Word: geneticist
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...uterus. Fully 25% of all conceptions fail to reach an age at which they can survive outside the womb, and of these, at least a third have identifiable chromosomal abnormalities. Still, as many as five out of every 100 babies born have some genetic defect, and Nobel-Prizewinning Geneticist Joshua Lederberg believes the proportion would be even higher were it not for nature's own process of quality control...
...doctors to identify and catalogue chromosomes. If there are certain chromosomal abnormalities, the prospective parents are informed that they will almost definitely produce deformed offspring. While this knowledge may take some of the mystery and romance out of procreation, it also eliminates much of the uncertainty. As one geneticist puts it, "There is nothing very romantic about a mongoloid child or a deformed body...
Others call for even more specialized humans to perform functions that in reality will probably be done better by machines. British Geneticist J.B.S. Haldane called for certain regressive mutations to enable man to survive in space, including legless astronauts who would take up less room in a space capsule and require less food and oxygen (larger and more powerful spacecraft would seem to be an easier and less monstrous solution). Haldane also suggested apelike men to explore the moon. "A gibbon," he said only half-jokingly, "is better preadapted than a man for life in a low gravitational field...
...about equality of capacity." For example, it is believed that genetic influence is especially great in such areas as mathematics, music and maybe acrobatics. Unless genetic potential is tapped by the environment, it will not develop: kittens prevented from walking will not learn normal form and depth perception. Says Geneticist Joshua Lederberg: "There is no gene that can ensure the ideal development of a child's brain without reference to tender care and inspired teaching...
Some life scientists see even greater perils in man's new knowledge. "I would hate to see manipulation of genes for behavioral ends," warns Stanford Geneticist Seymour Kessler, "because as man's environment changes, and as man changes his environment, it is important to maintain flexibility." Professor Gerald McClearn of the Institute for Behavorial Genetics at the University of Colorado agrees, explaining that a gene that is considered "bad" now might become necessary for survival in the event of drastic environmental change. "It is foolhardy to eliminate genetic variability," he says. "That is our evolutionary bankroll, and we dare...