Saturday, September 13, 2008

What if infertility is hereditary?

Extraordinary measures to address infertility are very recent. I think the world's first test tube baby is about my age, so the first children born of artificial conception might be starting families themselves right about now if they're into that sort of thing.

What if it turns out that whatever caused their parents' infertility is hereditary? We would just be finding that out right about now or maybe within the next few years. Up until now, we would have no way of knowing if infertility is hereditary, because people who were infertile never had children before my generation was born.

I don't really have a point here, I'm just appreciating the mindfuck aspects of this idea.

1 comment:

NickLuft said...

If infertility is hereditary, then you would think that it would disappear from the human genome.

I suspect the reason infertility still occurs is that it is caused only when both the partners have certain genetic strains.

Why these strains should continue to survive, will be based on that old genetic chestnut - diversity. Perhaps each strain has other benefits that contributes to its survival.

Good musings.