From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Tue Jun 24 2003 - 09:24:25 MDT
From: Adrian Tymes [mailto:wingcat@pacbell.net]
> ...okay, I'm spacing here. There's a standard retort
> to the fear that genetic enhancement will lead to a
> single genotype becoming dominant - much moreso, by a
> much higher percentage (at least of those with access
> to this) having more 9s in their 99.999...% similar
> DNA, than is presently the norm - with the remaining
> holdouts becoming discriminated against for that
> reason alone. But I forget what that retort is just
> now.
I'm not aware of a standard retort here. If there is one I'd like to
hear it.
My own view is that parents have a biological urge to have a child
that is genetically *theirs*, just with some added benefits. Most
dark haired parents are not going to want a blonde child. Most
passionately emotional parents are not going to want a reserved child.
Undoubtedly there will be certain genes where almost anyone who
tinkers with them will choose the same allele. For example, one allele
of the APoE gene confers a lower risk of both heart disease and
Alzheimer's. But for the genes that control behavior, things will not
be so clear cut. Almost any behavior affecting gene is going to have
multiple effects and trade-offs. That will force parents to choose
based on their own preferences, and those choices will guarantee
diversity.
mez
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue Jun 24 2003 - 09:35:42 MDT