I do not want a child now!

After long analyzes and studies, oocyte cryopreservation, commonly known as "Egg frezzing" is no longer an experimental procedure, and now it has been used in high scale in "mainstream" clinics.

It may sound perfect since more couples are deciding to delay pregnancy and for women with fertility or cancer treatments. But data is rather incomplete: it suggests that reproduction might not be successful as former studies showed. It is a fragile procedure that can affect the cells and provoke long-term effects such as increasing the risk of rare disorders as the Angelman Syndrome (a neurological condition). 

In 2008, when the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) decided to label this technique as "experimental", only women going through fertility-damaging treatment for cancer or other type of treatments had the option to freeze their eggs to use them in the future and finally have a baby. However, it was used for other purposes too--which society didn't approve that much--such as for delaying having a baby (even if they didn't have fertility issues). But it wasn't until October 22, 2012, that mainstream clinics were allowed to offer this service (for a fee), encouraging more people to use this service. But not all clinics can offer these services since the ASRM policy is very strict. 

It may sound amazing that more than 900 children were born by using this procedure, but reproductive biologists keep on discussing the benefits and success of this technique in younger women, mainly because cells productivity may decrease with age. 

Who should use this technique?

In the case of women that don't want to have babies at the moment, is delaying reproduction by egg freezing just a fancy (and expensive) technique that crosses the line of natural reproduction?     

Would you like to hear the experts' opinion? Also, a woman explains why she decided to freeze her eggs. 

Choosing your baby’s sex: Unnatural selection

Can you imagine choosing your baby’s sex by just taking a pill with nanotechnology able to genetically change a fetus’s sex?

 For centuries human beings have dreamt of manipulating the results of the genetic gamble in the moment of conception, and often choosing the sex of the baby is on the top of the list of things to do.  In fact recent studies have found that this is viable.

These methods were discovered by accident trying to improve pre-existing methods of treating infertility. Some of these methods are very invasive, and the couples need to start the procedure in laboratories (in vitro). Then the egg that is fertilized is put in the mother’s uterus, and voilá, your boy or girl baby is on its way!.

Of course, these kinds of practices open the debate about the moral boundaries of biotechnology and how to control it. Some detractors think that we have to maintain the natural selection of the babies because if we start manipulating the natural course of life it will break the amazing opportunities that it can offer us; trying to limit life’s mysteries can lead us to our own destruction.

Some believers in this method said that these kind of techniques can prevent abortion in some countries such as China, in which abortion conditioned by sex it is legal.

Are you willing to change the natural sex of your baby, why?

More information about this : 

You can read an article from CBS News here :

Choose The Sex Of Your Baby By Rebecca Leung, CBS News

Designing our babies

Could you imagine how life changing would be to get to know how our babies are growing up before they are even born? Or to cure some of the diseases or disorders that our babies could bring?

 Human genetic engineering provides the opportunity to modify babies' genotype before birth. If the baby has any disease, genetic disorders or genetic disease, this technology will definitely help the future parents to give birth to a healthy child, and they will not have to worry that their child could bring any of the diseases that both parents could have. This could be the beginning of something big, and better for our future: healthier humans, with more probabilities of success and better life.

Human genetic engineering can increase the longevity and also enhance some of the genes that the parents would like to improve. Gene modification, also known as Germline Modification, in which genes can be modifies when the baby is still an early embryo, reduces exponentially the fact that the child can develop certain heart diseases, even diabetes, hypertension, or cancer. This technology gives the big opportunity to look forward to a healthy child without complication that could end his/her life since this type of modification is permanent.

Researchers keep on trying to find the cure for genetic diseases, and the human genetic engineering is getting close to that goal. This is the result of science; science that is always trying to find the bright side of the human life, and of course, evolution. 

So, would you like to get yourself into gene therapy so your children would not have to struggle with those diseases? Would you rather choose technology than  having to live with your children's diseases and can't do anything about it?