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I agree. We really desperately need to have experimental research in improving humanities genes. The next disease might not be so weak as COVID and could wipe a
by rowanG077 4y ago
I agree. We really desperately need to have experimental research in improving humanities genes. The next disease might not be so weak as COVID and could wipe almost everyone out.
- astrange 4y agoGene editing doesn't seem likely to make you immune to all diseases. They get to evolve faster than you.
- rowanG077 4y agoNot all diseases most likely. But if we can easily rewrite our genes it's easy to stay ahead. You can easily imagine changing your genes so much there is no path for an existing disease to evolve towards it.
- astrange 4y agoGene editing doesn't imply being able to rewrite all your own genes either! Isn't mostly about embryos? If you wanted to edit yourself you'd have the problems of reaching all your own cells, mistakes caused by edits, and what the editing process would do if it encountered a mutation in one of your cells, which of course are everywhere.
- rowanG077 4y agoCurrently, yes, it's only really feasable for embryos. But there are instances of biohackers using gene therapy to do interesting things. For example a guy cured his lactose intolerancy temporarily by gene therapy: https://hackaday.com/2018/02/14/biohacking-lactose-intolerance/ https://hackaday.com/2018/02/14/biohacking-lactose-intoleran.... Basically what I'm trying to say is that you don't need to reach all cells to cure something. You only need to reach the relevant cells.