Reprogenetics: third millennium speculation

On July 25 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived outside the human body, was born. Her birth made headlines as it showed that in vitro fertilisation techniques could provide a cure for infertility, helping couples who otherwise could not conceive. But Louise Joy Brown’s birthday represents a singular moment in the history of humankind for another reason: science had brought the human embryo out of the darkness of the womb into the light of the laboratory. Today, in vitro fertilisation has become a commonplace service. The best IVF clinics offer their customers success rates of up to 70%—twice as high as that naturally achieved by fertile couples actively trying to have a baby. At the same time as assisted reproduction techniques have been improving, there has been an explosion of knowledge in genetic research and technology. The ‘Human Genome Project,’ will eventually identify each and every human gene and characterise how it interacts with other genes and with the environment. The results from this immense undertaking will allow researchers to determine how individuals differ at each of these genes and how these variations influence unique personal characteristics. These differences will include resistance or susceptibility to infectious and inherited diseases, as well as the efficacy of drugs or therapies (Kruglyak, 1997). With ever-increasing knowledge, biologists will ultimately be able to make connections between genetic profiles and physical or mental attributes that we commonly refer to as innate talents. New genetic technologies have implications for all fields in medicine, but when they are combined with reproductive technologies, the prospects are staggering. Indeed, the combination is so different from that of either technology alone that it deserves a new appellation: reprogenetics (Silver, 1998). Reprogenetics refers to the use of genetic information and technology to ensure or prevent the inheritance of particular genes in a child.