TheNoNamedOne
07-02-2007, 05:54 PM
If animal X were shown to have a certain gene that suppressed a certain kind of cancer from appearing in our species, should we persue extracting that gene from that animal and mix it with our own DNA? Why should using animal DNA be any less ethical than using a pig's heart valve for transplant into humans?
As for steroids and HGH for athletic performance -- forget about them -- they will be obsolete within 10~20 years. If a mountain goat has a gene that can increase hemoglobin efficiency due to it evolving over thousands of years at high altitude, why shouldn't athletes who depend on aerobic endurance mix that animal's gene into its DNA for better performance? A poor child from the ghetto without natural DNA advantages could even the playing field so that he, too, can escape poverty through sports and bring his family out of it as well.
In both cases, that of health, and that of athletics, one has the opportunity to better quality of life. Should it be open season for designer humans on demand from here on out? That is what science has brought us, or is on the cusp of bringing us.
As for steroids and HGH for athletic performance -- forget about them -- they will be obsolete within 10~20 years. If a mountain goat has a gene that can increase hemoglobin efficiency due to it evolving over thousands of years at high altitude, why shouldn't athletes who depend on aerobic endurance mix that animal's gene into its DNA for better performance? A poor child from the ghetto without natural DNA advantages could even the playing field so that he, too, can escape poverty through sports and bring his family out of it as well.
In both cases, that of health, and that of athletics, one has the opportunity to better quality of life. Should it be open season for designer humans on demand from here on out? That is what science has brought us, or is on the cusp of bringing us.