http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_te...cle3172139.ece
(snip)"Within 10 years, doctors could transplant embryos created by three 'parents' – so eliminating genes that lead to life-threatening conditions – under plans to be debated by MPs tomorrow. Opponents fear this will pave the way for human cloning. Marie Woolf reports
Published: 18 November 2007
Babies made by cloning techniques from the DNA of two women could be born within 10 years as ministers prepare to give the green light for embryos produced by biological material from three "parents". A new law, to be debated in the House of Commons tomorrow, opens the door for such hybrid eggs to be implanted in women.
The novel procedure is designed to find a cure for mitochondrial disease, a range of life-threatening conditions that affect one in 10,000 people.
The development has delighted scientists who say it will usher in a new wave of groundbreaking genetic research that could prevent thousands of children from being born with debilitating diseases.
But Christian groups and campaigners concerned about developments in human genetics have reacted with horror at what they see as the beginning of human cloning and the approval of "Frankenstein science". "(snip)
The 'door' is being opened by raising the point about the possibility of excluding 'genetic' diseases from future children by the use of selecting the 'best' genetics from two mothers (and therefore rejecting the 'less than best' genetics). But the same genetic selection technology would also make it possible for the 'rich' to begin 'selective breeding' of future children. This could potentially lead to a new generation of dancers who have both killer bodies and MENSA brains !
But seriously, this COULD lead to an actual new division between the 'rich' and the poor, where those who could afford the procedure could actually start 'selectively breeding' children who are genetically superior. And those genetically superior children could pass on those superior characteristics without repeating the procedure, or further improve those superior characteristics by repeating the procedure for subsequent generations.
After three or four generations of repeated genetic selection, it's very possible that 'rich' people would indeed be so genetically superior to your average poor human that the expression 'the ruling class' could take on a literal meaning. Wasn't there a Star Trek movie plot along these lines ?
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