4 ms·
The only caveat to this approach, and it's minor, is that the inherited disorder will continue to be inherited. So the children need to be aware that when they
by berdon 8y ago
The only caveat to this approach, and it's minor, is that the inherited disorder will continue to be inherited. So the children need to be aware that when they have kids they'll want to have the same done (assuming nothing better has come along) so their kids can also sweat.
I wonder if this will become a problem for us moving into an age where we know enough to "fix" ourselves but not completely. Basically just more medical riders, instead of a bum knee, you have a bum gene.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoI don’t believe so. With genotyping costs continuing to rapidly fall, CRISPR, and other gene editing techniques, we’re going to continually improve on our ability to self-improve, “spell checking” errors out of our genomes if you will. There is great peril in us causing cascading anomolies that can be passed on genetically, but if we can master gene editing, we’re going to see incredible gains in quality of life for each future generation. A sound strategy (IMHO) would be for humanity to target the most costly genetic anomalies and iterate from there, using cost savings to accelerate the process.
- trophycase 8y agoThis is already happening: See rates of C Sections.
- magic_beans 8y agoWhat do C-Sections have to do with inherited gene disorders?
- trophycase 8y agoWomen who need C-Sections to give birth have children who are more likely to need C-Sections when they give birth. It is not a "gene disorder" in the traditional sense, but you could certainly make the case that it is.
- magic_beans 8y agoMany women elect to have C-sections (particularly in Brazil) who are otherwise healthy, so this metric is not useful at all.