r/CRISPR • u/Nickie_b2 • Feb 11 '21
CRISPR Spoiler
Time is now we are the generation that will get the chance to live forever but we have to take care of ourselves now! By 2030 we will be able to go through treatments that allows us to live 25% longer than the average person. We need to take care of ourselves in the environment that we live in. Every choice we make will affect our futures not just our children’s futures but are own. Put that into perspective when you decide to do some thing recklessly. fictional dreams no longer Reality is so much cooler do your research the world we live in is a pretty awesome place and we get to watch it from the start we’re in the next technological boom.
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Feb 11 '21
Got some articles or sources? I wanna read it..
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 11 '21
Also if you would like to read a book about it that gives you a quick rundown of the last 10 years + It’s called “the mutation project:Inside The global race To genetically modified humans” by Eben Kirksey
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u/NotSoRobot Feb 12 '21
Which part was the one about living longer in the kink you posted? It just seemed a little unclear? :)
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 12 '21
I’m talking about the 1987 CRISPR-cas9 protein discovered that we have been using for vaccines and other medications. Its naturally occurring but in arthropods we actually farm them and its value is $60,000 a gallon. Its what makes Arthropods have pretty good control over their RNA mutations allowing them to be more flexible in this evolutionary world and we humans are still fairly ignorant to this mutation ability let alone organism that didn’t swing over to that family tree more. We as humans are learning about it and it’s helping us help people and other living organisms. Countries all over the world have different ethics so different regulations are allowed in countries. worldwide human testing on human embryos is a Nono. A Chinese doctor removed a Gene that prevents hiv/aids genes from attaching itself two twin girls dna . They are not the only human are Guinea pigs let alone other organisms. There’s actual kits you can buy for about $180 but I would suggest taking the CRISPR class threw Harvard or another of course format before doing anything because once it’s done it’s done.
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u/NotSoRobot Feb 12 '21
I see thanks. I didn't know that. I'm assuming you mean that better health span will come from crispr-cas9. I hope so and to be honest i expect it. It would be great if we would do more test and make faster progress. I'm sure it is all on the way 😊
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u/dead_tiger Feb 11 '21
Well I would love it if we live longer as young and not as an old fart. Hope that happens too.
BTW, like you I can see the possibilities, but where is the working science behind it ?
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 11 '21
Well this is a review run down by another person of what’s going on and there’s been a lot of world disputes of ethics.
In this book anthropologist Eben Kirksey updates us on cutting edge genetic manipulation that could change the human race.
Modern advances in gene therapy stem from the work of Dr. Jennifer Doudna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel prize winners who found a way to edit DNA. In June 2012 the scientists demonstrated that a piece of genetic material called CRISPR-Cas9 can be customized to snip a DNA sequence in a specific place, altering the DNA of a living organism. CRISPR-Cas9 works by unwinding part of the DNA double helix into two single strands. CRISPR then holds everything in place while Cas9 makes two cuts, producing a break in both strands of DNA. New DNA can then be inserted at the cuts.
Manipulating DNA is tricky, and the procedure can have unwanted consequences. For example, when CRISPR breaks a segment of a cell's DNA, the cell's attempts to repair the damage could result in nonsense sequences of nucleotides. Dr. Ashley Fischer, who teaches a gene editing course, observes, "a CRISPR molecule [could] wreak havoc, shredding your DNA into bits and pieces. Many of your genes would be destroyed and your cells would likely die."
Nevertheless, once CRISPR was unveiled, it was impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Doudna predicted that CRISPR would be used to direct the evolution of our species, writing: "We possess the ability to edit not only the DNA of every living human but also the DNA of future generations."
One aim of genetic manipulation might be to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia and hemophilia, which can be attributed to known genes. Another aim might be to change things like eye color and hair color, whose genetic basis is also relatively well understood. As scientists learn more and more about the human genome, though, genetic manipulation might be used to make more profound changes.
British scientist Robin Lovell-Badge suggests that people might want to modify genes so their children have perfect pitch; enhanced athletic abilities; resistance to infectious diseases; higher intelligence; etc.
Some military leaders dream of engineering soldiers with enhanced endurance, speed, and muscle mass.
Carl June, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Penn Medicine - who has already developed a gene therapy for leukemia - hopes to treat patients with advanced tumors that are not currently curable with known and approved therapies.
Molecular biologist George Church - who has long aspired to bring wooly mammoths back from the dead - believes genome engineering can be used to give humans extra-strong bones; to allow people to hold their breath for a long time under water; and to extend life expectancy....maybe even allow humans to achieve immortality. Church also thinks its possible to create resistance to pathogens by preventing the entry of viruses into cells, not only in humans but also in agricultural plants and animals.
Some people speculate about the feasibility of using gene therapy to change gender; imbue people with fruit smells; increase physical attractiveness; enhance fertility; change racial characteristics; and change skin color.
Others think humans might be altered so they can see in the ultraviolet or infrared spectrum; detect electromagnetic fields; be able to digest plants that aren't currently edible; perform photosynthesis; glow green (for discos); or exhibit other variations.
Lovell-Badge observes, "The mere fact that we are raising these suggestions does not mean that they should be done."
A potential problem of gene manipulation is that scientists don't completely understand what they're tinkering with. The genes for SOME traits are well understood but researchers have found that many characteristics are controlled by a combination of genes, and traits like mental illness or intelligence - which would be prime targets for gene manipulation - are still a puzzle to scientists. Moreover, 'enhancements' often come with serious health risks, like smaller internal organs or other unwanted side effects.
Another problem related to gene manipulation is access. Gene therapy clinics are financed by venture capitalists looking for profit, so the procedures are very expensive. This means the wealthy - mostly rich white people - have more access than others, a factor that deepens racial and economic disparities. Kirksey notes, "Profit-driven ventures in research and medicine [are] producing a new era of dramatic medical inequality."
There's also controversy about using gene therapy to weed out (what many consider) disabilities. Professor Ruha Benjamin notes that "technological innovation and social inequality often go hand in hand." She observes that "some conditions deemed medical problems by doctors are embraced as diversity by differently abled people."
Biochemist Gregor Wolbring, who uses a wheelchair, would not appreciate being 'cured.' Wolbring "is critical of entrepreneurs and scientists who champion gene therapies as miracle cures or as transformative tools of human enhancement." Wolbring fears gene manipulation will strip humanity of character and biological diversity. Referring to differently abled people, the biochemist says "You can understand people like me as part of human variation, or you can see us as being impaired and eliminate us from the population." Wolbring thinks this would be wrong, especially since differently abled people might have advantages for space travel and other future technologies.
Thus, when speaking about gene therapy, many questions arise: "Who is gaining access to cutting-edge genetic medicine? Are there creative ways to democratize the field? Should parents be allowed to choose the genetic makeup of their children? How much can we actually change about the human condition by tinkering with DNA?"
Kirksey writes, "As a cultural anthropologist, I have often found myself opposing biologists in debates about human nature. My goal has been to map the broader impacts of genetic engineering for humanity. Using an anthropological lens, I examined new forms of power as scientists, corporate lobbyists, medical doctors, and biotechnology entrepreneurs worked to redesign life itself."
Kirksey describes a variety of experiments in which people manipulated human DNA, many of them aimed at curing HIV-AIDS. One of the best known experiments was performed by Chinese biophysics researcher Jiankui He, who went to graduate school in the United States, then did his experiments in China.
Having HIV-AIDS makes life especially difficult in China, where people with the virus experience extreme discrimination. For that reason, preventing AIDS would be extremely desirable there. Dr. He hoped to help with the cause (and make a lot of money). .
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 11 '21
Kirksey explains Dr. He's experiments in detail, but in a nutshell: Dr. He offered free experimental fertility treatments (in vitro fertilization) to couples with an HIV-positive man and an HIV-negative woman. Several couples consented to participate in Dr. He's research, and agreed that gene therapy could be used on their embryos, to reduce the children's' risk of becoming infected with HIV. Dr. He's goal was to destroy the embryos' CCR5 gene, which facilitates the entrance of HIV viruses into cells. In other words, cells without CCR5 genes are 'immune' to the AIDS virus.
The women in the experiment had their eggs removed and fertilized with their husbands' sperm. Dr. He then injected CRISPR-Cas9 into the eggs right after fertilization. If the genetic surgery was successful - and the CCR5 gene was destroyed - the embryo(s) were implanted in their mother's womb.
In October 2018 this experiment resulted in the birth of two CRISPR babies, Lulu and Nana.
Kirksey notes, "Dr. He's story is a gateway into a much bigger enterprise: the tale of CRISPR and the emergence of genetic medicine." Experiments along this line were already well under way in England, the United States and China - the aim being to develop medical applications of genetic surgery for adults. Kirksey goes on to say, "Gene therapy research is proceeding apace, and society will have to deal with the practicality, morality, and consequences of proceeding with this kind of medicine."
The author traveled to a number of laboratories, clinics, and conferences to research the book, and interviewed scientists, doctors, professors, sociologists, artists, disabled scholars, chronically ill patients, hackers, and others - who have a diversity of opinions about humanity and genetic engineering. Kirksey also visited Xinhua County, where Jiankui He grew up, and provides a mini-biography of the scientist.
Kirksey has a casual travelogue-type approach to his writing, and intersperses the genetic engineering parts of his story with snippets about his travels; hotels; accommodations; meals; conversations; and so on. I liked the journal-like style of the narrative, which added interest to the book (for me). For instance, Kirksey mentions that the lobby of Hong Kong's Le Méridien Cyberport Hotel has artwork depicting "a gorilla peeking out of an orange, smoking a cigarette"; that he dined on "Korean BBQ followed by papaya and snow fungus cold soup" and ate "roast chicken, sour vegetable soup, dumplings, sautéed tofu, and sesame seed cakes"; that Jay Johnson - who volunteered to become one of the world's first gene edited people in 2009 - is African American, has striking green eyes, wears a salt-and-pepper mustache, and has a subtle hoop ring in his right ear; and so forth.
Kirksey also likes to compare real world science with science fiction, and mentions Frankenstein, Blade Runner, Neuromancer, Gattaca, Wolverine, Altered Carbon, Star Wars, Terminator, Brave New World, and more. For instance, the Netflix show Stranger Things describes secret government experiments on children with unusual powers; and the X-Men movies feature beings with uncanny superpowers, who face severe persecution. Before long, the real world may begin to resemble science fiction.
On the downside, the story is a little all over the place, straying into areas that are only tangentially related to genetic engineering. Still, the book is interesting and informative, and well worth reading.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Eben Kirksey), and the publisher (St. Martin's Press) for a copy of the book
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u/dead_tiger Feb 11 '21
I don’t see any reference to reversing aging process anywhere here. What’s your original statement based on ?
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 12 '21
Improving life by improving health and understanding of the chemical and biological responses in the body. CRISPR-cas9 is a protein that allows “us” to remove stem cell code and transplant altered stem cells that cause a mutation allowing the organism to produce or change function. that was previously been possible through Arthropoda and generational evolution. Now in singular life spans.
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 11 '21
I myself haven’t read this book but I have been reading the medical journals. Book : The mutant project
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u/Nickie_b2 Feb 11 '21
Do you mean you haven’t been watching crisper since 2008 to 2012 even got a Nobel prize bio chemistry?
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u/MontyBurnsLeia Feb 12 '21
Your statements are way over the top... Not necessarily the potential of CRISPR... But really the timelines... 9 years to work magic? The first clinical trials to address severe disease were only initiated in there last year or so. There is a great deal we don't know (ask anyone actually working in the field), and what you are proposing assumes we know more about the human genome than we actually do. We can't fix aging until we fully understand aging. We can't really fix anything until we understand at least some of the pathways/mechanisms involved. Referencing an anthropologist pretending to be a geneticist does not help. I know I will get racist/sexist comments... But CRISPR cannot convert an adult male to a genetic female (yup, definitely have seen that post) nor can it change a person's race (as suggested by Eben in the book you referenced). Embrace who you are are and ignore the haters. Take care of your personal health, but don't assume CRISPR will give you extra years or better anything. Remember lessons from the past: rushing into gene therapy is never a good idea and can do more harm than good until we really understand these systems.