Imagine yourself on a hot summer day in the not-too-distant future. You’ve brought your three-year-old daughter to the playground because she loves the swings. A natural athlete, she is using her strong little body to propel herself ever higher, her blonde pigtails trailing behind her like streamers. She’s soaring, and your breath catches as she reaches the top of the swing’s arc and her tiny hands let go of the chains. You rush towards her as she crashes to the ground. She is dazed, but not injured. It is just as the doctor promised:
her bones are unbreakable.
You hug her and remind yourself of the insurance policy you put in place before she was born. She has a vanishingly small risk of cancer, and no risk of diabetes. She will never get Alzheimer’s. You made sure of that when you requested that her embryo be edited before implantation.
“To produce a GMO [genetically modified] sapiens baby, you would begin effectively by placing an order for her or him,” wrote biologist Paul Knoepfler in 2015. “Scientists would team up with you, as the parent, to make this new GM child, using your cells and genetic fabric as the starting material. The only other things needed from you would be the money to pay for the process and your input into the design of the baby.” He then suggested we could see edited humans as soon as 2030.
Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
