(IJCH) CRISPR - Humanity's Salvation or the Ultimate Pandora's Box?
(IJCH) CRISPR - Humanity's Salvation or the Ultimate Pandora's Box?
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (meaning: My warped, personal opinions and musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
This article was inspired by Episode #2 of the New Netflix Original Series "Explained".
For more details about "Explained" see:
"(IJCH) "Explained" - A Great New Netflix Original Series - (or How to Discuss Highly Controversial Issues in an Entertaining, Non-Offending Way...)"
Article Link:
What is CRISPR?
...“CRISPR” (pronounced “crisper”) stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which are the hallmark of a bacterial defense system that forms the basis for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology.
CRISPR (/ˈkrɪspər/) is a family of DNA sequences in bacteria and archaea. The sequences contain snippets of DNA from viruses that have attacked the prokaryote.
These snippets are used by the prokaryote to detect and destroy DNA from similar viruses during subsequent attacks.
These sequences play a key role in a prokaryotic defense system, and form the basis of a technology known as CRISPR/Cas9 that effectively and specifically changes genes within organisms.
CRISPR/Cas9 - A Swiss Army Knife for Gene Editing
CRISPR/Cas9, is an RNA-guided targeted genome editing tool – allows researchers to do gene knockout, knockin SNPs, insertions and deletions in cell lines and animals.
The CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system requires two components, Cas9, the endonuclease, and a guide RNA (sgRNA); sgRNA guides Cas9 to the location in the genome sequence specifically.
With the protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM - the sequence NGG) present at the 3′ end, Cas9 will unwind the DNA duplex and cleave both strands upon recognition of a target sequence by the guide RNA.
Products and Services OriGene provides reagents to support a broad range of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing applications.
At first blush, CRISPR conjures up so many conflicting opinions and emotions.
Will it be used for good or bad?
Here's some of the good and bad things...
CRISPR (clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats)/Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems are parts of adaptive immune system found in bacterial and archaeal.
Engineered CRISPR/Cas system has been employed as a tool to induce sequence-specific double strand breaks (DSBs) and targeted genome modifications in a number of organisms, including rice.
These CRISPR-modified crops don’t count as GMOs
However, it still is unclear about the mutation patterns, efficiency, heritability and specificity of targeted gene editing by CRISPR/Cas9.
To feed the ever-growing human population, it is obvious that the methods to drastically increase food production is paramount.
Increasing crop yields through traditional plant manipulation is inefficient, unpredictable and it can take years to decades to create a viable new strain.
On the other hand, current genetically modified plant technologies can quickly create new plant varieties, but their acceptance has been mixed and mass adoption is still a controversial issue.
And although millions of consumers and several countries have rejected GMO foods, a mountain of studies have proved they are nutritionally sound - not to mention that starvation is the only other alternative!
But now CRISPR may offer an alternative that could please everyone.
Scientists Use CRISPR to Block HIV Replication Inside Living Cells
Modern medicine has made incredible progress in the treatment of HIV. Years ago, infection with HIV would almost certainly lead to developing AIDS, but treatment can now keep the disease at bay.
Even with daily antiretroviral therapy (ART), the pathogen continues to hide in a patient’s cells. Researchers from Japan’s Kobe University say they’ve successfully used the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing platform to block the replication of HIV in living cells.
Preventing Genetic Defects
Identifying genetic disorders are old hat.
But CRISPR may just be the way to fix genetic defects before they happen.
For instance dwarfism, mongoloidism, mental retardation, etc.
On the other hand, what would this world be if those genetic disorders were not fixed or prevented simply due to finance?
New technology is always expensive.
Is the world going to continue the trend of "Only The Rich Survive and Thrive?"
Space Travelers
Until we find and learn how to work a wormhole, space travel will remain a very long journey.
In fact, in the movie "Shape of Water", the setting is during the cold war and a specimen from an ancient aquatic race is tortured in the name of beating the Russians in the space race.
See the trailer:
The Shape of Water is a 2017 American romantic dark fantasy drama film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor.
It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer. Set in Baltimore in 1962, the story follows a mute cleaner at a high-security government laboratory who falls in love with a captured humanoid amphibian creature.
With CRISPR, exploiting those individuals against their will to endure the years required for space travel may become obsolete.
The Emergence of A New Privileged, Ruling Elite
It is not far-fetched to envision a dystopia like those depicted in the following:
Gattica
Gattaca is a 1997 American science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol.
It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin appearing in supporting roles.
The film presents a biopunk vision of a future society driven by eugenics where potential children are conceived through genetic selection to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents.
The film centers on Vincent Freeman, played by Hawke, who was conceived outside the eugenics program and struggles to overcome genetic discrimination to realize his dream of traveling into space.
In the book "Altered Carbon", the future dystopia produces an absolute Ruling Class of literally "Rich Immortals".
Altered Carbon is a 2002 science fiction novel by British writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows the attempt of Takeshi Kovacs, a former U.N. elite soldier turned private investigator, to investigate a rich man's death.
It is followed by the sequels Broken Angels and Woken Furies.
See:
And:
"Altered Carbon"- The Netflix Original Series
Altered Carbon is an American dystopian science fiction cyberpunk web television series created by Laeta Kalogridis and based on the 2002 novel of the same title by English author Richard K. Morgan.
The first season consists of ten episodes and premiered on Netflix on February 2, 2018.
See:
All The Good Intentions - "Curing" Malaria
In the interest of curing malaria, some scientists have genetically engineered malaria resistant mosquitos.
Again, at the outset, this seems like a noble pursuit.
But...
Did you know that nature/evolution (whatever you care to call it) invented sickle-cell anemia to combat malaria and extend life?
What will happen to those afflicted with sickle-cell if malaria is eradicated?
Does that mean anti-sickle-cell genetic engineering comes next?
What other trickle down effects could come about when messing with the natural order of things?
Our genes affect everything from height to heart disease. What happens when we can edit them?
Just 15 years ago, scientists successfully mapped the human genome, identifying all the genes that make us who we are. These genes determine our eye color and our blood type. They affect our height, our risk of heart disease, how strong our bones are, and even our body odor. And sometimes they cause life-threatening diseases like cystic fibrosis and breast cancer.
Forget About Trans-Humans, What About Hyper-Humans?
Even the simple ability to smell or hear better than everyone else could mean, some would say, "an unfair advantage".
Designer Babies and the Extinction of Normals
What happens when CRISPR makes "Designer Babies" available to the masses?
Will some gambling addict of a father pay for an NBA quality baby?
What about immortality?
How much would someone pay for "real", biological immortality instead of an existence as an uploaded consciousness into the cloud?
Will that be the "nail in the coffin" for "Normals"?
Don't forget this acronym.
You'll be seeing much more of it in the future...
CRISPR - Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
Conclusion
So, I revisit my original question:
"Do you think CRISPR will be Humanity's Salvation or is it the Ultimate Pandora's Box?" - JaiChai
Parting Shots
This?
And Maybe This?
By JaiChai
Thanks for stopping by.
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
Like most any technology it will not be either/or, this will be both. Anything can be either a tool to build or a weapon to destroy. There will be profit to be made using gene editing to make crops and livestock more productive and in making weapons.
I like it! very interesting!
Thank you.
Come by again.
Namaste, Jaichai
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Thank you for visiting, commenting and of course, your kind praise.
Hope to see you again.
Namaste, Jaichai