. . . in a striking acknowledgement that humanity is on the cusp of genetically modified children, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences . . . recommended that germ-line modification of human beings be permitted in the future in certain narrow circumstances to prevent the birth of children with serious diseases . . .
The panel . . . drew a bright line between preventing disease and “enhancements” like attempting to alter genes to make people more intelligent . . .
In the case of editing human embryos, the line between avoiding serious disease and enhancement may eventually prove to be a blurry one. In addition to preventing the transmission of known genetic diseases like beta thalassemia or cystic fibrosis, the report’s authors said their positive recommendation could also apply to genetic improvements that would act like a vaccine . . . For instance, people with a certain version of a gene called ApoE are much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s . . .
Antonio Regalado, «U.S. Panel Endorses Designer Babies to Avoid Serious Disease», in technologyreview.com ; Cambridge, MA and San Francisco : MIT Technology Review, 2017-02-14 (excerpt La Litera información)
