Building Perfect Humans?
Medical technology is moving fast. We can now look at an unborn baby's cells and find terrible diseases before they happen. But if we can delete bad genes, shouldn't we insert good ones? In this unit, we discuss the ethics of genetically editing children, where rich parents might soon buy extra height, higher intelligence, and perfect health for their kids.
- Ethics (noun): Rules about what is morally right or wrong in human behaviour.
- Inequality (noun): The unfair situation where some people have more rights, money, or advantages than others.
- Modification (noun): The process of making small changes to something to improve it or make it work differently.
1. Raw Vocabulary: The Science of Life
Practice: Drag the correct genetic term into the science report!
1. By editing human , scientists believe they can stop illnesses before a child is born.
2. Critics argue that choosing babies for their eye colour or intelligence is just a dangerous kind of human .
3. If we can successfully terrible conditions like cancer from the gene pool, do we have a moral duty to do it?
4. During the IVF process, the doctor screened the to make sure it was perfectly healthy.
5. He is genetically to suffer from heart disease because his father had it too.
6. Athletic ability isn't decided by a single gene; it is a highly complex physical .
7. Some parents want to check their unborn child to avoid any genetic .
8. Paying money to give your child an intelligence is creating a divided society.
2. Idioms and Expressions
When the public debates science moving too fast, they often use these idioms to warn about the unpredictable future.
- "To open Pandora's box." To start a process that will cause many unexpected problems that cannot be stopped.
- "A slippery slope." A harmful course of action that, once started, will quickly lead to much worse things.
- "To tamper with nature." To unethically change biology or the natural world, usually with dangerous results.
- "To level the playing field." To make a situation fair for everyone, with no special advantages.
- "To weed out." To identify and remove people or things that are unwanted or weak.
3. Reading: The Clinic Visit
Read this story about a couple exploring advanced genetics.
David and Elena sit in a clean private clinic. They both carry the gene for a terrible brain disease. Thanks to medical science, the doctor promises they can remove any embryos carrying the bad gene. They are incredibly thankful.
But then the doctor shows them a tablet. "While we are editing the DNA," the doctor smiles, "we offer extra packages. For £20,000, we can make sure your child won't become overweight. For £50,000, we can add the characteristic for extra height and blue eyes. And for £100,000, we can give them a massive intelligence upgrade."
Elena is shocked, accusing the doctor of tampering with nature. David, however, isn't sure. "If other parents are buying these upgrades for their kids," he argues, "our child will be left behind in life. It won't be a fair competition anymore. We have to give them the best start."
4. Grammar Focus: Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect
When we predict the impact of new technology, we often talk about actions that will be happening at a certain time in the future, or actions that will be proudly finished by a certain time.
| Tense | Structure | Science Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future Continuous (An action in progress in the future) |
will be + Verb-ing | "In twenty years, rich parents will be buying better genes for their kids." |
| Future Perfect (An action completed before a time in the future) |
will have + Past Participle (V3) | "By 2050, doctors will have cured most genetic diseases." |
Exercise A: Choose the Correct Future Form
1. I fear that in the next decade, scientists ____________ unstoppable biological weapons.
2. Next year, laboratories all over the world ____________ human embryos for wealthy clients.
Exercise B: Complete the Expressions
Type the missing words to complete these conversational idioms.
1. Allowing people to choose eye colour is a slippery that will lead to choosing intelligence.
2. We shouldn't mess with human genetics; we are opening Pandora's .
5. Debate Support: Prepare Your Arguments
Before you debate, look at these points and use the sentence starters below.
- We have a duty to cure horrible inherited diseases.
- Parents already buy advantages like private tutors; this is no different.
- Upgrading intelligence and health will benefit society as a whole.
- It will create a genetic upper-class that naturally rules society.
- Editing embryos without their permission is deeply unethical.
- We do not know the long-term dangers of tampering with human DNA.
- "By the end of the century, humanity will have..." (Future Perfect)
- "While curing disease is good, we are on a slippery slope because..."
- "I strongly disagree that parents should have the right to..."
- "If we allow genetic upgrades, society will..."
6. The Hot Seat: Debate Practice 🎙️
- If you could safely remove a genetic defect for a disease from your future child, would you do it?
- At what point does curing an illness stop, and unethical human selection begin?
- Use the Future Continuous: What kinds of body upgrades do you think rich people will be buying in the year 2050?
- Is choosing a child's characteristics (like eye colour) just harmless fun, or does it open Pandora's box?
- If everyone upgrades their children's intelligence, does that level the playing field, or destroy normal humanity?
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