Ask A Scientist© Biology Archive

Question:  I am writing a research paper on genetic engineering, specifically,
creating the perfect baby.  I have used infotrack at the local library but it 
is difficult obtaining information on this topic.  Do you have a
any sources available on this topic?  Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Answer 1:
Jonnette,
 
You might try beginning work on your paper by defining exactly what
you mean by a 'perfect' baby.  Will this be your definition,
or your class's definition, or society's definition, or will some
other group decide what is the 'perfect' baby.
 
You might speak with your local librarian for assistance in researching
the topic 'genetic engineering'.
Ric (rickru)
Thanks for using NEWTON!

Answer 2:  Three kinds of genetic engineering exist.  The most active kind, what
most people think of when they hear "genetic engineering" is presently done
mostly with bacteria: you actually snip a chromosome out of somewhere else
(or you build it in a test tube) and then you insert it into the cell and
change its characteristics.  The most advanced form of this I know of is an
experimental treatment for cystic fibrosis in humans.  You can also genetic
engineer simply by breeding selectively, and this has been done for
millennia.  The domestic pig, cow, dog, etc. are very different from their
wild ancestors because of this.  People breed selectively as well, albeit
somewhat haphazardly when left to their own devices.  If you look up the
practice of "eugenics" you will find out about people who want to breed
people deliberately, e.g. try to breed high blood pressure out of the race.
The third form of genetic engineering is similar, and consists mostly of
aborting embryos that from testing in the womb have disastrous or sometimes
merely unwanted genes.  Many pregnant white women over the age of 35 are
tested by amniocentesis for Down's syndrome, a genetic deformity of the
embryo that can cause profound mental retardation.  Testing for cystic
fibrosis, an extremely unpleasant genetic disease, is probably also done.
In the near future the main form of genetic engineering is likely to be of
this sort, testing for birth defects, which afflict at present about 4% of
births, a percentage that is rising as women bear children later.  The
major social debates are therefore likely to be linked to abortion.
Christopher Grayce