New Scientist October 1998

"If you put your ear to the tracks, you can hear the train coming.

In conference halls around the world, geneticists and developmental biologists have been gathering to discuss what once was unthinkable-genetically engineering human embryos so that they, and their children, and their children's children, are irrevocably changed.  These experts are talking with remarkable candor about using germ-line engineering to cure fatal diseases or even to create designer babies that will be stronger, smarter, or more resistant to infections.
Doctors are already experimenting with therapy, in which a relatively small number of cells in the lungs, say are altered to correct a disease.  Germ-line engineering, however, would change every cell in the body.  People would no longer have to make do with haphazard combinations of their parent's genes.  Instead, genetic engineers could eliminate defective genes, change existing ones or even add a few extra.  Humanity would, in effect, take control of its own evolution.
So awesome is this idea, that until a year or so ago, the taboo on human germ-line engineering was absolute.  But opinions have started to shift.  Once barely considered a topic for polite conversation among even the most gung-ho of geneticists, germ-line engineering of humans is becoming so much grist to the mill of scientists gossiping around the coffee pot.

When it comes to cell division most of the DNA in each chromosome is irrelevant. But to be copied Properly and sorted into the two daughter cells, a chromosome must have two types of highly specialized DNA sequences one somewhere in the middle called a centromere, and bits on either tip called telomeres.  Last year, Huntington Willard, a molecular biologist at the Case Western Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio, and his colleagues reported that they had created artificial chromosomes in cultured human cells that replicated every time the cells divided.  "We cultured them for six months, and they looked like perfectly normal chromosomes," say Willard.

Because these human artificial chromosomes (HACs) promise the ultimate in  genetic engineering, they have done more to fire up discussion about human germ-line engineering than any other technology. Once perfected, HACs will make it possible for genetic engineers to ship complex custom made genetic programs into human embryo cells. "

What is germ-line engineering? What do you think of its name "germ-line engineering"?

What do you think of the phrase "the knowledge is coming too fast and the possibilities too exciting"?

Should we seek to proof humanity of such diseases as cancer, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis, etc. by genetic manipulation?

Do you think it is ethical to change the genetic make-up of existing people?

Would you let a couple or a government prevent its baby or populace from the slightest chance of being gay?

Should syndromes like manic/depressives be cured?

Should we take charge of our own evolution?

Would there be any advantages to a society to let its populace be experimented on? Are there any drawbacks to such a scheme?

What traits would you increase or introduce?

If you undergo genetic manipulation of your DNA what would you change? IQ, Strength, speed of reflexes, etc.

Would you allow a lesbian couple to insure that they had homosexual girl babies?