A Baby, Please. Blonde, Freckles -- Hold the Colic.

Laboratory Techniques That Screen for Diseases in Embryos Are Now Being Offered to Create Designer Children.

So you want to design your baby? A girl you say? Blue eyes? Brown hair? You want her to be intelligent and athletic? Is there anything else you desire?

The first two articles posted on "designer babies" focused mainly on the prospect of genetically altering embryos for disease prevention and the option to choose the sex of one's baby; the thought of genetic alterations for cosmetic enhancements seemed a controversy too distant to dwell on. Yet, a clinic (Fertility Institutes) recently claimed to not only allow couples to create "savior babies" or to eliminate embryos of genetic risk but also to choose gender and physical traits in their babies. It seems the dawn of "designer babies" is upon us.

Cosmetic traits will be a difficult form of preimplantation genetic diagnosis; not only are features such as intelligence and athletic ability also affected by environmental factors but cosmetic traits are centered around a large number of DNA variations and may be harder to pinpoint. Yet, scientists in Iceland and the Netherlands have made major advancements, pinpointing the genetic markers responsible for eye, hair and skin color. Therefore, scientists can now offer the probability that a genetically enhanced embryo will have the specific hair/eye color requested by the parents.

While Fertility Institutes claims to offer cosmetic PGD, the controversial treatment is not on the open market yet. It has been met with much opposition as well as threats to ostracize any clinic who begins this embryonic enhancement. Even the general public does not agree with the implantation of cosmetic enhancement. According to statistics, the majority of people said they would support genetic tests for the elimination of specific diseases but when asked about cosmetic enhancement only 10% supported enhanced athletic ability, 10% supported improved height and 13% supported enhanced intelligence. Even key figures in the PGD world such as Dr. Kearns (found enough data to identify SNP's to relate N. European skin, hair and eye pigmentation) do not support preimplantation cosmetic enhancement. As said by Dr. Kearns, "I'm not going to do designer babies, I won't sell my soul for a dollar."

The future of natural wonder and imperfection hang in the balance.

First "designer baby" Born Free of Breast Cancer Genetic Risk

Embryo Screening and the Ethics of Human Genetic Engineering

Recently, the world's first "designer babies" have been born.

A baby girl born was embryonically screened to be free of the genetic risk for breast cancer. Scientists removed the faulty BRCA1 gene from the embryo to prevent the child from inheriting the genetic risk for breast cancer that is prevalent in her ancestry.

This procedure is known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and has become routine in preventative medicine. The beginnings of preventative medicine only allowed for the screening of diseases such as Huntington's disease and cystic fibrosis leaving the mother with the opportunity to either continue with or terminate the pregnancy. Today though, PGD allows the prescreening of embryos to solely allow those free of genetic diseases to implant.

While a wonderful advancement to most, some opposition still arises with some who say, "it reinforces existing discrimination in a 'neo-eugenic future'". Also, the prevention of the transmission of genetic diseases may be beneficial but where is science headed now? Babies with predetermined cosmetic features, or increased mental ability? Are we moving toward Gattaca?

Damage Control

Perhaps the most psychologically, emotionally, and physically devastating injury to the human body is facial disfigurement. Not only is one shunned by such an image-conscious culture as our own, they are also alienated from their own appearance and identity, shocked by their own mirror reflection. Beauty aside, the face is the main site for human expression and interaction. A mother’s nurturing smile, a lover’s sensual gaze, an enemy’s vengeful scowl, or a comedian’s trickster wink, are all elements of facial complexity that help us to evaluate and develop our own subjectivity and social competence in the world.

Next month will mark one year since the most invasive and extensive face transplant was performed in the United States. In September 2004, Connie Culp was shot in the face by her husband outside a bar in Hopedale, Ohio. The gunshot wound left her with shattered features; the nose, cheeks, roof of the mouth, and one eye were left mutilated and therefore functionless. The transplant surgery, which was performed at the Cleveland Clinic, did little to restore Culp’s original appearance, her face now boxy and caricature-like, the skin thick and bloated. However, no signs of rejecting the skin graft have been reported and there is hope that significant progress can still be made. As nerves continue to regenerate (growing about an inch in one month), Culp’s sense of smell, taste and sight have the potential to be restored. And as circulation improves, additional surgeries may be performed to normalize her appearance and help Culp blend back into society.

With advances in surgery techniques as well as the medications that supplement such procedures, medical intervention is progressing to soon alleviate and hopefully erase all visible signs of severe trauma. Victims of abuse may soon be able to permanently erase the scars of brutal injuries. Surgical procedures along with psychiatric drugs for erasing memory may one day be used in tandem so that soldiers returning from war are able to return to a previous state of optimal functioning, both physically and emotionally. But as we transgress the boundaries of disease and trauma, as we extend life far beyond a biologically natural endpoint, what will become the future dangers to our wellbeing and health?

Deeper Brain Stimulation

Newly designed brain implant looks to stimulate more effectively.

Deep brain stimulation has been the last resort for patients suffering from the neurological disorders of Parkinson’s to chronic pain to dystonia or even major depression. This process, discovered in the late 90’s has been moderately successful at treating the symptoms of these causes utilizing a method similar to the pace maker of the heart. This surgical procedure implants electrodes in different places in the brain (depending on the treatment desired) and sends electrical pulses to disrupt the communications of the neurons. Despite the years of application, the exact explanation of its effectiveness is still relatively unknown. From a laypersons understanding, the procedure essentially puts electrodes in the brain and blasts it with electrical pulses.

Though this explanation is far oversimplified, compared to the new treatments being invented, the current treatment is not that far from the “shotgun blast” analogy. The electrodes currently used are about a millimeter in length which makes it very difficult to target only the desired neurons.

Depression, hallucinations, addictions, hypersexuality, and cognitive dysfunction- these symptoms of what sound like a trip to Las Vegas, are what lead Wolfgang Eberle, of IMEC’s bioelectronics research group, to develop a smaller more accurate electrode to pinpoint specific neurons. Due to the large size of the current electrode, researchers conclude that “collateral damage” of the large pulses leads to these neurological side effects. Wolfgang Eberle presented his new more precise electrode to the Design, Automation & Test in Europe (DATE) conference showing his studies which utilized “multi-physics simulation software COMSOL 3.4 and 3.5.” Using the advanced simulation software, Eberle designed an electrode about 10 micrometers in sized that would be placed in greater numbers than the current electrodes but work in a more precise stimulatory manner. His breakthrough has the potential to change the pulses from “shotgun” to “sniper rifle.”

Though this procedure seemingly has little to do directly with neuro-enhancment , it is a step in the direction of a more feasible and accurate brain-machine interface. The movement from the macro scale to the micro scale precedes the eventual movement into nanotechnology which could open the doors to mechanical brain enhancement only seen in science fiction. From researches at Stanford designing a circuit board hippocampus to Eberle’s tiny electrodes, the brain is becoming a mainframe for unprecedented technological breakthroughs.

Gene Therapy allows for muscle growth.

From movie stars to athletes to the average highschool teen, the desire to have a muscular body has become ever more important. Outside of popular culture, several neuromuscular disorders result in severe weakness of the quadriceps. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital are developing a gene delivery strategy that produces follistatin. Follistatin is a naturally occurring protein that inhibits myostatin, a growth factor expressed specifically in skeletal muscle. The result of this inhibition is that directly long-term gene expression with muscle enhancing effects.

Brian Kaspar, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Gene Therapy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital said that "studies indicate that this relatively non-invasive approach could have long-term effects, involve few risks and could potentially be effective in various types of degenerative muscle disorders including multiple forms of muscular dystrophy." Their research has proven successful in non-human primates. The muscles size was shown to increase by 15%, and muscle strength was shown to increase by 78%. The effect lasted for the 15 month study with no negative health effects. The research could also highlight methods of weight control and reduction of obesity.


This drug would be able to tap into an extensive market with an estimated 7 million people who take steroids to boost their muscles (in spite of the health risks), while also providing a solution to a wide range of neuromuscular diseases and weight control. Thus, the research has the potential, like many other gene targeted drugs, to remove a large burden from the current healthcare infrastructure. Shifting emphasis towards preventive solutions, and avoiding high cost surgical and invasive options.

I inhaled-That was the point.

What if you could inhale your way into a tight dress and exhale your way out of high blood sugar level and excess fat. Modern culture today is obsessed with easy ways to get rid of that extra pound. Yet, at the same time a the country is dealing with the major problem of obesity and all of the health risks that accompany it.

A thousand different popular diets have attempted to provide a solution, yet few have been truly successful.Chemical and biomolecular engineering, professor James Liao, associate professor of human genetics and pediatrics Katrina Dipple,and their research team at UCLA think that they have the solution. According to their paper in Cell Metabolism, They have been able to target genetic alterations that enable mice to convert fat into carbon dioxide and remain lean while eating the equivalent of a fast-food diet.

Their idea originated from observing bacteria and plants. They observed that seeds usually store a lot of fat. Upon germination, they convert the fat to sugar to grow.
Paralleling this natural pathway, they introduced genes for these enzymes from E. coli bacteria into cultured human cells and found that they increased the metabolism of fats in the cell. To their surprise, they found that the human cells converted the fat into carbon dioxde, instead of sugar as bacteria do.

Their research, although primitive, could provide a solution to a major health problem. According to the journal Health Affairs, overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion in the U.S. Alleviating this spending could significantly lower current healthcare budget problems and remove the burden on the health industry.

The same thing we do every night, Pinky- Try to take over the world

Scientists discover an over expression of the gene NR2B makes a smarter rat.

From mice to men, the idea of enhancing the brains ability to learn and remember has been a topic of science fiction from Flowers for Algernon to John Travolta in Phenomenon. Once pure fantasy, step by step, species by species- scientists are coming closer to understanding the way memories are formed and what they can do to manipulate them.

About ten years ago researchers from the Medical College of Georgia and East China Normal University genetically successfully altered the memory of the mouse named “Doogie,” named after the character Doogie Houser MD, to have a superior memory capabilities than normal mice of its species. Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, co-director of the MCG Brain & Behavior Discovery Institute, explained in Science Daily that “NR2B is a subunit of NMBA receptors, which are like small pores on brain cells that let in electrically-charged ions that increase the activity and communication of neurons.” NR2B is the juvenile form of NR2A. NR2B essentially keeps the communication between the brain and the cells open for milliseconds longer than the adult form which is enough to significantly enhance the formation of memory. Recently, Dr. Tsien has duplicated these findings in a rat named Hobbie-J.

Tsien increased the production of NR2B by “making them over-express CaMKII, an abundant protein that works as a promoter and signaling molecule for the NMDA receptor.” While this procedure might be too basic for the much more complex human brain, Tsien is dedicated to seeing how far this process can go, from other small mammals up to dogs. He is also interested in studying the effects of Magnesium ion in larger mammals, which he thinks blocks “entry to the NMDA receptor so more magnesium forces the brain cell to increase expression levels of the more efficient NR2B to compensate.” He believes Magnesium may be the gateway to memory enhancement in humans, which would be a unprecedented finding in neuroscience. Currently the major neuroenhancer is stimulants, such as Modafinil, which have no actual effect on the formation of memories but only on energy and motivation.

Much like memory removal, memory enhancement is still both a long ways away from being practiced in humans and a very touchy ethical issue. Memory enhancement has its obvious therapeutic roles, such as treating Alzheimer patients, but also delves unnatural levels of human cognition which would give clear performance enhancing attributes in almost every field.

Scientists pinpoint single chemical responsible for memory.

Forget Me Not Maybe

Sergeant Jonathan Ramirez never returned from the battlefields of Iraq. Unlike his less fortunate comrades, a man who looked like Sergeant Ramirez did return- not in a body bag- but in the shell of the man he once was. The once fearless community leader hits the deck at the sound of a slammed door. He can barely sleep for an hour every night. The twisted images that consume him make the most gruesome horror film look like Disney. The incessant haunting twists his every thought, but what if they could be erased?

The puzzle of memory has perplexed thinkers since ancient times. Until recently, little was known about the process of how memories are stored and recorded. With breakthroughs in technology, neuroscience has become a leading field of research- consuming 20% of the National Institute of Health total budget. With so little known and so many questions, the neuroscience research frontier pushes farther and farther towards knowledge. Specifically, the removal of memory, once postulated as the equivalence of death of identity by Locke and more recently explored by Jim Carey in the Academy Award winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has advanced leaps and bounds and has reached its most specific conclusion.

In 1999, researchers at Harvard listed 117 molecules they found to be involved in the process of forming and storing memory. A decade later, Dr. Todd C. Sacktor and André A. Fenton at SUNY Downstate Medical Center have recently reported the discovery of a single chemical in the neurons of the hippocampus that the entire process of memory storage depends on. This molecule has been named PKMzeta and has been called by the New York Times as an “open door to editing memory.” Dr. Fenton, a special memory in mice and rats expert, devised a study to determine the effects of using ZIP to inhibit the PKMzeta. Fenton discovered that using ZIP, mice trained to avoid an electric shock would forget what the previously learned. This lead to many follow up studies which confirmed the original finding with some studies erasing memories up to a month old in rats and mice.

While they have only experimented with PKMzeta’s role in the deletion of memory, its discovery is a breakthrough in the understanding of how memories are stored and could possibly the Pandora’s Box of memory manipulation. From treatments to Post Truamatic Stress Disorder, to saving the memory of Alzheimer’s patients, to implanting knowledge into the mind, the study of the memory process is as limitless as it is controversial. Though PKMzeta research is still ways away from research in humans, this discovery could be the key that unlocks the “arms-race” of neuroenhancement.