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Eh, genome engineering is a possible solution to those problems, but that doesn't mean that it has to be the only solution. I'm working on genome engineering so
by cryoshon 11y ago
Eh, genome engineering is a possible solution to those problems, but that doesn't mean that it has to be the only solution. I'm working on genome engineering solutions for a couple of cancers right now-- we're close to solving problems in vitro, but that doesn't mean these treatments can be transferred to actual sick human subjects successfully.
Genome engineering is white hot right now, sailing off of CRISPR. Wait five years, see what pans out. I highly doubt that we'll have cures in hand on that timescale, but we can hope! I expect that genome engineering will improve human health vastly, but it's not going to be as easy as they make it out to be.
A last tidbit: like all medical interventions, genome engineering has side effects, too. They're largely side effects that have never been seen or treated before, and they can frequently be fatal or severe. I wouldn't expect that there is an incentive for these side effects to go away unless they're fatal more than 10% of the time.