4 ms·

> but it fundamentally can't go into a runaway process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive The basic summary is

> but it fundamentally can't go into a runaway process. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_drive The basic summary is that you can make a CRISPR construct that will copy itself into the homologous chromosome in a zygote/embryo. Thus, any progeny resulting from mating with an individual with the construct will be homozygous for said construct, a runaway process. This is being considered as a way to eliminate deadly pathogens, and obviously could be used to wreak immeasurable ecological harm. I still wouldn't worry about it for humans, though, as simple genetic testing and further editing could counteract it.

JulianMorrison 10y ago
Gene drives can't harm us but they could easily wreak havoc on fast reproducing species we depend upon. Bees, are what I'd target if I were inclined to cause apocalypses. And perhaps soil nematodes.
- mapt 10y ago
  Want to see some rapid speciation? Kill off all the bees* and watch the other insects take over and start to specialize. It's not necessarily an apocalypse event, based on http://www.hortmag.com/plants/fruits-veggies/vegetable-crops-that-do-not-need-pollinators http://www.hortmag.com/plants/fruits-veggies/vegetable-crops... and Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated... : "The most essential staple food crops on the planet, like corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and sorghum, need no insect help at all; they are wind-pollinated or self-pollinating. Other staple food crops, like bananas and plantains, are sterile and propagated from cuttings, requiring no pollination of any form, ever. Further, foods such as root vegetables and salad crops will produce a useful food crop without pollination, though they may not set seed;" *The unknown unknowns about gene drive weapons may or may not be able more powerful than the extreme efficacy of natural selection on r-strategists.
- deftnerd 10y ago
  I read a trio of apocalypse short story collections earlier in the year and one of the ones that stuck in my head the most was a trio of stories... "Spore", "Fruiting Bodies", and "Resistance" by Seanan McGuire. It centered around a molecular biologist who worked a lab that accidentally releases a modified strain of a "hardier, healthier, and easier-to-grow bread mold, that was resistant to virtually every fungicide and sterilizing agent we knew" It becomes a fungal apex predator and is capable of consuming living tissue. It was one of the most frightening apocalypse scenarios I've ever read because it seemed somewhat plausible. A hardier fungus could change ecosystems dramatically. About 300 million years ago, fungi evolved the ability to break down lignin. Before then when biomass died, it didn't rot away and slowly got turned into the coal and oil deposits that we now consume. Fallen trees stayed where they fell for thousands of years and got turned into petrified wood. Since that evolution, everything changed so much that it affected future geology. Never underestimate the ability of our fuzzy fungi cousins and how they can change the world.
greeneggs 10y ago
> I still wouldn't worry about it for humans, though, as simple genetic testing and further editing could counteract it. It might not show up in genetic testing unless you knew what to look for. And if you found some modification, currently it would not be ethical to try to reverse it in the germline (because these gene editing techniques are not perfect and can introduce potentially deadly errors). I think it is worth thinking more seriously about what we would do to counteract gene drives in humans, whether caused by neo-Nazis, terrorists, or well-meaning parents. Gene drives in other species, wild or domesticated, could are more of a threat in the short term.
burfog 10y ago
Picture a bit of DNA that, during egg formation, shoves chromosomes with certain traits into the polar bodies. (polar bodies discard chromosomes to make the genome haploid) Children thus cannot inherit chromosomes containing the undesired DNA. This aggressive bit of DNA also avoids having itself end up in a polar body, ensuring that it will be inherited. Suppose you wanted to keep your descendants from having any appearance traits that might lead to discrimination issues, such as with AirBNB. DNA which causes that kind of physical appearance gets kicked out during egg formation, saving your descendants from much difficulty and misery.

JulianMorrison 10y ago

Gene drives can't harm us but they could easily wreak havoc on fast reproducing species we depend upon. Bees, are what I'd target if I were inclined to cause apocalypses. And perhaps soil nematodes.

mapt 10y ago
Want to see some rapid speciation? Kill off all the bees* and watch the other insects take over and start to specialize. It's not necessarily an apocalypse event, based on http://www.hortmag.com/plants/fruits-veggies/vegetable-crops-that-do-not-need-pollinators http://www.hortmag.com/plants/fruits-veggies/vegetable-crops... and Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated... : "The most essential staple food crops on the planet, like corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and sorghum, need no insect help at all; they are wind-pollinated or self-pollinating. Other staple food crops, like bananas and plantains, are sterile and propagated from cuttings, requiring no pollination of any form, ever. Further, foods such as root vegetables and salad crops will produce a useful food crop without pollination, though they may not set seed;" *The unknown unknowns about gene drive weapons may or may not be able more powerful than the extreme efficacy of natural selection on r-strategists.
deftnerd 10y ago
I read a trio of apocalypse short story collections earlier in the year and one of the ones that stuck in my head the most was a trio of stories... "Spore", "Fruiting Bodies", and "Resistance" by Seanan McGuire. It centered around a molecular biologist who worked a lab that accidentally releases a modified strain of a "hardier, healthier, and easier-to-grow bread mold, that was resistant to virtually every fungicide and sterilizing agent we knew" It becomes a fungal apex predator and is capable of consuming living tissue. It was one of the most frightening apocalypse scenarios I've ever read because it seemed somewhat plausible. A hardier fungus could change ecosystems dramatically. About 300 million years ago, fungi evolved the ability to break down lignin. Before then when biomass died, it didn't rot away and slowly got turned into the coal and oil deposits that we now consume. Fallen trees stayed where they fell for thousands of years and got turned into petrified wood. Since that evolution, everything changed so much that it affected future geology. Never underestimate the ability of our fuzzy fungi cousins and how they can change the world.

greeneggs 10y ago

> I still wouldn't worry about it for humans, though, as simple genetic testing and further editing could counteract it. It might not show up in genetic testing unless you knew what to look for. And if you found some modification, currently it would not be ethical to try to reverse it in the germline (because these gene editing techniques are not perfect and can introduce potentially deadly errors). I think it is worth thinking more seriously about what we would do to counteract gene drives in humans, whether caused by neo-Nazis, terrorists, or well-meaning parents. Gene drives in other species, wild or domesticated, could are more of a threat in the short term.

burfog 10y ago

Picture a bit of DNA that, during egg formation, shoves chromosomes with certain traits into the polar bodies. (polar bodies discard chromosomes to make the genome haploid) Children thus cannot inherit chromosomes containing the undesired DNA. This aggressive bit of DNA also avoids having itself end up in a polar body, ensuring that it will be inherited. Suppose you wanted to keep your descendants from having any appearance traits that might lead to discrimination issues, such as with AirBNB. DNA which causes that kind of physical appearance gets kicked out during egg formation, saving your descendants from much difficulty and misery.