Summary & Study Guide - The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing the Way We Have Kids - and the Kids We Have

This is a summary of “The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing the Way We Have Kids — and the Kids We Have,” by Bonnie Rochman.

This book covers a variety of topics from breast cancer to Tay-Sachs, several pre-natal genetic mapping technologies, genome sequencing, rare disease diagnosis, silencing of a gene, and repairing gene defects using gene editing tools (CRISPR). It covers the question of testing for Down syndrome and abortion, and the emotionally and morally fraught decisions individuals are forced to make when confronting the information these tests reveal.

Over the past few years, genetic testing has expanded into a full array of testing available prenatally, postnatally, and even pre-conception. A more targeted analysis has allowed women to weed out unhealthy embryos before attempting pregnancy. Genome sequencing gives the child’s blueprint, including a predisposition to diseases such as Down syndrome, early-onset Alzheimer’s, or breast cancer. Having access to so much information can be empowering, enlightening, confusing, and frightening. It can enable parents to prepare for a child with special needs. Or it could allow them to end the pregnancy.

This is a must read for those planning on having kids, or for those who simply want to learn about genetic technologies. 

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