Thinkin’bout Stuff

Wow!  What a temptation:

AP  2/5/2008 - …  The process aims to create healthy embryos for couples to avoid passing on genes carrying diseases.

The genes being replaced are the mitochondria, a cell’s energy source, which are contained outside the nucleus in a normal female egg. Mistakes in the mitochondria’s genetic code can result in serious diseases like muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, strokes and mental retardation.

Imagine… the potential to wipe out genetic disorders. This would be to our generation what vaccines and antibiotics were to prior generations.

There it is… right there… take it…

The temptation is incredible; maybe it really is the right thing to do.  But the method just doesn’t seem right:

British scientists say they have created human embryos containing DNA from two women and a man in a procedure that researchers hope might be used one day to produce embryos free of inherited diseases.

Though the preliminary research has raised concerns about the possibility of genetically modified babies, the scientists say that the embryos are still only primarily the product of one man and one woman.

“We are not trying to alter genes, we’re just trying to swap a small proportion of the bad ones for some good ones,” said Patrick Chinnery, a professor of neurogenetics at Newcastle University involved in the research.

This is a tough one.  We are “creating” babies that will be free of inherited diseases.  We are “creating” babies…  creating babies…  should we be creating babies? With DNA from two women mixed in a test tube with DNA from one man? Just don’t seem right… then again… a cure for genetic disorders?

What if the improvement to the genetic make-up of the embryo meant mixing DNA from one woman, one man, and a frog? Would that be OK?  Where’s the line?

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should… but the temptation is incredible, it really is…

And all it took was a great Super Bowl capped by a great finish … at least for those of us who are Giants fans.

Know what I enjoyed almost as much? Watching 4 hours of pre-game shows on Monday (after the game of course) and laughing at all the experts who essentially were ready to crown the Pats champs before the kick-off.

I know my view was filtered through Giants colored glasses, but minutes after the NFC Championship, I had already gone on record that the Giants would win 21-17… not too shabby

Too bad I didn’t place a bet on that to back up my confidence in my prognostication skill…

Even after the Pats took the lead with just over 2 minutes to go in the game, I told my wife this was exactly where any team would hope to be in a game like this: ball in hand, 3 time outs left, more than 2 minutes to go, down by 4 (not 3) so the goal is clear… touchdown wins it, anything less and you go home a loser. 

What got me nervous was leaving 35 seconds on the clock for the Pats.  Good thing they tried to go for it all (65 yds in the air and they came close) instead of taking a couple of medium passes underneath (20-30 yards)  to improve the odds they could get into the end zone on a final play.

Damn that was a good game…