Human Enhancement Freaks People Out, Study Finds; Designer Babies Might 'Meddle With Nature'
By Ed Cara,
Medical Daily
| 07. 26. 2016
Fond as we are of superheroes on the big screen, most of us would stop short of actually becoming one via technology.
That’s the verdict issued by an extensive survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and released Tuesday. The Center polled over 4,000 Americans on a variety of issues related to advances in biomedical technology that may arrive in the near future — from using implanted brain chips to boost our thinking power to editing the genes of babies to eliminate hereditary flaws and diseases. The representative sample of Americans proved to be more careful than celebratory about these technological leaps.
Sixty-eight percent were somewhat or very worried about gene-editing, as opposed to 49 percent who saw themselves as at least somewhat enthusiastic about the prospect. Sixty-nine percent were also wary of brain implants and 63 percent felt the same about using synthetic blood transfusions to improve our strength, speed, and stamina. A similar percentage were taken aback at the thought of trying these technologies out on themselves or their future children.
"Developments in biomedical technologies are accelerating rapidly, raising...
Related Articles
By Marianne Lamers, NEMO Kennislink [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 09.23.2025
Een rijtje gespreide vulva’s gaapt de bezoeker aan. Zó ziet een bevalling eruit, en zó een baarmoeder met foetus. Een zwangerschap, maar dan zonder zwangere vrouw, gestript van zorgen, gêne en pijn. De zwangerschapsmodellen en oefenbekkens, te zien in de...
By Auriane Polge, Science & Vie [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 09.19.2025
L’idée de pouvoir choisir certaines caractéristiques de son futur enfant a longtemps relevé de la science-fiction ou du débat éthique. Aujourd’hui, les technologies de séquençage et les algorithmes d’analyse génétique repoussent les limites de ce qui semblait encore impossible. Au croisement...
By Charmayne Allison, ABC News | 09.21.2025
It has been seven years since Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui made an announcement that shocked the world's scientists.
He had made the world's first gene-edited babies.
Through rewriting DNA in twin girls' embryos, the man who would later be dubbed...
By Natalie Ram, Anya E. R. Prince, Jessica L. Roberts, Dov Fox, and Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Science | 09.11.2025
After declaring bankruptcy in March 2025, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company 23andMe sold the data of more than 15 million people around the world to TTAM Research Institute, a nonprofit organization created by 23andMe’s founder and long-time CEO. 23andMe’s customers...