The World is at the Brink of Sex-pocalypse, Scientist Warns
A scientist and director at the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford University, Henry Greenly, recently made a bizarre prediction. According to his assessment in his book, "The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction," this world is one step short of completely wiping out all forms of natural reproduction, aka sex.
He claims that intense genetically engineered "designer babies" will end up annihilating the world with their extreme intellect. He also adds that since most of the conception of these children will happen in a petri dish, rather than the regular "pregnant woman" way.
"In 20 to 40 years, when a couple wants a baby, he'll provide sperm and she'll provide a punch of skin," Greenly told The Times. As a a result, a scientist will take control of the baby-making procedure by creating eggs in the lab using skin sample and merging them with the father's sperm.
The parents will then be given a choice to select these sci-fi embryos, from which they will most likely select the perfect ones, just like they go grocery shopping at the supermarket.
"Parents will get the embryos grouped by categories," Greenly said, "One category will be very severe, untreatable, nasty diseases. Another category will be other diseases. The third is cosmetics: hair, eyes, shape, whether the hair goes white early. A fourth category is behavioral," through this process the parents will pick an embryo that will most likely end being intellectually brilliant.
He says that this deliberate selection of genes is against the natural selection laws. However, on the other hand, Greenly adds that by making customized babies with superior genetic profiles can diminish several hereditary conditions as well as other illnesses. As a result, over a period of time, conceiving babies in a lab will become cost efficient. It is also possible that in the long run, baby conceived out of a regular intercourse will be frowned upon, adding a certain disgrace for bringing a sick child into this world. However, until that happens, it is a good time to enjoy a little human touch.
