
Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies - alexanderlopez
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612458/exclusive-chinese-scientists-are-creating-crispr-babies/
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AllegedAlec
On the one hand, hurray for them for trying to eliminate a couple of quite
serious diseases.

On the other hand, we have very little clue what the long term effects of not
having CCR5 will be for these children. Furthermore, do we really trust China
to start messing with people's DNA? I could think up several uses for this
that are downright dangerous in the hands of a country like China.

Some of them:

\- Remove a key gene in a metabolic pathway which can be mitigated by dietary
supplements, creating a biological dead man's switch in order to make it
easier to control the population.

\- Inserting a viral genome into the host genome (preferably also under some
deadman's switch), creating in effect a biological weapon

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wagutina
They have no ethics whereas it is for privacy or human tests. Of course having
no ethics is the easy way to get a technological advantage over others that
have some. And it's going to drive all country to do the same (like how US and
China surveillance drove other countries to do the same). It's sad to see the
world going towards exactly the dystopia described in sci-fi : total
surveillance, data about anyone's whole life, AI discriminating people in
their everyday life based on those data, and soon some people stronger / more
resistant / more handsome than other because their rich parents payed the
prenium gene editing package (and how many failed-babies experiment to get
there ?).

But people are happy about it because less terrorism and less diseases right ?

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Fjolsvith
So, to take this to a logical conclusion...

Their Social Ranking is used to identify individuals with appealing DNA, and
that DNA is used to make future model citizens.

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Cypher
The Chinese are so advanced... I get the feeling with how rapid they are that
we're going to be following in their footsteps rather than leading.

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technotony
They are not more advanced technologically, this is being further advanced
culturally/ethically/regulatory.

Of course those advances could over time lead to a technological advantage.
For instance if they find a way to improve intelligence that could be a
runaway advantage.

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tehlike
The average iq in asian countries are higher than average in western. Combine
it with capitalism, and this is already an advantage for them.

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rootsudo
Can you please cite a source?

