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Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

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Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#111

Post by Loudergood »

hilsdev wrote: post #75
creakingstairs wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it just me or do I feel like the society is way more accepting nowadays? I had to pretty much hide who I was during school due to fear of bullying/ not fitting in but most kids these days seem to be able to be themselves in many ways. I agree we can be friendlier though!

You’re right the world is a lot more accepting. No matter how much things improve and how positive the trajectory though, there will be someone online who tells us it’s not enough

It's ok to say "we can do better" even when we already are.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#112

Post by llmthrow103 »

kulahan wrote: post #97
zarzavat wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some bioethics experts are concerned I do have to wonder what goes on in the minds of these people. My sister-in-law has a child with Down's syndrome and the situation basically ruined her life. She can no longer work, so they now struggle on a single income, if her husband were to leave her she would be completely screwed. To what end is that in the continuance of ethics?

Because it's a form of eugenics, however far down the spectrum it may be. edit: I mean to imply here that the overton window is shifted, basically.

Dating apps and services with a beauty/salary standard and long prison sentences for the worst criminals are also a form of eugenics. Many kinds of societal and political changes have a eugenic or dysgenic effect on the population, and I'd prefer to live in a society that has more eugenic policies.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#113

Post by Loudergood »

devonbleak wrote: post #72
afavour wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly it’s confounding to even think about it. Aborting a fetus with Down’s syndrome? Feels cruel to deprive someone of life for that. But if it meant you went on to have another child you otherwise wouldn’t have then you’re giving life. I think at a certain point you can’t consider this stuff rationally.

I have a cousin with DS. You have to be committed and have the means to raise a child with extreme needs. Many of them will live with their parents their entire lives and will not develop cognitively beyond their tweens (hence the Britney Spears anecdote above). The ones that do move out tend to have to go to a place that specializes in assisting them. They can also have pretty extreme health issues. Yes, they can be…

The true challenge is what happens after those caregivers pass on.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#114

Post by notimetorelax »

kbelder wrote: post #73
derektank wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It says that they've developed a way to identify the extra chromosome(s) passed to a child by a malfunctioning germ cell, specifically chromosome 21 though presumably this method could be reproduced for other trisomy diseases. This could, most immediately, lead to a therapy that allows a couple that is going through in vitro fertilization to repair a zygote that has trisomy by correcting the number of chromosomes it…

At that point, wouldn't they just use a different egg? I'd expect that to be far less costly and less risky than this treatment.

Older women may not produce that many eggs, if any at all. And each harvest costs multiple thousands, so it’s not all that clear cut.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#115

Post by typewithrhythm »

ghurtado wrote: post #99
puppycodes wrote: post #10

Interesting, I wonder what else this might lead too! Encouraging we might be getting somewhere. I used to live near a Down syndrome center where a bunch of folks lived and I remember this one lady who was kitted out with Britney Spears everything, lunchbox, t-shirt, hat, and headphones. Everyday I passed by the bus stop she would be dancing her heart out to a Britney track waiting for the bus and it made my world a l…

See, it's stories like this one that make me really question just how ethical it is to completely eliminate Down's from the gene pool. I understand it's the correct medical and scientific thing to do, it's just that it sometimes feels a little bit like eugenics for me.

Seeing a minute fraction of their existence is a rubbish way to make a judgement.

Most of they bring to the world is random rage, unspeakable fluids, and unpleasant interactions.

But I guess driving past safari style is fine.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#117

Post by shadowgovt »

nice_byte wrote: post #78
heavyset_go wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Willing to bet money that it will, there's a ton of investment right now in what I'd call blatant eugenics. There are companies right now making bank on embryo selection based on genetics, the next step is modifying genes instead of rolling a crap shoot and hoping to get what they want. Funnily enough, such companies are funded by and led by some HN subcultures' favorite people, I would know because I was recruited b…

preventing down syndrome is "eugenics"?

Technically no, but only in the technical sense that makes the idea a little useless.

Technically, 99% of Down's cases aren't hereditary (it's a spontaneous mitotic change), so you don't "improve the gene pool" by excluding it; as far as we know, basically anybody can have a kid with Down's syndrome if the mitotic dice come up snake eyes.

(But in the sense most people understand the term? Yes.)

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#118

Post by stickfigure »

creakingstairs wrote: post #56
mathgeek wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyday I passed by the bus stop she would be dancing her heart out to a Britney track waiting for the bus and it made my world a little brighter. As someone who absolutely loves to "be weird", I often wish the world was so much friendlier to folks like this (other than in a token manner).

Is it just me or do I feel like the society is way more accepting nowadays? I had to pretty much hide who I was during school due to fear of bullying/ not fitting in but most kids these days seem to be able to be themselves in many ways. I agree we can be friendlier though!

I do think people - and especially kids - are generally nicer and more accepting than they were back in the 80s when I grew up. I wonder if this is related to the fairly dramatic drop in violent crime statistics we've been seeing over the last several decades?

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#119

Post by stickfigure »

ghurtado wrote: post #99
puppycodes wrote: post #10

Interesting, I wonder what else this might lead too! Encouraging we might be getting somewhere. I used to live near a Down syndrome center where a bunch of folks lived and I remember this one lady who was kitted out with Britney Spears everything, lunchbox, t-shirt, hat, and headphones. Everyday I passed by the bus stop she would be dancing her heart out to a Britney track waiting for the bus and it made my world a l…

See, it's stories like this one that make me really question just how ethical it is to completely eliminate Down's from the gene pool. I understand it's the correct medical and scientific thing to do, it's just that it sometimes feels a little bit like eugenics for me.

Don't worry, you can still add alcohol to the fetal growth stage to get Epsilons. No need to leave it to chance.

Re: Scientists may have found a way to eliminate chromosome linked to Down syndrome

#120

Post by SoftTalker »

nice_byte wrote: post #78
heavyset_go wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Willing to bet money that it will, there's a ton of investment right now in what I'd call blatant eugenics. There are companies right now making bank on embryo selection based on genetics, the next step is modifying genes instead of rolling a crap shoot and hoping to get what they want. Funnily enough, such companies are funded by and led by some HN subcultures' favorite people, I would know because I was recruited b…

preventing down syndrome is "eugenics"?

Seems close enough to look like it if you squint a little. As it's more of a genetic error than an inerited trait, maybe not quite the same.
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