Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Boy Banned From School For Bad Genes
An eleven year-old boy was kicked out of his middle school because he carries the gene for cystic fibrosis. Not that he has the disease; he only carries the gene.
(Boy carries cystic fibrosis gene)
Last week, Coleman Chadam was told he would have to transfer to a school three miles away because he may pose a health risk to another student at the school who does have the disease.Cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease, causes the body to create a thick mucous that clogs the lungs and can cause deadly infections. Though the condition is not contagious, people with it can endanger each other through bacterial cross contamination.
“In general, we would prefer that there not be more than one cystic fibrosis patient in a school,” Dr. Thomas Keens, the head of the cystic fibrosis center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, told the Today show.
But Coleman doesn't actually have the disease and his parents say the school is overreacting. Jennifer Chadam says her son has attended other schools with students with cystic fibrosis and it has never been a problem. In fact, Coleman has never had any medical problems related to the illness.
The school was only alerted that he carried the gene when his parents listed it on the medical form at the beginning of the school year. "The school district freaked out," Jennifer told the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, doctors say he is not even at risk of developing the disease however, school officials are unmoved.
“I was sad but at the same time I was mad because I understood that I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Colman told Today. He added: “It feels like I’m being bullied in a way that is not right.”
This is a future that science fiction fans have seen before. In Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World, specific jobs required a specific genetic heritage.
More recently, the 1997 film Gattaca required particular complements of genes for particular jobs. Every employee was required to demonstrate his or her genetic competence every day, upon entry to a facility, by providing a sample to the automated DNA typing device. People who showed evidence of "poor genetic heritage" were not offered employment at the facility, and were not allowed to enter. If they entered under false pretenses, they were kicked out immediately.
(GattacaEmployees provide a DNA sample upon entry)
Via CafeMom.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/21/2012)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.' - Robert Heinlein, 1956
Brainoware Reservoir Computation Of Biological Neural Networks
'Head cheese. Cultured brains on a slab.' - Peter Watts, 1999.
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Chaffeur Robot Musashi Will Drive Your Regular Car
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
Space Exporers! Now, You Can Drink Your Own Urine
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
Shanghai Guidelines For Humanoid Robots
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
Desktop TARS Robot From Interstellar
What's YOUR sarcasm setting?
Robots Can Now Have Smiling Faces With Human Skin
'I am a cybernetic organism...'
Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens.'
Rizon 4 Ironing Robot
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
