• Question: is it true that in the future, parents will be able to choose their children's features such as their gender, height, colour of their hair and eyes, before they are even born? If so, how?

    Asked by AoifeG28 to Chris, Kathryn, Sarah on 16 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Sarah Guerin

      Sarah Guerin answered on 16 Nov 2017:


      Technically yes- genetic engineering is an ongoing area of research, that currently focuses on preventing diseases before birth, but could be extended to other genetic features. All of these things are controlled by the DNA molecules in your body, and scientists are getting better and better at changing the structure and properties of DNA molecules.

    • Photo: Kathryn Schoenrock

      Kathryn Schoenrock answered on 16 Nov 2017:


      There is a tool that we have now to edit DNA- called CRISPR. But it is unethical to use that technology on humans still…

    • Photo: Chris Werner

      Chris Werner answered on 16 Nov 2017:


      Most of it is down to what you inherit from your parents etc, but I did hear of a case where the baby’s gender was chosen, at a pricy cost! It is possible, by the ways Sarah mentioned, but then I’d feel a bit uneasy about the whole process very unethical, who would want to be born and then told later in life, ‘This is exactly how we designed you to be!’ What if that person didn’t like the way they were designed? You are who you chose to be and that’s the way it should be!

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