[Petrochemicals (OP)]

Is the process of eugenics actually feasible, or is it likely to do more harm than good?

[Bored chemist]

Plenty of people seem to understand that genetic diversity is a good thing, but not realise that's still true when discussing humans.

[Origin]

Is the process of eugenics actually feasible, or is it likely to do more harm than good?

That is not an either/or prospect.  Eugenics can be both feasible and harmful.

[Zer0]

If Prof. Hawking's parents were somehow Preinformed about (ALS) disease...would They then have chosen to Abort?

[evan_au]

Eugenics is performed all the time as part of mate selection. Darwin saw that.

There are some areas where eugenics is carried out voluntarily, assisted by technology - in the case of families with genetic diseases:
- If the parents are known to be carrying a genetic disease, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis can be used to select embryos which do not carry the disease. But it is a difficult process for the parents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preimplantation_genetic_diagnosis
- Amongst certain populations with a high level of dangerous recessive genes, an anonymous teenage genetic profiling service is available. Teens interested in a relationship can anonymously check if their genes are compatible (a baby with 2 recessive genes could suffer from a severe genetic disease),  and genetic counseling is available if they don't like the answer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dor_Yeshorim
- But some particularly biased and brutal attempts have certainly given eugenics a bad name!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics_in_the_United_States

[wolfekeeper]

Mostly it's not feasible at all. For single gene heritable traits, you might be able to breed a particular feature out of humans pretty rapidly, but for polygenetic ones it can take hundreds of generations to remove them.

[evan_au]

Diseases produce a very strong evolutionary pressure on humans.
- But a random gene variant which makes us more resistant to a particular virus or other parasite is rarely what a human would call "good" genetics
- An extreme example is sickle-cell disease; a gene variant producing a slight resistance to malaria results in a crippling disease in those with 2 copies of this gene variant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle_cell_disease
- Other similar genetic examples are available....

"Goodness" is in the eye of the beholder, as seen in some particular environment.

[Peter11]

As long as the negitive aspects are discussed.Eugenics was the main drive in the nazi death camps experiments you don't want to imagine.Americans tested Canadians and Americans without their concent one was to inject plutonium to see what happend.This can be a dangerous field depending on the outcome thats wanted.

[Petrochemicals (OP)]

Eugenics is performed all the time as part of mate selection. Darwin saw that.

and where is natural selection heading in this day and age? As in the thread about lust being a major factor, the academic and professional populace quotent are leaving children later and later if at all. Natural selection and the survival of genetic traits obedient to that doctrine is a vicious and bloody process. Surely Oppenheimers should populate the earth now by that right ?

- But some particularly biased and brutal attempts have certainly given eugenics a bad name!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics_in_the_United_States

I had no idea of this, it is very revelatory.

[Petrochemicals (OP)]

Mostly it's not feasible at all. For single gene heritable traits, you might be able to breed a particular feature out of humans pretty rapidly, but for polygenetic ones it can take hundreds of generations to remove them.

When you get rid of one trait you may get rid of another, even stopping natural selection evolving past problems like cancer. Natural selection and therefore eugenics is part of a horrific and bloody process that does not care for the creatures it affects.  Your genes do not want you to be happy, only to procreate.

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/secrets-of-naked-mole-rat-cancer-resistance-unearthed

[Zer0]

If Prof. Hawking's parents were somehow Preinformed about (ALS) disease...would They then have chosen to Abort?

So then, Eugenics can only provide physical Probabilities, not define intellectual Possibilities.
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