Designer babies 

 

Why were designer babies created?

     The technology to create designer babies was made to make sure

that embryos don’t have any hereditary genetic diseases, to be able

to choose the sex of the child, and to produce savior siblings

(children that have the same stem cell, tissue, bone marrow,

or organs for critically ill siblings).

 

When and where was it created?

     Designer babies all started with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The physician Walter Heape first established the Scientifics behind IVF in the late- nineteenth century by transferring embryos between two rabbits. The first successful IVF baby was nearly a century later in England, Louise Brown. He was the world’s first “test tube baby”. The British physiologist who worked on IVF in humans, Robert Edwards, later won the noble prize in Physiology or Medicine.

     To further along this process Jacques Cohen came up with another promising technique to help infertile women have children. His technique was to “rescue” the eggs of infertile women who were unsuccessful with IVF. It involved injecting the cytoplasm found inside the eggs of a fertile donor, into the patient’s eggs. In 1997 he conceived a baby through cytoplasmic transfer. Not only did he implant the egg he also gave the child extra genetic material, called mitochondrial DNA. This means the child technically has three parents the mother, father, and the donor. Cohen just created the first bioengineered baby.

      These scientific outbreaks led to the first designer baby in the U.S. in 2000. Doctors used screening techniques to test the embryos of Lisa and Jack Nash. They were trying to find an exact cell match to their daughter Molly who suffers from the genetic disorder Fanconi Anemia that causes bone marrow deficiency. Once they found the exact match Mrs. Nash went under four IVF cycles. Finally, Adam Nash was born in August. Stem cells from his umbilical cord were taken and donated to replace Molly’s bone barrow.

 

How has the technology been improved over time?

      Designer babies started with In Vitro Fertilization. “IVF is the process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus”(-Webster Dictionary).   

      IVF was then modified into cytoplasmic transfer, which is and assisted reproductive technology. A fertility technique where the cytoplasm from a donor eggs is put into an egg with a compromised mitochondria. The egg will then fertilize with sperm and be implanted into the womb. This all is apart of the creation of designer babies.

 

The process to the technology?

     The first step is to create an embryo with IVF. The second step is removing a single cell from that embryo within the first five days of creation. You then genetically test the cell. Then the parents decide whether to discard the embryo or implant it back into the mother.

                                                                         New Embryo Test that consists of Pre-Implantation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the challenges scientist have faced with moving forward?

     Currently the biggest issue of having designer babies is the ethical decisions society and parents will have to make regarding the scientific advancements. There are debates over how far the “designer babies” should go and if they should even happen. Some people are arguing, “You are not helping the child, as you're destroying it- it is just done to make the parent’s life easier”(-revision.com). People are also saying, “You are saying that people with genetic disorders are inferior”, and that designing babies are undermining equality. “You're undermining the very important principle that humans are equal, whatever their looks, and strength. You are playing God and interfering with his creation of nature.”(-revision.com.)

 

What are scientists hoping to accomplish this year?

    Scientists are trying to make processes that involve actual modification and alteration of the genes of gametes (mature haploid male or female cell that can unite with another of the opposite sex). They are trying to figure out which genes code for which traits. They are trying to allow you to genetically engineer your babies gender, eye color, even height. Maybe even intelligence. Scientist are also trying to prevent birth defects. 

 

                                                      Video: Explains what scientists are hoping to accomplish in the future.