Designer Babies

Victoria NewcombePeriod 1

Basic Principles of Genetics

Dominant and Recessive Alleles

• Traits are controlled by dominant and recessive alleles because dominant alleles will always show its trait when present.

• Recessive alleles will only show its trait when the organism does not have a dominant allele for that trait.

Co-dominant Alleles

• Co-dominant alleles are not dominant or recessive. So both the dominant and recessive alleles are shown in the offspring.

• Neither allele for a co-dominant trait is masked in the offspring. So both alleles are shown in the offspring.

How alleles of two parents combine to express traits in an

offspring.• People inherit one allele from each parent. If

you inherit one dominant allele and one recessive allele then the dominant allele will show. If you inherit two dominant alleles then the dominant trait will show. If you have two recessive alleles then the recessive allele will show.

Human Genome Project

Human Genome Project• The Human Genome Project began in the 1980s• The main goal of this project was to identify the DNA sequence of every

gene in the human genome.• The information from the project will be used to help researchers have a

better understanding of how humans are able to develop from a fertilized egg to an adult, they might also be able to learn what makes the body work and what causes things to go wrong.

• New understandings would eventually lead to treatments and prevention strategies for genetic disorders and diseases.

• The GINA is a law that helps protect people from being discriminated based on information that comes form there genetic tests.

Ethical, legal, and Social Implications

• Publishing the genome’s secrets is not exactly ethical because if someone is to have something wrong genetically then insurers and employers may want to exclude them. Publishing these genome secrets may also be a kind of privacy violation to people. It also might not be legal because of the GINA which says that people should not be discriminated because they have a genetic problem or there family has a history of having a certain genetic disorder. Socially the human genome project can hurt certain people who have a genetic disorder and didn’t want other people to know about it.

Karyotypes

• Karyotypes- chromosomes in karyotypes are arranged in pairs, karyotypes are able to reveal whether a developing baby has the correct number of chromosomes in the cells and whether it is a boy or girl.

Genetic Disorder

Single Gene Disorder: hereditary disorder caused by a mutant allele of

a single gene

Chromosome Abnormalities: an abnormality of

chromosome number or structure. Abnormalities can be organized into 2 groups:

Numerical abnormalities and Structural abnormalities

Multifactorial Disorders: results from the interaction

between mutations in several genes and drugs, radiation,

viruses, or other environmental factors, some birth defects and common conditions such as cancer,

heart disease, Alzheimer's and diabetes.

Same: They are all caused by some type of mutation or abnormalities in the genes or chromosomes.

Genetic Counseling

• Genetic counseling helps couples understand their chances of having a child with a particular genetic disorder

• Genetic counselors use tools such as Karyotypes, pedigree charts and punnett squares.

• Genetic counselors may order a test to determine whether the parents are carriers of the alleles for a certain disorder.

Argument 1

Having the Perfect Baby

• I am against genetically engineering your child so it can look a certain way. Geneticists William Kearns says “I’m totally against this. My goal is to screen embryos to help couples have healthy babies free of genetic diseases. Traits are not diseases.” I agree with what he is saying because I think that if you are trying to use this technology to help a couple have a healthy baby then that’s okay, but if you are only trying to have the perfect baby then I don’t think that its okay. I think that someone's traits should be based on their heredity.

Argument 2

• People who want to use the technology to make designer babies are misusing the kind of technology that is used to save unborn babies. Paying money for having the perfect looking, smart, athletic baby instead of using it for health reasons then I don’t think that’s right. It’s not fair that people who can afford to design their babies, take advantage of it because there are people who need this technology in order to have a healthy baby and can’t afford it.

Argument 3

Safety

• Having a designer baby is not exactly safe either. There are many genes in the body that have more then one effect. If someone choses a gene for eye color then that gene may also be accompanied by another gene that would not be known of until later on in the persons life. There is also the chance of something being misapplied which could lead to bigger problems like disease or harm to the babys body.

Argument 4

• If someone was to genetically alter an unborn baby to look a certain way then there isn't even a guarantee that by the time they are born that they will even look that way. Also if your designing the whole baby then you might design it so that it looks nothing like the rest of the family and it would only look the way that the parents think of as “perfect.” If in a few years many people are beginning to design there children to be extra smart, have amazing athletic ability etc. then what will happen to the kids that weren’t designed and genetically altered? Will the children who didn’t have a gene altered to make them very intelligent fall behind all of the children who have had these genes altered and are going to be very smart?

Conclusion

• In conclusion I don’t think that people should be able to use this technology in order to make their baby look exactly how they want. I don’t think its fair that people who can afford this technology take advantage of it but people who cant afford it and need it aren't able to have a healthy baby. After doing this project I learned a lot of new information about designer babies and genetics. I thought that doing this project was very interesting and informative.

Works Cited • "Single Gene Disorder." Sweet Search. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sweetsearch.com/>.

• "Genome.gov | Chromosome Abnormalities Fact Sheet." Genome.gov | National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) - Homepage. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://www.genome.gov/11508982#al-5>.

• • MLA style: • "genetic disorder" Compton's by Britannica. Britannica Online for Kids.• Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.• <http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-201415/genetic-disorder>.• • APA style: • genetic disorder (2011). In Compton's by Britannica. Retrieved

fromhttp://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-201415/genetic-disorder• "The CQ Researcher Online." CQ Press Electronic Library. Web. 22 Mar. 2011.

<http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2000051201>.• "Designer Babies: Ethical Considerations (ActionBioscience)." ActionBioscience - Promoting Bioscience Literacy. Web. 23 Mar.

2011. <http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html>.• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/designer_baby_pgd.jpg&i

mgrefurl=http://singularityhub.com/2009/03/17/despite-setback-march-toward-designer-babies-inevitable/&usg=__bp5aS9