Crispr fans fight for egalitarian access to gene editing

[Annamarine]

Available sure, can they afford it not likely.

[Vash The Stampede]

So would you be in favor of cosmetic gene editing? How about height, strength?

I'd be first in line.

I'm not very familiar with your ideas - it's surprising you believe IQ is a real thing and even so far that it comes from genes.

IQ... no. Intellect from genes, yes. Otherwise we'd believe a dog could do your taxes for you. But there maybe a time in the future where certain genes are required otherwise it would be considered cruel to the child.

[Kraenen]

I'd be first in line.

IQ... no. Intellect from genes, yes. Otherwise we'd believe a dog could do your taxes for you. But there maybe a time in the future where certain genes are required otherwise it would be considered cruel to the child.

Where do you arrive at this conclusion?

[Theodarzna]

(Source)

Do you think CRISPR should be open to the poorer and more destitute of our society? Maybe through government-intervention or simply just a charitable consensus among certified and amateur scientists alike.

What do you think about the projects mentioned in this article like the gene drives? Where individuals of a species carrying diseases are eliminated on a genetic level, preventing diseases like malaria from spreading to humans.

I would personally like to see how gene drives could be used in conservation. Like in Central Asia, thousands of endangered saiga antelope have been dropping dead due to diseases by domestic sheep and goats. Eliminating these diseases and engineering resistances in the antelopes could save them from extinction.

I think 100% equal access to these technologies, and I mean equitable not just the technical possibility but the fact that every human can access them without any financial barrier is possibly the only way of curbing much of the bad trajectory we are heading on. At least we could avoid the Brazilifacation/Gattaca scenario for awhile.

[Sunseeker]

Intelligence is one thing that should also be looked into improving genetically. However, it should be more of a state-sponsored endeavor, to increase the intellect of humans nationwide and to an extent, globally.

Ah but once your country is "the smart country" what incentive do you have to increase the intelligence of anyone else?

Anyway, @Techno-Druid: High-minded, but not feisable. The infrastructure to support this just doesn't exist. Unless we find some way to engineer a gene-improving retrovirus or nano-machine and disperse it into the atmosphere.

[NM 156]

Why would i want to make my genes crispier? That's just gonna make the aliens eat me first.

[Vash The Stampede]

Where do you arrive at this conclusion?

You are comprised of proteins, and proteins are made from genes. Everything that is you is derived from your genes, including intellect, or to be more specific, awareness. Further than that is epigenetics. Epigenetics is basically how much a gene is expressed. Think of it as a volume control for your genes. Playing with epigenetics can take something like the pigmentation color gene and determine if hair is black, brown, or blonde. Only red hair is a different gene, because it is different pigmentation.

[Mormolyce]

Crispr and related techniques are some of the first steps towards the biggest revolution in human society in its entire history. When we achieve sufficient mastery of these techniques, it will change everything.

I read an article about a new fertility treatment that's being developed to circumvent certain kinds of human infertility. They take a cell from anywhere on your body, reverse it back to the stem cell stage, and then program it to be a gamete. So for example, you take a skin cell from an infertile man, turn it into a stem cell, then tell it to become sperm. Now you have a viable sperm from a man whose reproductive organs can't produce them, which you can implant into his wife and they can have a baby. Or, if it's the woman who is infertile, you can create an egg from her skin cells and fertilise that. You may need a surrogate mother to carry the baby if her womb isn't up to it, but the kid will ultimately be the genetic child of the original donor mother and father.

Thing is... there's nothing in that process to say that you have to make a sperm from the man or an egg from the woman. You could take a woman's skin cell and turn it into sperm. So now you have sperm from a woman that is genetically the same as if she somehow had gonads. Ergo, once the process is fully operational, homosexual reproduction will be a possibility.

And this article was from THREE YEARS AGO.

There is a genetic difference between the people who do well in society and those who do not. Doesn't matter whether it is artificial or not.

Have... you seen a lot of rich guys? They're not exactly walking models of genetic perfection lol.

I mean it may be nonsense but
As a gay man, every time I think about gene editing I think of how many parents around the world would like to "fix" their children from possibly becoming gay. And I cannot overcome this bias.

I'm still not convinced it has any simple genetic basis.

So I guess Donald Trump has better genes than you, lol.

Well he is going to live to be 300 on a diet of Big Macs sans buns and Diet Cokes. Kek.

[Kraenen]

You are comprised of proteins, and proteins are made from genes. Everything that is you is derived from your genes, including intellect, or to be more specific, awareness. Further than that is epigenetics. Epigenetics is basically how much a gene is expressed. Think of it as a volume control for your genes. Playing with epigenetics can take something like the pigmentation color gene and determine if hair is black, brown, or blonde. Only red hair is a different gene, because it is different pigmentation.

Right but why would IQ coming from genes mean we'd have to believe a dog can do our taxes?

[Daedius]

And suddenly the realization of furries becoming a reality draws ever closer...

/shudders

[Vash The Stampede]

Right but why would IQ coming from genes mean we'd have to believe a dog can do our taxes?

Cause your ability to learn comes from genes. This is not a hard concept to understand. If genes were irreverent to intelligence then with a bit of training a dog could do your taxes. I don't see any dogs doing taxes.