar bears, Canadian geese, snow geese, halibut, narwhal, and many other species. The area provides protection from their main predator, the orca whales. Plans to protect this area had been floating around since the 1980's and now that the area is protected, the bowhead whales have a much larger chance for survival. When bowhead whales return to this area each year, it shows that there is hope for this species who is threatened. If this area is permanently protected, bowhead whales will be around for a long time to come.

 

This is a map of where the bowhead whales can be safe. 

 

This is a picture of a bowhead whale in its sanctuary. 

In the news, there are stories of how humans are destroying the planet everyday. But humans are doing many things to save the biodiversity of our ecosystems and the World Wildlife Fund is one of the organizations that work to do this. The examples that were talked about before are projects that WWF has completed which have helped to save the biodiversity of our ecosystems. Humans have positively affected the biodiversity on earth. 

References

"Conservation Successes in Canada." WWF - Local to Global Environmental Conservation. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://wwf.ca/>.

World Wildlife Fund - Wildlife Conservation, Endangered Species Conservation. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full.html>

WWF - WWF. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://wwf.panda.org/>.

"Bowhead Whale Conservation: Canadian Geographic Magazine - Explorer." Canadian Geographic - Canadian Geographic Magazine. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/travel/great_places/explorer/mj05/five.asp>.

Blogs I Commented On

http://vanezzabioblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/unit-2-bio-blog.html#comments

http://adorablogs.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-your-knowledge-on-coral-reefs.html#comments