There's a lot of innovation going on in China these days, but perhaps not all of it is good. Chinese fertility centers are going well beyond American practices, using genetic diagnosis to influence how children conceived through in vitro fertilization will turn out. On one hand, the potential for improving human health is enormous. On the other hand, I am uneasy at the prospect of the power this gives parents. I don't trust people to take so much control over the future of human nature.
Sometimes you hear it argued that the complex nature of genes will prevent major feats of genetic engineering. That may be selling short future advances in Big Data and biomedicine, but even minor changes in genetic diagnosis and selection could have significant effects. Maybe you can't choose to have a child who will be happy, but you might be able to lower the chance of your kid having depression or social anxiety by some small amount. Over the course of generations, that will exert great influence over the nature of the human experience.
One risk, of course, is that parents will opt for some apparently desirable qualities in their children, and then the experiment will backfire, due to unforeseen genetic connections. Maybe we'll get happier kids, but they will be less creative, or less driven, or they might care less about others. Those are valid concerns, especially in these early days of genetic engineering. But I have a deeper worry, namely that things can go badly even when parents get exactly what they want.
If you could directly alter your kids' genetic profile, what would you want? It's hard to know how the social debate would turn out after years of back and forth, but I was dismayed to read one recent research paper by psychologists Rachel M. Latham and Sophie von Stumm. The descriptive title of that work, based on survey evidence, is "Mothers want extraversion over conscientiousness or intelligence for their children." Upon reflection, maybe that isn't so surprising, because parents presumably want children who are fun to spend time with.
Would a more extroverted human race be desirable, all things considered? I genuinely don't know, but at the very least I am concerned. The current mix of human personalities and institutions is a delicate balance which, for all of its flaws, has allowed society to survive and progress. I'm not looking to make a big roll of the dice on this one.
It's also not difficult to imagine parents wanting children who are relatively well-behaved. The same research paper found that mothers, after extroversion, preferred the trait of "agreeableness" in their children, again over both intelligence and conscientiousness.
I was struck by a recent Chinese report that some parents are asking for children who are able to drink socially, for business purposes, and thus trying to avoid some genes that make it difficult to process alcohol. Caveat emptor.
Another risk is that parents may be too risk-averse. Especially if a family has only one or two kids, there may be a strong tendency to try to "play it safe" in terms of personality traits and cognitive abilities. Yet a greater diversity of human types may serve the greater good and perhaps offer intrinsic value too, by making the world an aesthetically richer and more diverse place. Unfortunately, it's not hard to imagine a world where many parents opt against prospective children labeled, if only statistically, as "too nerdy," "too temperamental" or "too hard-working."
Parents' choices, and their eventual public unveiling, may have harmful effects on social norms. What if it becomes known that a high percentage of parents opted for children with paler skin or straighter hair or a greater chance of being heterosexual? That knowledge could boost stigmas and social divisions, even with stringent anti-discrimination legislation. The parental choices could end up being seen as, in essence, the final court of public opinion.
We might expect that the regulators will say no to the most dangerous applications of genetic engineering, but can we be so sure? The techniques will be available in many different countries, and over time the more lax standards will have greater influence, if only through "genetic engineering tourism." Parents are also a potent voting bloc, and if they really desire such choices, they may end up getting their way.
In China, these techniques are already about one-third as cheap as in the U.S., interest in them is growing rapidly, and there is talk of having them covered by national health insurance programs.
There is plenty of justified worry about greater discrimination these days, but we're hardly talking about the biggest threats.
Bloomberg
Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg View columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and is the author of "The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream."
Read the original post:
The drive for the perfect offspring can get scary - Chicago Tribune
- Genetic Engineering: Ancient Feats That Started A Revolution - Part 1 - Video - January 16th, 2014 [January 16th, 2014]
- Tissue Culture & Genetic Engineering can revive Sugar industry in UP: MODI - Video - February 9th, 2014 [February 9th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Definition and More from the Free ... - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - humans, body, used, process, plants ... - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Ap genetic engineering 1 - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- 4.3c - Genetic Engineering - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering for Dummies - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- The Genetic Engineering Of The Annunaki Gods - Chris Hardy - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Biology Project - Video - April 10th, 2014 [April 10th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Selective Human Breeding - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- mr i explains: The Process of Genetic Engineering (for KS4) - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- AP genetic engineering 2 - Video - April 15th, 2014 [April 15th, 2014]
- Trait by trait, plant scientists swiftly weed out bad seeds through marker-assisted breeding - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Vermont Senate passes GMO labeling bill - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- GMO Labeling Bill Passes Vermont Senate - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - News - Science - The New York Times - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering: What is Genetic Engineering? - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Buzzle - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - BiologyMad - April 17th, 2014 [April 17th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering - LeaderU.com - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Greenpeace International - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering | Buzzle.com - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Routine blood glucose measurements can accurately estimate hemoglobin A1c in diabetes - April 22nd, 2014 [April 22nd, 2014]
- Genome Editing - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Genetic Tricks Could Make Bionic Ears Hear Better - April 24th, 2014 [April 24th, 2014]
- Engineered E. coli produces high levels of D-ribose as described in Industrial Biotechnology journal - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Scientists Build a Custom Chromosome - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- GEN Publishing introduces 'Clinical OMICs' digital publication - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Deciphering Nature's Alphabet - 4. Imagining the Genome - Video - April 25th, 2014 [April 25th, 2014]
- Remember the American Chestnut Tree on Arbor Day - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Webinar by Drs. Barrangon, Zhang and Church - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- CRISPR Cas9: A novel approach to genetic engineering - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Minn. lawmakers consider GMO label - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Overview - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Plant Engineers Sow Debate - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- GENs Top 10 Session Picks for the 2014 BIO International Convention - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- TTA14-OGM-Genetic Engineering - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and transgenic organisms - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- An overview of Genetic Engineering 2 - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering and Insulin - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- Human Genetic Engineering Final Project - Video - May 2nd, 2014 [May 2nd, 2014]
- No to Genetic Engineering | People and Politics - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Korey Fung Ethics of Genetic Engineering Designer Babies Reproductive Revolution - Video - May 3rd, 2014 [May 3rd, 2014]
- Functional crops are coming - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- Minecraft- Genetic Engineering Ranch Tour - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Review - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- d27m - genetic engineering (omd cover) 2014 - Video - May 6th, 2014 [May 6th, 2014]
- Scientists Add New Letters to Lifes Genetic Alphabet - May 8th, 2014 [May 8th, 2014]
- Vermont governor to sign GMO labeling bill - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Intro - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- SAY NO TO GENETIC ENGINEERING ! SWINE FLU 2009 - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- New DNA cleavage technique could lead to more versatile genetic engineering - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering By Anna from Germany - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering with Nadia Ayoub - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Simplified - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- 2. Dissecting Genders- by Religion, Society and Science (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- 1. Introduction - Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam - FULL) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Research Project - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- B3 Selective Breeding and Genetic Engineering - Video - May 16th, 2014 [May 16th, 2014]
- Genetic engineering 2 - Video - May 20th, 2014 [May 20th, 2014]
- Court decision keeps NZ GE-free - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- LW Genetic Engineering - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering And Cloning - Video - May 22nd, 2014 [May 22nd, 2014]
- Virus that helped eradicate smallpox takes on cancer in startups dual-mechanism immunotherapy - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- College Prep English at EIE May 29, 2014 - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Student Work:Genetically Modified Organisms:ChiChi (G8) - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- 03 Genetic Engineering - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- 04 Genetic Engineering cont - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- How Genetic Engineering Can Cure Drug Addiction? Michael Crichton on Treatment (2006) - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Crowd marches against genetic engineering of food - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Scotch Moses: Genetic Engineering - Video - May 31st, 2014 [May 31st, 2014]
- Growing The Good Seed - Video - June 2nd, 2014 [June 2nd, 2014]
- Genetic engineering and the Vedas - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Genetic Engineering Presentation - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- Hawaii: Fear over GM plants and pesticides | Global 3000 - Video - June 4th, 2014 [June 4th, 2014]
- genetic engineering -- Encyclopedia Britannica - June 12th, 2014 [June 12th, 2014]
- A Vaccine for Heart Disease Could Mean No Pills, Lettuce or a Gym - June 14th, 2014 [June 14th, 2014]