How far is the impact of gene editing technology on us?
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Silicon Rabbit Race” (ID: sv_race) by Juni.
Josiah Zayner is committed to promoting gene editing technology among ordinary people. He has made a name for himself by injecting genes into the live broadcast. He also sells a set of gene editing kits that ordinary people can operate at home. Everything came to an abrupt end when he was investigated by the California Medical Board.
If you spend less than 1,000 yuan, buy a DIY bacterial gene editing technology kit online and start the most basic genetic editing project at home. Do you believe this kind of thing?
Login to The ODIN website and you’ll find a range of gene editing technology products.
And this is not a prank.
The pusher behind him is not a profitable businessman, but a scientist who knows about genetic technology, Josiah Zayner.
In 2017, during a Facebook live broadcast, he used CRISPR technology to remove the gene of Myostatin (MSTN) into his arm, hoping to strengthen his muscles.
Crazy and evil.
But this is not the result of adrenaline impulsiveness (but it must be admitted that Zayner drank some whiskey while doing the live broadcast), and Zayner proved that genetic modification could give humans great strength, he went to the arm The injected gene is not a simple and rude transformation of the gene chain, but the DNA is directionally modified by biological enzymes, so as to eliminate the protein that inhibits the growth of the left arm muscle, so that the left arm muscle can grow indefinitely – just like Like the Popeye who had eaten spinach.
Josiah Zayner is a strong believer in gene editing technology. He believes that human beings will inevitably focus on genetic editing projects. Everyone has the opportunity to create unique and useful creatures, and he wants to create everything that everyone can use. Gene editing tools.
The ODIN, a company that sells genetic editing suites to allow ordinary people to edit bacterial DNA was born.
Zayner holds a Bachelor of Science in Botany and Biology from the University of Chicago, and a Master’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Appalachian State University. He also worked as a researcher at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Arms Research Center. Design work for Mars habitat.
But he is not a coveted person. In January 2016, he left many people’s enviable jobs and embarked on the road to entrepreneurship. Like many Silicon Valley singularities, he opened his company, The ODIN, in his own garage.
Edit genes at home like a chemical experiment
The believers in gene editing technology believe that through genetic editing, humans can overcome the curse of “genetic diseases.”
Unfamiliar such as Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hemophilia, familiar with such things as depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, diseases caused by genetic material changes or diseases caused by disease genes are called For genetic diseases.
The genetic disease is like a curse. It doesn’t dissipate as time goes by, but it will pass along the blood and never die.
With gene editing technology, one can trim, cut, replace, or add genes with human defects. By using these gene editing techniques, curing genetic diseases is not a myth.
But is the truth as good as we think?
On June 18, 1981, the Paul Gelsinger family welcomed a new member, their son, Jesse Gelsinger.
Jessie grew up like many ordinary American boys, but the difference was that he was born with a disease called Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency Syndrome (OTCD).
This disease causes the ammonia in the patient to rise to a lethal level. Therefore, he must adhere to a low-protein diet and swallow nearly 50 pills a day.
In September 1999, Jesse participated in a gene therapy to help future babies with OTCD find a cure. Although he was told that this was a safe experiment, he was told that the original intention of the experiment was not to help him heal the OTCD, but Jesse still participated in the experiment without hesitation.
On September 13, Jesse was injected with a virus that reduced toxicity and produced a serious reaction. Four days later, Jesse was told by a doctor to brain death and removed the life support device. He is also considered to be the victim of the first gene therapy.
After 20 years, gene editing technology has come out of the high wall of the ivory tower, and it has entered the civil range. There have been many like Jos.Biohacker like iah Zayner is passionate about the civilianization of gene editing technology.
In addition to arm injection to inhibit MSTN, Zayner also uses genetic editing technology to add fluorescent gene fragments to yeast, brewing beer that glows at night, and trying to use other people’s microbes to treat their gastrointestinal tract. disease.
Unfortunately, his bold attempt to inject himself into the gene did not have any significant effect. We did not see any significant changes in Zayner’s arm muscles.
He shared the online course of genetic editing with the public and created The ODIN because he was not worried about the ethical and moral controversy caused by genetic editing. Instead, he was even more worried that because of government regulation, ordinary people could not use this. Technology.
“Editing genes at home”
The business he is doing seems to be a science education for the general public in gene editing, but he forgets that technology is not wrong, but people have good and evil.
If such technology falls into the hands of people with ulterior motives, then where do we go from here?
Gene editing technology may help us to achieve the end of the disease, custom babies and youthfulness, only in fairy tales or science fiction, but it may also lead us to uncontrollable directions, such as biology. Extinct.
Mosquitoes may be a good example. On April 17 this year, Gates published an article on social networking about how to kill mosquitoes through gene editing techniques. The Gates Foundation currently has a project to reduce the number of mosquitoes and reduce infectious diseases by genetically modifying mosquitoes. Rewrite genetic rules by using gene editing techniques.
Specifically, in the genetic law, one of the parents has a 50% chance of inheriting a gene to the child. But gene-driven technology can increase the probability to 100%. Bring an edited gene to some mosquitoes, then the offspring of these mosquitoes will carry the gene 100%.
Over time, the entire mosquito population will have this gene. By adopting genetic editing, one can change the sex ratio of mosquitoes to completely eliminate mosquitoes in a certain area.
Even Gates explained that there are more issues to study in the next step. For example, what is the impact of mosquito death on the food chain, how long humans need mosquitoes to disappear, etc., but we can’t help wondering whether such practices conform to the laws of nature?
Under the influence of genetic migration and genetic drift in nature, will artificially alter the genes of a certain species to cause a domino effect, leading to species extinction?
Here we talk about the regulation of genetic editing in large institutions. If Zayner does genetic editing of species on a personal basis, the uncontrollability will increase exponentially.
It’s no wonder that in July of this year, the California Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the illegal sale of genetic editing tools for human use, and announced a survey of Zayner in September.
The hidden worries of genetic editing technology are not limited to this. If humans can choose to edit the gene, then the ecstasy of eugenics in history may come to the world again.
Thinking about Germany under Nazi rule, the authorities divide people into three or six, and your fate is doomed before birth. Rich people can pick the best quality genes to produce better offspring, and the poor can only listen to their fate, praying that the mother of nature can show kindness.
The Matthew effect is once again manifested, but this time it is not only reflected in capital, but in life, “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” Perhaps you will be optimistic that rich people and poor people have the same time, perhaps under the care of opportunities, when the poor have turned over.
Don’t be naive. Throughout history, the social Darwinian theorists who advocate eugenics never give the poor a chance. Both the United States and Germany have promoted the “Compulsory Sterilization Law” in the name of the state machine, prohibiting “genetic defects”. “People breed offspring, but what is “genetic defect” is not a very subjective concept?
Rebellion against the “Compulsory Sterilization Act”
In Germany under Nazi rule in 1933, people with genetic diseases needed to be forced to sterilize, and those with bad habits (such as alcohol abuse) and “scared people” (criminals, prostitutes, and harassment) also needed Being forced to sterilise, should we think about it, who should decide what is a genetic defect?
In addition, perhaps we are looking forward to the arrival of “superhumans” that can change our lives, help justice and fight sin like Superman, but should we also add the possibility that this technology is not superhuman? But a clown?
In addition to Zayner, there are some bio-hacking behaviors that make us more and more interested in thinking deeply about how far bio-editing technology affects us.
In November 2018, He Jiankui announced that his team used gene editing technology for human fertilized eggs and implanted in the mother’s womb. A pair of genetically edited babies named Lulu and Nana were born in China in November. The genes of the twins have been modified to make them naturally resistant to AIDS after birth.
He Jiankui’s behavior did not bring him flowers and applause. Instead, it brought condemnation to the mountains. At present, the technical means and security measures of genetic editing are relatively primitive. The ethical consensus is that human germ cell editing should not be done. In the case, He Jiankui’s behavior was clearly stepping on the red line of the scientific community.
Maybe you think that genetic editing is too far away from us, we don’t need to worry about people. But the IVF technology was born more than 50 years ago, but we can easily access the technology.
He Jiankui created Lulu and Nana against AIDS. Zayner tried to make his arm muscles grow rapidly (although he failed). Like almost all science and technology, genetic editing is a double-edged sword. It brings a lot of conveniences and brings us many hidden dangers and controversies.
Disputes about genetic editing ethics
With the continuous development of gene editing technology, we can foresee that the application of this technology will become more and more common.
But should we use this technology for business?
Who will assess the impact of these technologies on the future?
Do we need a rigorous review of the technology?
Who should be the power to review?
is the authority? Is it an academic institution?
Or an independent review system?
These questions will all be your answer in the near future.
