Poll: Genetic Modification and You!

[Level 7 Dragon]

Salutations, Escapist.

I was thinking about the advances in gene therapy and in CRISP technology. So far, the technology is in infancy with arguibly one of the most useful "mutations" being muscle hyperthropy. It's true that we have very little understanding of how our genome works and what parts of it correspond to which function, as the research is imperical for the most part. One may increase your adrenaline production during stress, while the other may give you a second head.

Now, if the technology was more or less perfected, would you undergo therapy for medical or recreational purposes. Let's be realistic and assume it would take about 3-7 years for all of the modifications to take effect and the modifications would't be passed on to your kids.

Would you use the therapy to prevent physical and mental illness? Would you do it so recreationally? Do you think this technology should be controlled and is there a threashold where you would't allow youself or others to go past?

 

[Glongpre]

Definitely get some altered physiology.

Get me some wings so I can fly around. And give myself super agility, strength, speed, power, maybe some better eyesight, maybe a little tougher skin.....

 

[Namehere]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

 

[Saelune]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

 

[Namehere]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

We live in a world where a professor is building a 'teaching cap' of sorts. It's imprints the brain pattern of an expert performing a task onto a person who is then sent to perform the task fifteen minutes to a half hour latter. It's proven remarkable. I can't imagine what won't be possible with genetic augmentation in the future. Even and including the speeding up or slowing down of our telemeters, those cellular timers who dictate birth and death. I see no reason to believe that we won't come up with a way to speed up the rate at which our cells reproduce.

Mingling our DNA with the DNA of microbial extremophiles is the ultimate hope, allowing humans to withstand radiation levels previously unimaginable with few serious side effects. Of course that's still quite a ways off but hardly beyond the possible at this stage.

As for chems, I envision something a little less pedestrian then steroids. Stuff like this: http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-biohacker-used-eyedrops-to-give-himself-temporary-1694016390

Finally cybernetics and genetic engineering are going to go hand in hand most likely. And it's important to keep in mind that all these techniques aren't entirely exclusive to one another. It's amazing what we can do with rat brain tissue. Some guy had that tissue flying passenger jet simulators doing take offs and landings to great success and that is without a doubt cybernetic and has potential in the drone department. Interestingly mingling such technology with dogs or cats could create live virtual pets that don't really have organic bodies. Basically disembodied brains. Far fetched and maybe meaningless but still interesting in theory.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

A "perfected" therapy is usually one that achieves its desired effects and one medical science has a good grasp on, however due to the the fact that each human has a unique immune system and physiology, downsides may occur. For example, vitamin pills are generally safe, but still may cause harm if ingested by a person with allergies or ingested in large quantities, etcetera.

In Deus Ex: HR, cyber implants are generally "perfected", however the human immune system remains an enigma, so the majority of the population is dependent on immunosupressants. Darrow himself cannot augment due to blood clots in his limbs. The scientists created the therapy assuming that the subject has a more or less healthy immune system and blood circulation.

 

[Saelune]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

A "perfected" therapy is usually one that achieves its desired effects and one medical science has a good grasp on, however due to the the fact that each human has a unique immune system and physiology, downsides may occur. For example, vitamin pills are generally safe, but still may cause harm if ingested by a person with allergies or ingested in large quantities, etcetera.

In Deus Ex: HR, cyber implants are generally "perfected", however the human immune system remains an enigma, so the majority of the population is dependent on immunosupressants. Darrow himself cannot augment due to blood clots in his limbs. The scientists created the therapy assuming that the subject has a more or less healthy immune system and blood circulation.

Well, call me a stickler for definitions then, cause "perfected" here to me means perfect.

If its perfected, I have no moral qualms with changing me up. I aspire to be a cyborg so I can live longer, if not forever, so I can see the awesome advancements of technology. Other than potentially life extending methods, I am less inclined to do them, even if I want them, if there is too great risk though. I am against plastic surgery because it is flawed...but if they actually perfected it, where you can basically go into a character creator for yourself, hell yeah Id do it. Id love to look like my ideal self.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

A "perfected" therapy is usually one that achieves its desired effects and one medical science has a good grasp on, however due to the the fact that each human has a unique immune system and physiology, downsides may occur. For example, vitamin pills are generally safe, but still may cause harm if ingested by a person with allergies or ingested in large quantities, etcetera.

In Deus Ex: HR, cyber implants are generally "perfected", however the human immune system remains an enigma, so the majority of the population is dependent on immunosupressants. Darrow himself cannot augment due to blood clots in his limbs. The scientists created the therapy assuming that the subject has a more or less healthy immune system and blood circulation.

Well, call me a stickler for definitions then, cause "perfected" here to me means perfect.

If its perfected, I have no moral qualms with changing me up. I aspire to be a cyborg so I can live longer, if not forever, so I can see the awesome advancements of technology. Other than potentially life extending methods, I am less inclined to do them, even if I want them, if there is too great risk though. I am against plastic surgery because it is flawed...but if they actually perfected it, where you can basically go into a character creator for yourself, hell yeah Id do it. Id love to look like my ideal self.

I guess by "pefrected" I meant understood. There is no such thing as a "perfected" medical intervention under your definition due to the nature of the human body and induvidual specifications. Everybody wants to be Atlas, but in reality radical changes in our body may come with drawbacks. I was asking if the minimal risks would put one off from radically changing what they are.

After all, taking antibiotics and having dental are risks, which don't seem to put the vast majority off using those technologies. I know people who volunteraly replaced their perfectly healthy teeth with ceramic prosthetics to achieve a Hollywood smile as well as a few militant Anti-Vaccers. I'm curious how those people would realistically react to gene therapy comming out of the blue.

Personally, I'm planning on getting plastic surgery to get rid of a few scars and defects. You also would probably see me first in line to get the vaccine that prevents depression, due to how much pain the illness caused me and my family.

 

[Saelune]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

A "perfected" therapy is usually one that achieves its desired effects and one medical science has a good grasp on, however due to the the fact that each human has a unique immune system and physiology, downsides may occur. For example, vitamin pills are generally safe, but still may cause harm if ingested by a person with allergies or ingested in large quantities, etcetera.

In Deus Ex: HR, cyber implants are generally "perfected", however the human immune system remains an enigma, so the majority of the population is dependent on immunosupressants. Darrow himself cannot augment due to blood clots in his limbs. The scientists created the therapy assuming that the subject has a more or less healthy immune system and blood circulation.

Well, call me a stickler for definitions then, cause "perfected" here to me means perfect.

If its perfected, I have no moral qualms with changing me up. I aspire to be a cyborg so I can live longer, if not forever, so I can see the awesome advancements of technology. Other than potentially life extending methods, I am less inclined to do them, even if I want them, if there is too great risk though. I am against plastic surgery because it is flawed...but if they actually perfected it, where you can basically go into a character creator for yourself, hell yeah Id do it. Id love to look like my ideal self.

I guess by "pefrected" I meant understood. There is no such thing as a "perfected" medical intervention under your definition due to the nature of the human body and induvidual specifications. Everybody wants to be Atlas, but in reality radical changes in our body may come with drawbacks. I was asking if the minimal risks would put one off from radically changing what they are.

After all, taking antibiotics and having dental are risks, which don't seem to put the vast majority off using those technologies. I know people who volunteraly replaced their perfectly healthy teeth with ceramic prosthetics to achieve a Hollywood smile as well as a few militant Anti-Vaccers. I'm curious how those people would realistically react to gene therapy comming out of the blue.

Personally, I'm planning on getting plastic surgery to get rid of a few scars and defects. You also would probably see me first in line to get the vaccine that prevents depression, due to how much pain the illness caused me and my family.

Well, maybe medication for things foreign to the body, but you're asking about things that improve the body on a genetic level. I would hope such understanding would render any side-effects moot since we'd have to understand the very thing we dont understand that is the source of the side-effects.

Depression though, is a mental/emotional disease, and I am less inclined for meds for it, as someone diagnosed with major depression and had been given meds for it and didnt like it. Though I dont think you intend to get side-tracked by that discussion.

 

[Zen Bard]

I'm all for modifications that add to longevity.

Anything that cleanses genetic diseases, enhances healing or improves immunity will help me in my fiendish plan to live for a few centuries.

Figure I will have annoyed just enough people by then...

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

Chemical cocktails, cybernetic augmentation and genetic alteration all the way, baby! I wasn't born a super man but I will die one.

I was thinking about "realistic" applications of gene therapy. Genetic alteration takes years to accomplish and may have unexpected side effects, depending on the nature of the augmentation. Most steroids lead to liver problems and sterility, as well as other unpleasant things. Not to mention about the possibility of rejection when installing artificial limbs, so one is forced to take drugs in order to avoid complications caused by the implants.

Would you permit health risks if it means pushing past your physical and mental limit?

If its perfected, there are no side effects.

A "perfected" therapy is usually one that achieves its desired effects and one medical science has a good grasp on, however due to the the fact that each human has a unique immune system and physiology, downsides may occur. For example, vitamin pills are generally safe, but still may cause harm if ingested by a person with allergies or ingested in large quantities, etcetera.

In Deus Ex: HR, cyber implants are generally "perfected", however the human immune system remains an enigma, so the majority of the population is dependent on immunosupressants. Darrow himself cannot augment due to blood clots in his limbs. The scientists created the therapy assuming that the subject has a more or less healthy immune system and blood circulation.

Well, call me a stickler for definitions then, cause "perfected" here to me means perfect.

If its perfected, I have no moral qualms with changing me up. I aspire to be a cyborg so I can live longer, if not forever, so I can see the awesome advancements of technology. Other than potentially life extending methods, I am less inclined to do them, even if I want them, if there is too great risk though. I am against plastic surgery because it is flawed...but if they actually perfected it, where you can basically go into a character creator for yourself, hell yeah Id do it. Id love to look like my ideal self.

I guess by "pefrected" I meant understood. There is no such thing as a "perfected" medical intervention under your definition due to the nature of the human body and induvidual specifications. Everybody wants to be Atlas, but in reality radical changes in our body may come with drawbacks. I was asking if the minimal risks would put one off from radically changing what they are.

After all, taking antibiotics and having dental are risks, which don't seem to put the vast majority off using those technologies. I know people who volunteraly replaced their perfectly healthy teeth with ceramic prosthetics to achieve a Hollywood smile as well as a few militant Anti-Vaccers. I'm curious how those people would realistically react to gene therapy comming out of the blue.

Personally, I'm planning on getting plastic surgery to get rid of a few scars and defects. You also would probably see me first in line to get the vaccine that prevents depression, due to how much pain the illness caused me and my family.

Well, maybe medication for things foreign to the body, but you're asking about things that improve the body on a genetic level. I would hope such understanding would render any side-effects moot since we'd have to understand the very thing we dont understand that is the source of the side-effects.

Depression though, is a mental/emotional disease, and I am less inclined for meds for it, as someone diagnosed with major depression and had been given meds for it and didnt like it. Though I dont think you intend to get side-tracked by that discussion.

The issue with CRISP is that a single gene can have multible functions which are difficult to detect. Just like in pharmasuticals, ingesting multible different types of medication simultaniously there is a chance that the different subtances may clash with eachother and cause nasty side effects.

In other words, you may need only two or three sessions of CRISP to help your body produce more insulin or cause muscle hyperthropy, however it would take years and hundereds of retrovirus injestions in order to grow a tail or change ones biological sex. Each injection progressivly increasing the chances of getting cancer or your teeth falling out.

Just imagine going through puberty. Again.

Personally, I might go with myostatin-related muscle mutation. No real side effects, twice the muscle mass of the avarage human being, no need for steroids.

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/myostatin-related-muscle-hypertrophy

As for depression, what I wanted to say is that psychiatrists diagnose a patient with depression if their behaviour fails to change in more than 6 months and is a direct result of the chemical and neurological imbalance in body. Don't confuse the psychological definition of depression, which is a natural behavior pattern with the psychiatric one, which stands for a persistent disorder that can be corrected with the use of medicine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder
https://www.dmoz.org/Health/Mental_Health/Disorders/Mood/Depression
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

If you think your relative or loved one is exibiting such a pattern for prolongued periods of time, it's perfectly okay to ask them to visit a mental health specialist for a checkup. You can save a life.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I'm all for being made into a Space Marine, kay thx. Just give me the armor, the body and a chainsword and I'll figure out what to do with my life.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

I'm all for being made into a Space Marine, kay thx. Just give me the armor, the body and a chainsword and I'll figure out what to do with my life.

Please, just stay away from bright red vortexes..

 

[-Dragmire-]

I'm a little worried about CRISP somehow creating a type of super cancer where genetic modding increases the likelihood of cells refusing to die while reproducing rapidly. That said, I'd still probably go for minor recreational gene modding.

Giving my body a better system to deal with high blood pressure would be nice.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Assuming the disease is incurable no other way. Or is sufficiently problematic. Fucking around with a newborn's genetics is a moral grey area given you aren't the ones living with those consequences. If we'll remove a child rightly from an abusive household due to damages that may last a lifetime, then why exactly is it okay to treat genetics any differently?

Humans are not guinea pigs.

Secondly, no ... I don't need nor want genetic modification. Mainly because it would be painful, and my primary problem on a genetic level seems entirely relative to having an extra chromosome. Though even if I didn't have that extra chromosome, still no. Even with schizophrenia, still no. As genetic modification will do fuck all about it.

The grand majority of people's problems do not begin and end in their genetics. Sure, I had a few problems due to Klinefelter's, but I'm not going to pretend all my problems are related to Klinefelter's.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I would do it if it meant curing, or preventing, an illness. But once we get into choosing your eye color, modifying your body strength, or giving yourself wings?
No thanks. I've seen Gattaca and all those stories where humans start messing around with genetic codes and how quickly it becomes an "us vs. them" attitude. We already treat each other like crap based on religion and skin color. Can you imagine how messed up the human race would become if we started throwing genetic cocktails into the mix?

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

I would do it if it meant curing, or preventing, an illness. But once we get into choosing your eye color, modifying your body strength, or giving yourself wings?
No thanks. I've seen Gattaca and all those stories where humans start messing around with genetic codes and how quickly it becomes an "us vs. them" attitude. We already treat each other like crap based on religion and skin color. Can you imagine how messed up the human race would become if we started throwing genetic cocktails into the mix?

Or it may have a unifying effect on the populus. Race would no longer be something one is born with, but a matter of personal choice. Then again, so is religion and we all know how our sectarian situation is working out.

 

[Recusant]

Well, I don't hold my genome as sacred; any deity that intended me this way would've put a clone here much earlier than I arrived. And I'm not aware of any divine revelations to chimps. But I don't understand how anyone with even a basic level of scientific knowledge would take the "go nuts" attitude. Why? Well...

I'm kind of surprised at how many people here seem to think that genetic alteration can somehow change the laws of physics. Want some wings? Sure, we could do that. Want to be able to fly with them? With your pre-modification weight likely about the same as the Argentine giant, your solid bones, and your absolutely-pathetic-even-for-your-size musculature? Your chest muscles alone would have to be so enhanced that you'd push yourself right out of flying weight, unless you were using a hurricane as a tailwind- and then anything that you hit would be moving so fast that it'd kill you. Also, have fun finding a way to consume the 30,000 or so Calories you'd need to get off the ground.

Let's also not forget the laws of economics. Want to live forever? Well, that's impossible, but we can get you a couple of centuries (at least), no problem. But then everyone's going to want it, and you get to watch as world population skyrockets, which is going to cause more problems than you can shake a stick at. Enjoy your mandatory gene mods to increase the amount of energy they get when they toss you into a furnace because you drew the short straw! And even if strict breeding controls are enacted and population is controlled, your society is going to inevitably stagnate, as new people only emerge to bring new ideas once the old ones die off; hopelessly deadlocking your children into a surrealist nightmare.

And then there are the plain old laws of socio-biology. What happens when genetic discrimination becomes the law? No, I don't mean anti-discrimination. When your insurance company can set prices and coverage limits on you not because of your behavior, but because of your genetics? When you won't get insurance coverage, when you won't get employment, when your very genes are socially determined to be a detriment to society as a whole? You'll either be forced to change them or forced to leave. You'll eventually be pushed into a standardized template. And since the genes you have are the genes you pass on, genetic homogeneity will eventually become functionally universal- which is when a tertiary effect of some protein everyone thought was meaningless proves to be the only thing that can save you from an oncoming plague, and then you get to spend eternity being bitched out by biologists in the afterlife for getting humanity wiped out by ignoring the importance of biodiversity. Count me out.

 

[darkcalling]

I've been joking for years about how certain things, (like eating while gaming) would be soooo much easier with a third arm or a prehensile tail. OF COURSE I'd get some body mods.