Ted Talk Video Essay Assignment: Unethical Designer Babies

Unethical Designer Babies
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Unethical Designer Babies
Science and technology is at a stage where genetic coding is taking on a rather interesting turn. In the past there have been development in the genetically modified organism a topic that was received in equal measure of resentment and applause. Paul Knoepfler a professor of cell biology and anatomy teaching at the UC Davis School of Medicine in California brings a rather controversial topic to the TED Talk show, designer babies. This as he describes it is a baby that has had some element of ‘upgrades’ compared to the baby that is born normally (TED, 2017). Knoepfler has been a key figure in the genetics field especially with reference to the use of stem cells in the treatment of cancer and other fronts. As such, he has had massive experience in this field and specifically CRISPR. A new technology that allows scientist in the genetics field to make precise modification to the genetic code in the precise locations that they would want (TED, 2017).
Using the CRISPR technology scientists can be in a position to modify the genetic composition of a child to reflect higher characteristics than that of a normal child. The CRISPR is a technology that can zero in on a gene, cut it and rewrite the code. Like Knoepfler indicates, it is possible for scientists to create a child that is smarter, beautiful, athletic and even able to surpass her parents’ abilities exceedingly. This simply means that the child is made to the specification of the parents (TED, 2017). If they want a child that is intelligent immune to genetic diseases and athletic the technology allows the scientists to create just that to the last specification and with surprising accuracy.
However, there is an ethical element associated with the technology. This is science that could easily be turned into a chase for profit. A designer baby is going to be a very strong motivator relative to the fact that, this is an expensive and returns field (TED, 2017). It is a field that is open to very shrewd ideologies where scientists may go beyond what is ethically acceptable. This is not to say that there are not scientists that are using the technology to study fundamental elements of sciences such as curing cancer cells, and other genetic diseases that have plagued the world for centuries. It is the fraction of scientists that could easily turn this into a nightmare of sorts with all manner of unethical experiments. Knoepfler also mentions the fact that, there is a possibility that some of the scientists that are motivated to created improvements on the human population may start creating humans that they fee are better. This is likely to create imbalance and unpredictable results relative to the fact th...