Researchers Identify Newer and More Precise System For Genome Editing 33
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists have identified a new advanced molecular system for human genome editing with potential to increase power and precision of genome engineering. The team, including the scientist who first harnessed the CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing, described the features of the new system and demonstrated that it can be engineered to edit the genomes of human cells.
Aww... (Score:4, Funny)
Aww, read that as
for a moment there.
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To stay somewhat on-topic, "Swell, now I'm going to have to learn assembly language for DNA." Which I probably would also use EMACS for. Maybe we could code an ACTUAL gnome, though. That would be confusing and funny at the same time. I'm sure the Germans have a word for that.
Laron syndrome (Score:2)
Maybe we could code an ACTUAL gnome, though
Part of that depends on what scale of gnomes. Do we want the Poortvliet/Huygen gnomes, who are 15 cm tall like the Lilliputians that live with mice and rats in Who Moved My Cheese and its parodies? Or do we want the more Warcraft-style ones closer in height to dwarves and halflings? If the latter, we could probably start with the allele for Laron syndrome (growth hormone insensitivity) [wikipedia.org], which has fewer adverse effects than some other forms of human dwarfism, and then add a few other desirable traits associa
To keep them patients longer (Score:2)
Cancer is much too profitable for their AMA.
I think the point of curing a disease to remission or preventing it entirely is to let patients live longer so that they can be patients longer. Reduce infant mortality and children survive to catch adult ailments. Get the infectious diseases out of the way (measles, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus, Tetris) and people survive to need treatment for type 2 diabetes. Keep the diabetics alive and they survive to need treatment for cancer.
Genius (Score:1)
CRISPR [radiolab.org]
Your body stores genetic signatures of bad bugs in your immunity DNA, and, well, have a listen.
This is amazing news (Score:5, Interesting)
I would bet that Editas and other companies switch over to this almost immediately. The problem with Cas9 is the blunt ends and that makes it much harder to do highly specific genome editing but it does work. This method looks vastly better and just as easy to work with. It is hard to explain why the creation of sticky ends is so much better. The old method would be like sawing a piece of wood straight through and the new method a cut half way through, a horizontal cut and then completes it the rest of the way down so you have an overhang. The overhang makes the method far more precise for hooking up new sequences.
I can't wait for us to finally start curing genetic diseases at the source. Biotechnology is progressing so quickly right now and many of the things we have already created are amazing but I don't think this is even the tip of the iceburg yet. Once we can cure genetic problems that will deal with a huge amount of health problems that humans have and these techniques are actually cheap. CRISPR is easy to do and easy to replicate.
It is going to be an interesting next few decades coming up. :)
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*looks at your user ID*
*feels a bit anxious and apprehensive*
Re:This is amazing news (Score:5, Interesting)
You should have looked at my signature. :)
I have already done some genetic engineering and I am going to be doing a lot more of it in the future since that is part of my profession. There are risks and there will be mistakes but not trying won't help anymore. Imagine how long it would have taken us to make jet airplanes if we didn't even try to learn how to fly until we where completely sure?
There are drugs today that raise cancer survival rates from 5% to 95%. There are diseases caused by a single defective gene that we can cure. Heck we can now build a robotic arm that has a sense of touch and wire it to your BRAIN. 10 years ago the state of the art was still a danged hook.
Technology is changing quickly and biotech/nanotech developments are going to allow us to cure problems we never even imagined would be cureable. Long term I hope to work for Google's biotech company and work on solving human aging.
The best reason ever to climb a mountain is "because it is there" and I feel the same way about this. We have an opportunity that is unlike any other in human history and we can make a real difference and we should find out how to do it safely and accurately. I hope that in 20 years you will be able to go to a doctor and get a security patch shot that upgrades your tumor supressor genes, grants immunity to a wide range of viruses, improves your regeneration capabilities and your lifespan. That is my goal and that is what I am working towards.
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The only thing I can say is: Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Keep up the good work. This is the most important undertaking that can be taken at this time. You and people like you are going to change the world.
I am an old programmer, maybe too late to change paths. I do try to help the SENS initiative when I can, with money.
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This is old news, CRISPR/Cas9 editing has been around for several years now. You can hire a company to make you a mouse or rat with an edited genome using this system right now.
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Read the summary again. You need the practice.
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But is the mouse genome mapped well enough that one can order a mouse that, say, does not develop hind legs but is otherwise normal?
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The mouse and human genomes are fully covered now, however, there are lots of pseudogenes, and lots of polymorphisms. Plus, there is lots of splicing that occurs to make different isoforms of many different proteins. So there are many layers of complexity, but the answer is yes, we can knock out any specific gene quite accurately now. But you often can't knock out genes for body patterning, like hind legs, because they are too important for early fetal development. So knocking many genes out turns out to be
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It's an "aviation problem," that's all. Gaining the ability to fly was highly dangerous, but the advantages were so great that there was no way we could not do it.
The place to start with human genetic engineering is by knocking out specific single genes we know are associated with diseases life CF or Tay-Sachs. As we learn more about the genome, we will gradually expand into enhancements, like giving everyone tetrachromat vision. Should be recuse from genetic engineering because of the potential danger? If
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also it is not a np problem.
It is still unknown (Score:1)