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Biotech Medicine Science

Biotech Startup Aims to Make Use of Humanity's Genetic Outliers (bloomberg.com) 26

Posted by BeauHD from the straight-out-of-a-sci-fi-movie dept.
pacopico writes: A startup called Variant Bio has quietly been going around the world for the past couple of years, looking for genetic outliers. We're talking about people with super high metabolisms, amazing eyesight, the ability to hold their breaths for really long times. Variant wants to sequence their DNA and come up with a new class of drugs based off these traits found among isolated, indigenous people. The whole business is sort of the opposite of 23andMe or Ancestry where you sequence a ton of people and hope something interesting pops out. Instead, you're going to the obviously interesting spots and then trying to strike deals to get the DNA and turn the interesting genes into the basis of drugs. Tons of ethical and moral questions but very sci-fi and at the frontier of bio-tech.
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Biotech Startup Aims to Make Use of Humanity's Genetic Outliers More

Biotech Startup Aims to Make Use of Humanity's Genetic Outliers

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  • My first thought... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Misagon ( 1135 ) on Friday May 29, 2020 @08:45PM (#60123566)

    They want to make drugs that could turn regular soldiers into super-soldiers?

    Or have I read too much science fiction?

    • They want to make drugs that could turn regular soldiers into super-soldiers?

      To do this on a genetic basis would take years of regular medication. Just about all your cells are replaced about every 15 years, so depending on what you are changing it could be a decade or more before a gene therapy to take full effect.

      It's a solid business plan so long as you don't end up killing or seriously maiming people which is a very real possibility when dealing with genetics.

      • I thought it was about growing super babies.

        Fancy drug revenue might run the daily operations, but isn't the big money in growing an army? Or designer babies?

        Oh wait, maybe we have robots for that.

    • I don't know, but as someone who worked on the project that later became Ancestry DNA, I can say that OP has no idea what it is or how it works.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by PDX ( 412820 )

      The military has excluded people with mutations from serving ie.. (flat feet). If a race of mermaids were real the Navy's typical response would be that no web footed freaks need apply for naval service. I can see how mutations (vascular tissue) in the Himalayan mountains can provide oxygen at high altitude. The same is true of mutants in the south American Andes with improved hemoglobin.

    • No, they want to sell you drugs that could turn regular* into super*. Young parents want their kids to be able to compete in the world.

      • You're thinking Beggars in Spain and OP is thinking Starship Troopers. I'm thinking it's unsettling to have to worry about biotech and AI dystopias at the same time.

  • I'm confident Variant Bio will share any profit they make from a genetic sample with the person from whom the genetic sample was taken.

  • Outlier populations ... (Score:3)

    by kbahey ( 102895 ) on Friday May 29, 2020 @09:02PM (#60123606) Homepage

    There are some outlier populations (not just individuals).

    For example, the Bajau of South Asia [phys.org] have adaptations for diving.

    There are also two separate adaptations in populations of high altitudes, in Tibet and in the Andes, which could be useful in other low oxygen situation.

    • Re:Outlier populations ... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Wycliffe ( 116160 ) on Friday May 29, 2020 @09:20PM (#60123652) Homepage

      Not just useful for diving and low oxygen environments. An effective oxygen therapy could be useful to
      people with COPD, asthma, or other diseases where a person has reduced lung capacity that causes
      a reduced quality of life.

      • Not just useful for diving and low oxygen environments. An effective oxygen therapy could be useful to people with COPD, asthma, or other diseases where a person has reduced lung capacity that causes a reduced quality of life.

        Or the aftereffects of some cases of COVID-19.

  • >"Tons of ethical and moral questions but very sci-fi and at the frontier of bio-tech."

    Yep. Because mutations that cause good traits very often cause some different bad trait at the same time. The "nothing is free" or "take the good with the bad" kinda thing.

    • Mutations? No, this is like dark hair etc. Call it genetic variety. They are not looking for mutants.
      • If there is a homogeneous population and then one person has a mutation and passes on that mutation, that's the creation of a variety. Mutations and varieties are inseparable.
  • Didn't Dr Moreau already do this?

  • I really am interested in that guy that has infinite endurance.
    Dean Karnazes, I believe is his name.

    His muscles NEVER 'burn' with lactic acid. His only limit is sleep - eventually he gets to tired to continue.

  • Like a farm of superhuman kids trained as supersoldiers?

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