4 ms·

You don't need to ban, say, clinical trials of gene therapy (especially with inert lipid nanoparticle carriers which do not replicate), to ban a quite narrow an

You don't need to ban, say, clinical trials of gene therapy (especially with inert lipid nanoparticle carriers which do not replicate), to ban a quite narrow and not really clinically useful subfield called "gain of function research". Why can't our legal system deter the obvious high-level publicly visible perpetrators of the recent "gain-of-function" fiasco is really some food for thought.

shadowgovt 4y ago
As a general rule, we don't arrest people for things that aren't illegal. ... Unless by "deter" you just meant "make it illegal," in which case, agreed.
lettergram 4y ago
It’s more than broad weaponization of viruses that are a danger though. Take for instance what we’re doing with plants. We make designer plants that provide food, and are immune from particular pesticides. We then spray the fields and all the other plants and bugs die (besides the immune plants). What happens when it turns out some genetic inserts in the corn creates something like mad cow disease (but in humans) 3-5 years later? Turns out some protein the corn produced we thought was harmless caused massive issues. Genetics has massive implications even if well meaning. I think the ability to eliminate disease is massively powerful and a net good. That said, I’m concerned about the long term tail end risks of such work. I don’t think you can ban it, because someone will do the work. And those that do the work will get a competitive advantage (eventually letting them “win”). I think it’s about mitigating risks by reducing / limiting mass adoption of genetic based technology without a very long window of analysis.
- filoeleven 4y ago
  > I think the ability to eliminate disease is massively powerful and a net good. One real-world example of this is genetically modifying the American Chestnut by splicing in genes of the Japanese Chestnut, which is resistant to the blight since it co-evolved with it. The resistance comes from how Japanese Chestnut trees respond to oxalis acid by walling it off, preventing the fungus from spreading. > That said, I’m concerned about the long term tail end risks of such work. One bleak science fiction novel that takes place in this kind of future, specifically an amped-up version of the corporate GMO food crop meddling you referenced, is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
- Jenda_ 4y ago
  > What happens when it turns out some genetic inserts in the corn creates something like mad cow disease (but in humans) 3-5 years later? Turns out some protein the corn produced we thought was harmless caused massive issues. Do you require similar safeguards with plants created by "classic" genetic engineering and random mutations occurring all the time? Such methods usually involve making tons of random mutations, which nobody tests for anything, until we manage to also get the one that we want. Of course you rarely make a completely new protein by random mutations (different story with naturally evolving viruses), however, current genetic engineering of plants and animals for food is AFAIK not about completely new proteins too -- it's about turning off existing pathways, or about transferring existing proteins from one species to another.

shadowgovt 4y ago

As a general rule, we don't arrest people for things that aren't illegal. ... Unless by "deter" you just meant "make it illegal," in which case, agreed.

lettergram 4y ago

It’s more than broad weaponization of viruses that are a danger though. Take for instance what we’re doing with plants. We make designer plants that provide food, and are immune from particular pesticides. We then spray the fields and all the other plants and bugs die (besides the immune plants). What happens when it turns out some genetic inserts in the corn creates something like mad cow disease (but in humans) 3-5 years later? Turns out some protein the corn produced we thought was harmless caused massive issues. Genetics has massive implications even if well meaning. I think the ability to eliminate disease is massively powerful and a net good. That said, I’m concerned about the long term tail end risks of such work. I don’t think you can ban it, because someone will do the work. And those that do the work will get a competitive advantage (eventually letting them “win”). I think it’s about mitigating risks by reducing / limiting mass adoption of genetic based technology without a very long window of analysis.

filoeleven 4y ago
> I think the ability to eliminate disease is massively powerful and a net good. One real-world example of this is genetically modifying the American Chestnut by splicing in genes of the Japanese Chestnut, which is resistant to the blight since it co-evolved with it. The resistance comes from how Japanese Chestnut trees respond to oxalis acid by walling it off, preventing the fungus from spreading. > That said, I’m concerned about the long term tail end risks of such work. One bleak science fiction novel that takes place in this kind of future, specifically an amped-up version of the corporate GMO food crop meddling you referenced, is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Jenda_ 4y ago
> What happens when it turns out some genetic inserts in the corn creates something like mad cow disease (but in humans) 3-5 years later? Turns out some protein the corn produced we thought was harmless caused massive issues. Do you require similar safeguards with plants created by "classic" genetic engineering and random mutations occurring all the time? Such methods usually involve making tons of random mutations, which nobody tests for anything, until we manage to also get the one that we want. Of course you rarely make a completely new protein by random mutations (different story with naturally evolving viruses), however, current genetic engineering of plants and animals for food is AFAIK not about completely new proteins too -- it's about turning off existing pathways, or about transferring existing proteins from one species to another.