4 ms·

here's a TODO list i made for possibly interesting genome editing targets: http://diyhpl.us/wiki/genetic-modifications/ http://diyhpl.us/wiki/genetic-modificati

here's a TODO list i made for possibly interesting genome editing targets: http://diyhpl.us/wiki/genetic-modifications/ http://diyhpl.us/wiki/genetic-modifications/ Many of these have low demonstrated correlation or significance so don't just blindly load everything on that document into your at-home CRISPR kit http://www.the-odin.com/gene-engineering-kits/ http://www.the-odin.com/gene-engineering-kits/ but it should be a good starting point for thinking about what can be modified, improved, disimproved, etc.

ralusek 9y ago
rs193536 affects male genitals you say? Here I go, injecting it directly into my penis without any further questions (his decision, not mine).
mattbettinson 9y ago
Fascinating. This just popped in my head: does the human genome contain pointers? Or am I missing a key piece?
- kanzure 9y ago
  Many things in biology could be construed to be pointers if you squint hard enough--- promoters, transcription factors, all sorts of far-reaching regulation-effecting small molecules and proteins and variations of DNA/RNA molecules. Is "guide RNA" a pointer? what about the other gene targeting techniques-- like TALENs? see http://diyhpl.us/wiki/gene-editing/ http://diyhpl.us/wiki/gene-editing/ "Primer for synthetic biology" http://www.openwetware.org/images/3/3d/SB_Primer_100707.pdf http://www.openwetware.org/images/3/3d/SB_Primer_100707.pdf pretty old presentation but here you go, "Synthetic Biology: A primer" http://cellbase.epfl.ch/twiki/pub/IGEM/PaperCollection/iGEM_synth_bio_lecture_2010.pdf http://cellbase.epfl.ch/twiki/pub/IGEM/PaperCollection/iGEM_...
  - mattbettinson 9y ago
    This is what I was looking for without realizing it. Metastructures signing DNA to regulate. Wow!
hirenj 9y ago
I can't speak for all the genes on that list, but I wouldn't go around knocking out FUT2 just yet. We don't know the full extent of biological roles for it, and the functionality is probably redundantly encoded in multiple genes too. Specifically for viral interactions I reckon you'd be better off designing a small molecule inhibitor of viral binding via whatever lectin they have to whichever protein (or lipid for that matter) the sugar that FUT2 glycosylates is attached to. This allows for much more precise targeting of the undesired behaviour, rather than just chopping out the whole gene.
- Symmetry 9y ago
  Agreed. I'm a non-secretor and I've benefited from not getting a norovirus when I really ought to have. But if such a valuable trait hasn't reached fixation in the population there's bound to be a reason. It also has a variety of effects on susceptibility to other diseases, some positive, some negative. https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs601338 https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs601338
maga 9y ago
Is there any differences in the amount of work (or tech) necessary for editing these "enhancement" genes as compared to what the guys in the article did? In other words, is it any harder to edit some genes as compared to others?

ralusek 9y ago

rs193536 affects male genitals you say? Here I go, injecting it directly into my penis without any further questions (his decision, not mine).

mattbettinson 9y ago

Fascinating. This just popped in my head: does the human genome contain pointers? Or am I missing a key piece?

kanzure 9y ago
Many things in biology could be construed to be pointers if you squint hard enough--- promoters, transcription factors, all sorts of far-reaching regulation-effecting small molecules and proteins and variations of DNA/RNA molecules. Is "guide RNA" a pointer? what about the other gene targeting techniques-- like TALENs? see http://diyhpl.us/wiki/gene-editing/ http://diyhpl.us/wiki/gene-editing/ "Primer for synthetic biology" http://www.openwetware.org/images/3/3d/SB_Primer_100707.pdf http://www.openwetware.org/images/3/3d/SB_Primer_100707.pdf pretty old presentation but here you go, "Synthetic Biology: A primer" http://cellbase.epfl.ch/twiki/pub/IGEM/PaperCollection/iGEM_synth_bio_lecture_2010.pdf http://cellbase.epfl.ch/twiki/pub/IGEM/PaperCollection/iGEM_...
- mattbettinson 9y ago
  This is what I was looking for without realizing it. Metastructures signing DNA to regulate. Wow!

hirenj 9y ago

I can't speak for all the genes on that list, but I wouldn't go around knocking out FUT2 just yet. We don't know the full extent of biological roles for it, and the functionality is probably redundantly encoded in multiple genes too. Specifically for viral interactions I reckon you'd be better off designing a small molecule inhibitor of viral binding via whatever lectin they have to whichever protein (or lipid for that matter) the sugar that FUT2 glycosylates is attached to. This allows for much more precise targeting of the undesired behaviour, rather than just chopping out the whole gene.

Symmetry 9y ago
Agreed. I'm a non-secretor and I've benefited from not getting a norovirus when I really ought to have. But if such a valuable trait hasn't reached fixation in the population there's bound to be a reason. It also has a variety of effects on susceptibility to other diseases, some positive, some negative. https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs601338 https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs601338

maga 9y ago

Is there any differences in the amount of work (or tech) necessary for editing these "enhancement" genes as compared to what the guys in the article did? In other words, is it any harder to edit some genes as compared to others?