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Embryo #30 Female
- Higher than average risk of a cleft
- Lower than average risk of autism and ADHD
- Brown hair, green eyes
- Expected career paths: lawyer, politician, police officer
Embryo #58 Male
- Lower than average risk of cystic fibrosis
- Blond hair blue eyes
- 60% chance of above-average school grades
The future of designer babies may look something like this. You may remember a scenario like this from the satirical novel Brave New World.
Designer babies are foetuses that have been selected for implantation due to what genes they have. This is a process that is currently used in genetic screening to eradicate defects particularly those which are hereditary.
However, there is a worry that this will be extended to choose all genes, not just those that aren’t defective but genes that determine eye and hair colour as well as the chance of a high IQ, and possibly a race of superhumans will be born.
So the question is where do we draw the line?