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Isn't it the case that each gene does not have a single function? This seems like we're tampering with a many-variable equation for each gene we modify. It's li

Isn't it the case that each gene does not have a single function? This seems like we're tampering with a many-variable equation for each gene we modify. It's like modifying a function when you're not aware that that function has potentially many side effects, which are necessary.

anon73044 7y ago
Actually, that's exactly what it is. Genes are the most tightly coupled code in existence (literally!), and we've barely scratched the surface in seeing what changes we could make and where to make them without bringing the whole thing crashing down.
- mewpmewp2 7y ago
  Who coded that crap?!
  - raducu 7y ago
    Maybe it's Gods DRM.
    - trianglem 7y ago
      It’s God’s job security.
  - MayeulC 7y ago
    The figurative equivalent of a million monkeys pressing random keys in an IDE for hundreds of millions of years until it compiles. Rinse and repeat.
lm28469 7y ago
It's a bit like climate change, there are so many dependent/independent variables, most of them we're not even aware of, that there is no way to make accurate predictions. I don't think anything is closer to a literal pandora's box than gene editing. I have no trouble seeing it going on the same path as asbestos or lead in car fuel: It'll feel almost like magic for a few decades, and by the time we understand how bad we fucked up it'll be too late to fix it properly.