Genetic Editing The Real Deal? Curing Disease or Black Market Body Hacks? Andy Owen My Presentation Today….. • Swift history of genetic mods from Neanderthal to CRISPR • A video • Development of CRISPR • Zombie apocalypse • Uses of CRISPR • Eugenics!! • Zombie apocalypse • Advances/next stages • Dangers/misuse/regulation • Zombie apocalypse • Biohackers…… • Transhumanism? • Garage genetics • Prime Editing! • Hopefully no questions! Its always been going on… Domestication Crops GMO Foods Mice How was that?....... • CRISPR = Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats • Cas 9 = CRISPR associated protein 9 • Cas 9 used by Bacteria to defend against Viral attack • Cured Leukemia? • Who do we thank? IZombie So what could it do? • HIV • Haemophillia • Cancer • Duchenne muscular dystrophy • Sickle-Cell Anaemia • Beta-Thalasemmia • Cystic Fibrosis • In-vivo drug target identification • Disease-gene modification in viable human embryos https://synbiobeta.com/crispr-clinical-trials-a- 2019-update/ The current trials using CRISPR therapies are all in the early stages. That means that even if they’re successful, they’re probably still a few years away from FDA approval. What next? • On Jan. 2, 2018, researchers announced that they may be able to stop fungi and other problems that threaten chocolate production using CRISPR to make the plants more resistant to disease! • CRISPR Babies! • Refining and Epigenetics • On and Off Switch • Cas Enzymes Who’s watching? • “You don’t have to have money, or a lot of connections; you don’t have to know who knows somebody … to get a hold of [the technology],” • To address these concerns, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine put together a comprehensive report with guidelines and recommendations for genome editing. • What ifs? • All about the money, money… Will Eugenics save The White Man from “Idiocracy”? Biohackers. Grinders. Politics • According to Biohack.me, "Grinders are passionate individuals who believe the tools and knowledge of science belong to everyone. Grinders practice functional extreme body modification in an effort to improve the human condition. [Grinders] hack [them]selves with electronic hardware to extend and improve human capacities. Grinders believe in action, [thei]r bodies the experiment."[4] • Transhumanist-party.org Garage Hacks http://www.the-odin.com/gene- engineering-kits/ Prime Editing Credit where Credit is due…. • CRISPR Ethics: Moral Considerations for Applications of a Powerful Tool. Carolyn Brokowski and Mazhar Adli 2018 • CRISPR enters its first human clinical trials. ScienceNews Tina Hesman Saey 2019 • What are the Ethical Concerns of Genome Editing? National Human Genome Research Institute 2019 • International Summit on Human Gene Editing: A Golbal Discussion 2015 • Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing 2018 • The Lancet, Vol 391, February 3 2018 • Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance. National Acadamies Press 2017 • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_genetic_engineering • https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline • https://www.wired.com/story/whats-next-for-crispr/ • https://synbiobeta.com • http://theantisense.com/2018/11/13/true-story-i-injected-myself-with-a-crispr-genetic-enhancement/ • https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/5/19/18629771/biohacking-josiah-zayner-genetic- engineering-crispr Any Questions?.