Genetic engineering will dramatically change the future

By Dick Pelletier

      

    What if you could be smarter, stronger, and have a better memory just by taking a pill? What if we could alter our genes to cure Alzheimer's and Parkinson's? What if we could halt or even reverse the human aging process?

    Although these questions sound like the stuff of dreams; today, scientists are learning to unravel our genetic mysteries and more fully understand how DNA controls our lives. Doctors will soon be able to replace nearly all of our deficient genes. For example, if people have a tendency to develop a certain kind of cancer, we’ll reprogram the bad genes and protect them from that cancer.

    Most people approve genetic procedures in children and adults, but when it comes to changing genes in embryos, some say we’re playing god. However, proponents believe that this science could eliminate forever diseases like cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and cancer. In theory, all "bad" genes in the body could be replaced by "good" genes.

    Manchester University’s John Harris believes that as parents, we are morally obliged to improve life for our children and ourselves. Society devotes so much energy towards saving lives, which, in reality, is simply postponing death, he says. If it’s OK to save lives, Harris reasons; then it should also be OK to postpone death by eliminating diseases that can kill us.

    For Harris, having the ability to improve our species but refusing to do so, makes little sense. He has a difficult time understanding why some people are so insistent that we shouldn't try to improve human evolution. He adds, "Can you imagine our ape ancestors getting together and saying, 'this is pretty good, guys. Let’s stop it right here!' That’s the equivalent of what some people say today."

    But ethicists see it differently. They warn that genetically modifying embryos could lead to designer babies with desirable traits involving height, intelligence and skin color.

    Why do we have bad genes? Many of today's health problems; diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are the result of a clash between genes we developed early on as a species and the environment. Our ancestors lived when food was scarce. They were always searching for hard-to-come-by calories and would store them in their body for future use.

    Today, we have plenty of food, but our genes keep telling us to eat. Changing a few genes could help us eat only when necessary, and could even instill selective tastes for healthier foods. Imagine not feeling hungry unless your body requires nutrition; and craving only healthy foods while despising "junk" foods. Say goodbye to obesity, diabetes, and most other sicknesses.

    As genetics and molecular biology become more of a game-changing science, the following procedures could become routine during the next decade:

    1. Reengineering taste buds to make healthy foods enjoyable; unhealthy ones undesirable.
    2. Reprogramming cells to rejuvenate aging and worn body parts in older adults.
    3. Sharpening senses to provide better eyesight, hearing, and touch.
    4. Altering neurons to strengthen desires that improve interpersonal relationships.

    This "magical future" will arrive as we strive to become stronger, smarter, less prone to violence, and longer-lived. Will humanity achieve these goals? Positive futurists believe that it will.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.