Epigenetics At A Glance
"In fact, if gene therapy lives up to its promise, parents may someday be able to go beyond weeding out undesirable traits and actually start inserting the genes they want - perhaps even genes that have been created in a lab." (15)
One of the most controversial topics of all times in genetics is the "designer baby". Its purpose in the first place was to get rid of serious genetic diseases, but the selection of gender also became possible with it. Fertilization takes place in the vitro and is later placed in the uterus (15). The possibility of sex selection can cause the imbalance of boys and girls to go even further in societies that value boys more than girls, such as in China and India. Although equality is seen with both genders here in the US, most Americans want a son as their first child, because it makes for an ideal family. With the discoveries in the field of epigenetics already made and still in progress, we might be able to take things even further with the possibility of "designer babies" by practically hand selecting which genes are expressed or not through epigenetic modification.
Economical
Although the field of epigenetics is rapidly growing, it is still in its infancy. Many investors are getting involved and investing in such a promising field. For example, the Cancer Genome Atlas, was funded $50 million from The National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute to lay the groundwork for comprehensive study of genomic factors related to human cancer (14). The initial three-year effort is expected to focus on just two or three of the more than 200 cancers known to exist. SU2C (Stand Up To Cancer) has also funded $73.6 million for their cancer research Dream Teams, with one being focused on epigenetics to reverse cancer cells (9). In February 2013, the Global Policy Research Institute funded $50,00 which was granted to Purdue University to take on a project that would examine epigenetics' relation to dietary supplements and fortified foods and how global regions fortify foods differently and what nutrients might be related to breast cancer (30).
Ethical Issues
With the possibility of gender selection, some may frown upon it while others are for it. There's nothing wrong with using gene therapy and other methods to decrease the possibility of serious genetic diseases, but to some gender selection may seem like taking gene therapy a step too far. Genetic therapy may lead to the possibility of parents being able to pick every single aspect of their child. It could range from higher IQ to good looks, all just by adding genes. Will the possibility of kids having traits that benefit them in life pressure parents who want the best for their kids to give in? Will friends and society influence what traits parents choose for their kids? And as for the kids that are born with chosen characteristics, how will they feel about themselves? Will they feel good knowing that the traits they have were chosen, or will they feel less human?
Political Issues
Epigenetic research brings up privacy and confidentiality issues because it allows others to see an individual's risk for future health problems. Not only that it also allows others to see if those health problems could be passed onto their kids. Several genetic privacy laws, especially the State Genetic Privacy Laws enacted in the US, consists of definitions of "genetic" that do not pertain to privacy protection for epigenetic data. New privacy legislation may be necessary to protect this information (11). Once epigenetic testing of individuals is available, concerns about possible privacy violations and epigenetic discrimination may arise.