WOWWW!
Just saw a news item on PBS. Apparently scientist have succeeded in replacing a defective gene in a human embryo with a CRISPR substitute. In this case it was a repair of a genetic heart defect.
According to the spokes-person, there are limits to such procedures and this was just one successful laboratory experiment. She explained that the main problem is in finding the exact location and correct repair of the defective gene.
She further explained that a clinical trial would involve a host of incidental problems and it would have to be a long term trial as implanting an embryo would add the health of the surrogate mother into the equation and if brought to term, the subject would have to be studied during its lifetime, for any possible unexpected side effects.
While there are some moral concerns about genetic engineering, the spokesperson said the research was focused on repairing genetic defects and if this then could be passed on to offspring, effectively doing away with pre-existing conditions, which might have a beneficial impact on health insurance and future medical treatment of offspring, if the repaired gene was passed on.
She ruled out the addition of extra DNA for specific extra abilities, as that would almost certainly affect other DNA codings, and produce unexpected interactions with other parts of the DNA.
Nevertheless, this was the first time that this repair of a single code had been successfully performed. But she qualified that clinical testing was still a long time off, before they would even try to take the next step.
All the same, it is a remarkable scientific development.
https://www.sciencenews.org/sites/default/files/2017/08/main/articles/080217_TI_embryo-editing_main.jpg
IN GOOD REPAIR CRISPR/Cas9 has corrected a gene defect in fertilized human eggs (left) without hampering embryo development. Eight-cell embryos (middle) and blastocyst-stage embryos — about five days old — (right) carrying the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editor appear normal.
interesting.
Jennifer Doudna (UC Berkeley / HHMI): Genome Engineering with CRISPR-Cas9 iBioMagazine - Mar 23, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuAxDVBt7kQ Talk Overview: Jennifer Doudna tells the story of how studying the way bacteria fight viral infection turned into a genomic engineering technology that has transformed molecular biology research. In 2013, Doudna and her colleagues developed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene expression system that, when introduced into animal cells, makes site-specific changes to intact genomes. CRISPR-Cas9 is more precise, more efficient, and less expensive than other genome editing tools and, as a result, has facilitated a wide range of studies that were previously unachievable.
What is CRISPR? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnYppmstxIs Bozeman Science - Feb 18, 2016 In this video Paul Andersen explains how the CRISPR/Cas immune system was identified in bacteria and how the CRISPR/Cas9 system was developed to edit genomes.Fanatical
interesting.That was just awesome!. And at that level (nano scale) it is truly a medical revolution. I can't even begin to imagine the possibilities, being that (most) all living things are DNA based and either vulnerable or resistant to certain viral or bacterial infections. Let's begin by making bees immune to what is killing them now. That would help perhaps 20% of the world's food supply. In China they are already using manual pollination of fruit trees. It takes a person week what a few bees can accomplish in a couple of hours.Jennifer Doudna (UC Berkeley / HHMI): Genome Engineering with CRISPR-Cas9 iBioMagazine - Mar 23, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuAxDVBt7kQ Talk Overview: Jennifer Doudna tells the story of how studying the way bacteria fight viral infection turned into a genomic engineering technology that has transformed molecular biology research. In 2013, Doudna and her colleagues developed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene expression system that, when introduced into animal cells, makes site-specific changes to intact genomes. CRISPR-Cas9 is more precise, more efficient, and less expensive than other genome editing tools and, as a result, has facilitated a wide range of studies that were previously unachievable.What is CRISPR? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnYppmstxIs Bozeman Science - Feb 18, 2016 In this video Paul Andersen explains how the CRISPR/Cas immune system was identified in bacteria and how the CRISPR/Cas9 system was developed to edit genomes.Fanatical
That was supposed to read “fantastical” :-/
This is super news for humanity. Now if we can stop destroying our environment get rid of all the nukes, we may actually be regarded as an intelligent form of life.