Build•A•Baby Workshop

“At Build· A·Baby Workshop, our mission is to bring to life your perfect, designer baby. Come and select from our wide variety of hair colours, body structures, and more.”

This may be the cash cow of the future. “Designer Baby” is a term created by the media to describe the future use of genetic technologies to alter embryos and select desirable or cosmetic traits.  These techniques require InVitro Fertilization, which is the process of fertilizing egg cells with sperm outside the female’s body.

Advantages of Designer Babies

Some couples can not have children because the children will either die before they are born, or die at an early age. Advancements in genetic technologies allow such couples to expand their families.

Using such genetic techniques, scientists are able to prevent children from having genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy. This allows the children to live a life free of genetic diseases.

Families with children suffering from medical disorders can have a designer baby genetically modified to be a perfect match donor. This way, the designer baby can help keep his or her sibling healthy.

Disadvantages of Designer Babies

Imagine the difficulties of being a designer baby genetically modified to be a perfect-match donor. How does it feel to be an organ vessel for one’s sibling? The purpose of life these kids’ lives depend on someone else. What will happen to them if the sibling dies? Children should not be loved for who they are, not what they can offer.  

Geneticists can select the gender among children. This choice promotes sexism in society. In some countries, such as China, parents hope to receive sons instead of daughters. With the practice of selecting gender, there would be a great imbalance among the genders.

Parents may create designer babies to fulfill their fantasies of a perfect child. The adults may have great expectation for their children. This would lead to strains in the relationship between the parents and the child. The child may not want the genetically modified traits he/she are given. The children will become objects of the parents’ whim. Designer babies would fuel perfectionist attitudes of parents towards their children and demote individuality.

Designer babies may be the stepping stone to designing the super human race. Cosmetic surgery allows one to reduce a sever disfigurement due to an accident. Unfortunately, this medical technique is used for other superficial reasons. What is stopping us from abusing genetic engineering to create super humans? Evidence from history indicates that we may cross this path in the future. Egyptian rulers married their siblings in order to keep the blood line “royal”. The ancient warriors, Spartans, used selective breeding to raise the strongest men to fight.

I do not think society is prepared for designer babies. We must deal with situations such as poverty, child labour and war in foreign lands. Designer babies would offer more problems than solutions at the moment. Perhaps society would be prepared for such options in the future.

Word Count: 499

Figures:

Figure 1: A picture of a baby. Traits such as hair colour and eye colour can be altered using genetic engineering.

Figure 2: Multiple babies. Note that there is a variety of babies.

Figure 3: The InVitro Fertilization where the egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the womb of the female.

Figure 4: An artistic represenation of how genetically modified babies are created. The process of InVitro Fertilization involves fertilizing the egg cells with sperm outside of the female's body. It is conducted using professional sterile lab equipment.

Figure 5: An artistic representation of the artist's views on Genetic Engineering. She speaks against choosing the baby's anesthetics by modifying the genetics and DNA.

Works Consulted:

"What Is a Designer Baby?" Bionet - New Discoveries in Life Sciences - Explore the Science and Debate the Issues. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/db_cont1.htm>.

Johnson, By Priya. "Pros and Cons of Designer Babies." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-designer-babies.html>.

My Sister's Keeper. Dir. Nick Cassavetes. Perf. Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin and Alex Baldwin. Curmudgeon Films, 2009. DVD.

New England Consortium of Metabolic Programs. "Words to Know – A POI Glossary « New England Consortium of Metabolic Programs." New England Consortium of Metabolic Programs. 1 June 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2010. <http://newenglandconsortium.org/for-families/galactosemia/galactosemia-and-primary-ovarian-insufficiency-poi/poi-glossary/>.

Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square, 2005. Print.

Sihera, Elaine. "Ancient Sparta According to the Greeks." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/994499-ancient-sparta-according-to-the-greeks>.

Sources for Figures: 

http://www.fotosearch.com/BNS371/bn279064/

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=designer+babies#/d111fzk

http://www.babylifestyles.com/2009/02/designer-babies-choose-hair-and-eye-color-check-for-illness/

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/09/eek_babies_are.php

http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/doinggood/2010/04/01/1265645011/

Blogs Commented on:
http://alexsbioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/designer-babies.html#comments
http://marysbioblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/design-baby.html#comments

The Arctic is on Thin Ice

Arctic Biodiversity

The biodiversity in the Arctic is limited; therefore the food webs tend to be very direct and fragile (Fig. 1). If one species was removed, this would affect the population of other organisms and disrupt the Arctic Ecological Balance.  

Factors affecting Arctic Biodiversity

1.    Global Warming



Global warming is a concern of scientists. The thickness of the ice indicates the health of the habitat; the thinner the ice, the more delicate it is. Long ago, the Arctic could survive at least one summer without melting. Now, seasonal ice (ice that melts and refreezes annually) surrounds the area. In 1980, 50% of the landscape was seasonal ice, but in 2009, the figures raised to 70%.

Global Warming has caused a loss of 26% of Arctic plants in 1400 square km. The Greenland caribou population is declining since they can no longer synchronize with the changes (Fig. 2). The difference in climate has altered the growing seasons of various plants. The period when female caribou require more food no longer match with the sprouting of plants needed for their livelihood. Polar bears use ice bergs as a resting place during their swims. The decline in ice has caused many polar bears to drown (Fig. 3).

The United Nations is establishing agreements to reduce the world’s pollutions such as the Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Organizations and governments are working towards reducing global temperatures by reducing pollution, increase recycling, etc.

2.    Natural Resources

Experts have discovered six major oil and gas reserves and two oil and gas field with an estimated value of 51 billion tonnes and 87 trillion cubic metre of natural gas in the Arctic. It also has the world’s third largest hydrocarbon reserves and large deposits of diamonds, gold, etc.

Nations, including Canada, are making claims on the land.  The government must find a sustainable method of extracting the natural resources to protect the environment.

Shell, a petroleum company, has signed a long-term partnership agreement with the International Union of Conservation of Nature in 2007. Shell agrees to work with experts to rescue the environment and support conservation.

3.      Tourism

The number of cruises visiting the Arctic has risen from 50 (in 2004) to 250 (in 2007). Every cruise ship carries 200-800 passenger, each carrying 91 cubic metres of solid waste, 72 kilo of hazardous waste, and oil bilge water. Ships release or take in ballast water to stabilize the ships. If the water is collected  in one place, and discharged somewhere else, there is a chance a foreign invasive creature such as zebra mussels will inhabit and destroy ecosystems (Fig. 4).

Cruising companies, such as Royal Caribbean International, have placed an environmental officer on each boat, has established an environmental management program (Save The Waves) and an ocean fund to protect marine species and their habitat (Fig. 5). Click here to view the Waste Stream Operational Controls Chart.

Guidelines for tourism in the Arctic provides principles to enjoy Arctic Tourism and to protect the  habitat, and biodiversity.

Figures



Figure 1: An example of Arctic Food Web

Figure 2: The Greenland Caribou



Figure 3: Polar Bear struggling to
balance on what remians of an ice berg.

Figure 4: A cluster of zebra mussels.

Figure 5:  Sign for Save the Waves Program from Royal Caribbean Cruises International

References

"Arctic Economics: Cruise Ship Pollution in the Arctic." Ben Muse. 03 Aug. 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://benmuse.typepad.com/arctic_economics/2008/08/cruise-ship-pollution-in-the-arctic.html#more>.

B, Charlie. "YouTube - 2010 Arctic Ice Update." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 25 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z79kWWnbOM>.

Bell, Debra. "Caribou and Reindeer: 10 Animals Threatened by Global Warming - US News & World Report." Breaking National and World News - US News. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://politics.usnews.com/news/energy/slideshows/10-animals-threatened-by-global-warming>.

"BERNAMA - Oil, Gas Reserves In Arctic Comparable To Gulf, Western Siberia - Scientist." Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA. 25 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=530250>.

Beruang. "Global Warming: The Arctic Ecosystem Is Changing." Beruang Rebus Aka The Steamed Bear XD. 08 Mar. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://beruangrebus.com/nature/global-warming-the-arctic-ecosystem-is-changing>.

International Union of Conservation of Nature. "IUCN - Marine Programme." IUCN - Home. 21 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://iucn.org/about/work/programmes/marine/?6072/Protecting-vulnerable-ecosystems-in-the-melting-Arctic>.

Royal Caribbean International. "Royal Caribbean and the Environment - Royal Caribbean International." Royal Caribbean International: Royal Caribbean Cruise Deals & Cruise Vacations - Royal Caribbean International. 2009. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ourCompany/environment/rcAndEnvironment.do>.

Schaeffer, Jason. "“green” | Jason Schaeffer." Jason Schaeffer | A Few Thoughts, Likes, Dislikes, Tastes and Opinions…. 20 May 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://jasonschaeffer.wordpress.com/category/green/>.

"Zebra Mussel Cluster – Small | The Intersection | Discover Magazine." Discover Blogs | Discover Magazine. 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2010/02/12/marine-invaders/zebra-mussel-cluster-small/.

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