Designing Bodies

My friend posted a great TED talk today, and here are some cliff notes from Paul Root Wolpe's presentation:

There have been three stages of evolution:
1) Darwinian Evolution (passive i.e. natural selection)
2) Civilization (controlling the evolutionary environment, what led us to the present societal framework)
3) Directed Evolution (the current era): As we continue in this type of evolution, he is suggesting that we need to set some ground rules around what is considered ethical.

For instance, the crazy bioengineering stuff that is real now:

• Scientists have now been able to insert the gene for bioluminescence into all sorts of family pets, including monkeys...whoa. 
• The process of transgenic drugs and chemicals = "organic manufacturing machines", where a genetically modified animal produces a compound of interest, which can then be harvested from its blood or milk (and will be the topic of a separate post, I'm sure).
• Animal robots...cockroaches that can be used as surveillance agents, a monkey that can control its third (prosthetic) arm with its brain...

He asks, "Is it okay to manipulate and create whatever creatures we want?" As my friend and I discussed this video, the phrase "when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail" was used, and it seems to fit. As we continue to understand life's biological processes, the more we want to use that knowledge in cool crazy ways (for lack of a better term). But, isn't that sometimes unnecessary, or even, wrong?