If someone told you they had a way to prevent your baby boy or girl from ever having cancer, or a list of other specific diseases, how could you say no?

This could be possible in the near future if genome editing and biotechnology continue to advance.

First China in April, now Britain. Is America next? This is a serious topic. It's a religious topic. It's a controversial topic. It's a topic that people need to pay attention to.

It began with test-tube babies and cloning, and has now advanced to the modification of genomes. The idea of gene editing has been around for years but has always been considered too expensive and too dangerous to actually put into play -- until the recently introduced genome-editing system called CRISPR, standing for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." This new system is an easier and more efficient way of targeting diseases such as AIDS and certain forms of cancer.

This is the answer we've been looking for... right?

Preventing diseases and making our offspring healthier is intriguing and appealing, but we have to be aware of what we're putting at risk. Having the ability to enhance intelligence, athleticism and beauty is when ethics and morals really come into play. At what point do we stop and consider ourselves dehumanized, manufactured and designed to someone else's liking?

This past April, scientists in China completed the first experiment in editing a human embryo, modifying it, and essentially preventing a hereditary blood disorder. This drew national attention, not only because of controversy with editing human genes, looking at both benefits and concerns, but also because these changes made will be passed on to future generations.

As of now, this gene-editing process is scientifically beneficial and supposedly will not lead to what people have nicknamed "designer babies." As of now, it is illegal to transfer the genetically-modified embryo into the womb. Emphasis on the as of now.

Photo via Wordpress

Aldous Huxley wrote the dystopian novel "Brave New World" to bring up possibilities of living in a world that uses biotechnology to engineer the future generations. Now, his creative science-fiction storyline is coming to life.

I'm not voicing my opinion or siding for or against genome editing. I'm not saying designer babies will be the inevitable outcome. I'm simply saying we cannot be blind to the potential advances and outcomes this technology could have in the near future, good or bad.

The idea that the we could prevent cancerous cells and diseases in generations to come is amazing, even mind-blowing. But we need to keep our eyes open to the new developments in biotechnology, because it's moving fast. And it's going to change humanity, one way or another.