3 ms·

It's an interesting idea, but for a whole bunch of biological reasons, I suspect it would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible. First, we don't actually

It's an interesting idea, but for a whole bunch of biological reasons, I suspect it would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible. First, we don't actually have the ability (as far as I'm aware) to use a particular genetic sequence to activate some drug that would work systemically. Second, we don't have the ability (as far as I'm aware) to recognize an identifying sequence, then do DNA damage elsewhere in a life-sustaining gene. Lastly, it takes so long to identify the output of a gene (protein, siRNA, rRNA, or whatever) and make a drug targeting that output that even if you were able to target a coding region, it would be far faster to kill them by more traditional means.

jamesrcole 7y ago
I took the question to include the future. Will it become possible? How soon could it become possible?
- logfromblammo 7y ago
  Once the cat's out of the bag, it will be an arms race between biological attack and biological defense. Rich people and politically connected people will be vaccinated against the murder-viruses. And those are the only ones worth spending more than a brick of ammo to kill. It's far easier to take an already-deadly disease that kills indiscriminately, modify it to have shorter incubation time and higher kill rate (so it burns itself out before going pandemic) and shoot it at a target on a spitball or with a Bulgarian umbrella, while they're on their way to meet with everyone else you want to kill. Either way, that's still leaving biological evidence all over the crime scene, and has the potential to kill a lot of people you weren't specifically targeting. So the preferred methods of assassination will likely continue to be poisons, firearms, and explosives for a long time to come.
  - bulgarianjourno 7y ago
    This however, does mean that genetically targeted genocides would be possible...
    - logfromblammo 7y ago
      Already possible with guns, bombs, and poison. Already accomplished with guns, bombs, and poison.
rantwasp 7y ago
i believe that we have those capabilities already. super expensive + high risk we don’t actually understand what we’re doing but the capabilities are there. the future is now
- Accujack 7y ago
  You need to do some more research. This is impossible now, and likely to remain so.

jamesrcole 7y ago

I took the question to include the future. Will it become possible? How soon could it become possible?

logfromblammo 7y ago
Once the cat's out of the bag, it will be an arms race between biological attack and biological defense. Rich people and politically connected people will be vaccinated against the murder-viruses. And those are the only ones worth spending more than a brick of ammo to kill. It's far easier to take an already-deadly disease that kills indiscriminately, modify it to have shorter incubation time and higher kill rate (so it burns itself out before going pandemic) and shoot it at a target on a spitball or with a Bulgarian umbrella, while they're on their way to meet with everyone else you want to kill. Either way, that's still leaving biological evidence all over the crime scene, and has the potential to kill a lot of people you weren't specifically targeting. So the preferred methods of assassination will likely continue to be poisons, firearms, and explosives for a long time to come.
- bulgarianjourno 7y ago
  This however, does mean that genetically targeted genocides would be possible...
  - logfromblammo 7y ago
    Already possible with guns, bombs, and poison. Already accomplished with guns, bombs, and poison.

rantwasp 7y ago

i believe that we have those capabilities already. super expensive + high risk we don’t actually understand what we’re doing but the capabilities are there. the future is now

Accujack 7y ago
You need to do some more research. This is impossible now, and likely to remain so.