(토요모임) [Mar. 28, 2015]Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Hi all ! 

After all, I picked this topic as a discussion material. 

"Genetic engineering & Human society "

The 'GATTACA' has been one of my favorite movie ever. 

This movie shows us the futuristic and philosophical views 

on the human society based on the technological development. 

The thing makes human achieve their goals is not external conditions 

but inner desire and passion. In this perspective,

this movie will makes you think in many aspects of your life. 

All you guys are so special to me, that's why I share this movie with you. 

I hope you enjoy this topic a lot. 

With luv

Scarlett 

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Britain says yes to 3-parent babies (5th February, 2015)

Lawmakers in the U.K. have voted to allow doctors to create babies from the DNA of three different people. It will be the first country in the world to do this. There was a vote in Britain's parliament, where 382 lawmakers voted for allowing three-person babies and 128 voted against the idea. The idea behind three-person babies is to stop diseases being passed from a mother to her newborn baby. Doctors say that as many as 150 babies a year could be born using the new technique. The first baby to be born using the DNA from three people could be as early as next year. The technique will help families with mitochondrial diseases. These are incurable and affect about one in 6,500 children worldwide.

The technique is quite simple. It combines the DNA of the two parents with the DNA of another woman. Doctors replace the unhealthy, disease-carrying DNA in the mother's egg with healthy DNA from the donor. The result is that the baby receives about 0.1 per cent of its DNA from the donor woman. Lawmakers said the technique was "light at the end of a dark tunnel" for many families. Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We're not playing God here. We're just making sure that two parents who want a healthy baby can have one." Critics say the technique could be dangerous. They say it would open the door to the genetic modification of children and "designer babies" in the future.

Article source : 

- http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1502/150206-3-parent-babies.html#ixzz3VHQuhZmg

- http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31069173

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<Questions> 

Q1. Do you think it is bad to create babies in this way?

Q2. Is this technique OK if it stops diseases? 

Q3. Do you think this technique should be allowed in all countries?

Q4. What do you think of genetic modification of humans? What are the dangers of this technique?

Q5. Would you like to choose what your baby looks like?

       What do you think of designer babies?

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GATTACA

What is genetic engineering, after all, but preemptive plastic surgery? Make the child perfect in the test tube, and save money later. Throw in perfect health, a high IQ and a long life-span, and you have the brave new world of “Gattaca,” in which the bioformed have inherited the earth, and babies who are born naturally get to be menial laborers.

This is one of the smartest and most provocative of science fiction films, a thriller with ideas. Its hero is a man who challenges the system. Vincent (Ethan Hawke) was born in the old-fashioned way, and his genetic tests show he has bad eyesight, heart problems and a life expectancy of about 30 years. He is an “In-Valid,” and works as a cleaner in a space center.

Vincent does not accept his fate. He never has. As a child, he had swimming contests with his brother Anton (Loren Dean), who has all the right scores but needs to be saved from drowning. Now Vincent dreams of becoming a crew member on an expedition to one of the moons of Saturn. Using an illegal DNA broker, he makes a deal with a man named Jerome (Jude Law), who has the right genes but was paralyzed in an accident. Jerome will provide him with blood, urine samples and an identity. In a sense, they'll both go into space. “Gattaca” is the remarkable debut of a writer-director from New Zealand, Andrew Niccol, whose film is intelligent and thrilling--a tricky combination--and also visually exciting. His most important set is a vast office where genetically superior computer programmers come to work every day, filing into their long rows of desks like the office slaves in King Vidor's “The Crowd” and Orson Welles' “The Trial.” (Why are “perfect” human societies so often depicted by ranks of automatons? Is it because human nature resides in our flaws?) Vincent, as “Jerome,” gets a job as a programmer, supplies false genetic samples and becomes a finalist for the space shot.

The tension comes in two ways. First, there's the danger that Vincent will be detected; the area is swept daily, and even an eyelash can betray him. Second, there's a murder; a director of the center, who questions the wisdom of the upcoming shot, is found dead, and a detective (Alan Arkin) starts combing the personnel for suspects. Will a computer search sooner or later put together Vincent, the former janitor, with “Jerome,” the new programmer? Vincent becomes friendly with Irene (Uma Thurman), who works in the center but has been passed over for a space shot because of low scores in some areas. They are attracted to one another, but romance in this world can be dangerous; after kissing a man, a woman is likely to have his saliva swabbed from her mouth so she can test his prospects. Other supporting characters include Gore Vidal, as a mission supervisor, and Tony Shalhoub as the broker (“You could go anywhere with this guy's helix under your arm”).

Hawke is a good choice for the lead, combining the restless dreams of a “Godchild” with the plausible exterior of a lab baby. The best scenes involve his relationship with the real Jerome, played by Law as smart, bitter, and delighted to be sticking it to the system that has grounded him. (He may be paralyzed from the waist down, but after all, as the movie observes, you don't need to walk in space.) His drama parallels Vincent's, because if either one is caught they'll both go down together.

Science fiction in the movies has recently specialized in alien invasions, but the best of the genre deals with ideas. At a time when we read about cloned sheep and tomatoes crossed with fish, the science in “Gattaca” is theoretically possible. When parents can order “perfect” babies, will they? Would you take your chances on a throw of the genetic dice, or order up the make and model you wanted? How many people are prepared to buy a car at random from the universe of all available cars? That's how many, I suspect, would opt to have natural children.

Everybody will live longer, look better and be healthier in the Gattacan world. But will it be as much fun? Will parents order children who are rebellious, ungainly, eccentric, creative, or a lot smarter than their parents are? There's a concert pianist in “Gattaca” who has 12 fingers. Don't you sometimes have the feeling you were born just in time?

Source : http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gattaca-1997

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<Questions> 

Q1. What do you know about genetic engineering? 

Q2. Can you tell the advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineering? 

Q3. What is the things that make your dreams come true? Your background? your appearance? 

      , your parents? or action based on your inner desire and passion? 

Q4. In the movie, Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is conceived and born without the aid of 

       genetic engineering of humans. But in this society, this technology is common and 

       DNA plays the primary role in determining social class. And Vincent takes 

       the detoured way to make his dreams come true. Do you think his resolution was right? 

Q5. Nowadays we face various discrimination in the society. And in the near future, 

       we might face the extreme genetic discrimination and prejudice as Vincent did

       in this movie. How do you think about it? 

Q6. In the movie, Vincent is suffering from the nearly eradicated physical dysfunctions of myopia 

       and a congenital heart defect, as well as being given a life expectancy of 30.2 years. 

       Conversely, his younger brother Anton has perfect genes and better performance. 

       And one day, Anton challenge his older brother Vincent to game of chicken. 

       As the two swim out in the dead of night, Anton is surprised at Vincent's stamina, 

       and Vincent told him some meaningful message.  

       "That's how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back."

       And this sentence had been unforgettable in my memories. In spite of his genetically 

       deficient traits, he can win every game with his positive attitude and endless efforts. 

       That was the only secret of his success. How do you think about his attitude? 

Q7. If you can order "perfect" babies, will you take advantage of this technology? 

       Or will you throw the genetic dice? 

Q8. Thanks to the development of reproductive technology, if everyone can model and make 

       the babies who look better appearance, is healthier and smarter than their parents. 

       Then will it be as much fun? 

Q9. In the movie, there is a concert pianist in "GATTACA" who has 12 fingers.

       What do you think about it?