Genetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever – CRISPR

Summary

The video script delves into the transformative potential of genetic engineering, tracing its evolution from early attempts at selective breeding to the revolutionary CRISPR technology. It highlights how CRISPR's precision, affordability, and accessibility could revolutionize medicine by curing genetic diseases, combating HIV, and potentially eliminating cancer. The script also raises the ethical implications of using CRISPR to create 'designer babies' and the possibility of modifying the human gene pool. It explores the potential to extend human life, combat aging, and engineer humans for space travel. While acknowledging the technology's risks and the need for cautious advancement, the video emphasizes the immense opportunities genetic engineering presents for the future of humanity.

Takeaways

• 🌐 **Digital Revolution Analogy**: Just as computers transformed various aspects of life in the past, genetic engineering is poised to revolutionize our future.
• 🧬 **Discovery of DNA**: The understanding of DNA as the 'code of life' has paved the way for genetic manipulation, allowing us to alter the traits of living organisms.
• 🔬 **Early Genetic Engineering**: In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists used radiation and DNA insertion to create variations in organisms, leading to the first genetically modified animal in 1974.
• 🏭 **Commercial Applications**: The 1980s saw the commercial use of genetically engineered microbes for tasks like oil absorption, and the production of chemicals like clotting factors and insulin.
• 🍅 **GM Food Introduction**: The Flavr Savr tomato in 1994 marked the entry of genetically modified food into the market, with an extended shelf life due to genetic modification.
• 🐟 **Modern Genetic Creations**: Today, we have genetically engineered animals like super-muscled pigs and fast-growing salmon, demonstrating the breadth of genetic engineering applications.
• ⚡ **CRISPR Breakthrough**: The advent of CRISPR technology has dramatically reduced the cost and time of gene editing, making it accessible to many and potentially life-changing.
• 🛡️ **Medical Potential**: CRISPR has shown promise in treating diseases like HIV and cancer by editing immune cells, and it could be instrumental in curing genetic diseases.
• 🧵 **Designer Babies**: The technology to edit human embryos exists, which could lead to the creation of 'designer babies' and irreversible changes to the human gene pool.
• 👶 **Ethical Considerations**: The rise of genetic engineering brings ethical dilemmas, such as the selection of traits in embryos and the potential for misuse by authoritarian regimes.
• ⏳ **Aging and Longevity**: Genetic engineering might offer solutions to aging by repairing cellular damage and could eventually lead to extended lifespans or even immunity to aging.

Q & A

What was the significance of the discovery of DNA in the context of genetic engineering?

The discovery of DNA was pivotal because it revealed the code of life, a complex molecule that guides the growth, development, function, and reproduction of all living organisms. This discovery allowed scientists to understand and manipulate the genetic code, leading to the advent of genetic engineering.

How did the advent of CRISPR technology change the field of genetic engineering?

CRISPR technology revolutionized genetic engineering by making it significantly cheaper, faster, and more accessible. It reduced costs by 99%, shortened the time required for experiments from a year to a few weeks, and enabled almost any laboratory to conduct gene editing experiments.

What is the basic principle behind the CRISPR-Cas9 system used in gene editing?

The CRISPR-Cas9 system works by using a guide RNA to locate specific DNA sequences that match the guide's sequence. When a match is found, the Cas9 protein cuts the DNA at that location, allowing scientists to insert, delete, or replace genetic material with precision.

How has genetic engineering been used in the medical field?

Genetic engineering has been used to produce life-saving chemicals such as clotting factors, growth hormones, and insulin. It has also been applied in the development of genetically modified animals for research purposes, and in the creation of genetically modified crops with enhanced traits like longer shelf life.

What are some of the potential future applications of CRISPR technology?

Potential future applications of CRISPR technology include curing genetic diseases by correcting single-letter errors in DNA, treating viral infections like HIV, combating cancer by enhancing the immune system's ability to target cancer cells, and possibly extending human life expectancy by addressing aging at the cellular level.

What ethical concerns arise with the use of CRISPR for creating genetically modified humans or 'designer babies'?

Ethical concerns include the potential for creating a society that discriminates against non-modified humans, the possibility of unforeseen consequences from altering the human gene pool, and the moral implications of selecting specific traits in embryos, which could lead to a loss of genetic diversity.

How does the CRISPR-Cas9 system naturally function in bacteria?

In nature, the CRISPR-Cas9 system is an adaptive immune response in bacteria. When a virus attacks, the bacteria capture a piece of the virus's DNA and store it in the CRISPR archive. If the virus attacks again, the bacterium uses the stored DNA to create an RNA guide, which directs the Cas9 protein to locate and destroy the invading virus's DNA.

What was the first genetically modified food to be sold commercially?

The first genetically modified food to be sold commercially was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994. It was engineered to have a longer shelf life due to a gene that suppresses the build-up of an enzyme that causes rotting.

What are some of the current limitations of CRISPR technology?

Current limitations of CRISPR technology include the possibility of off-target effects, where DNA is cut at unintended locations, and the potential for unpredictable consequences due to our incomplete understanding of the complex interplay of genes. There is also the challenge of ensuring precision when editing large genomes, such as the human genome.

How does the CRISPR technology potentially impact the future of humanity?

CRISPR technology could potentially eradicate thousands of genetic diseases, modify human traits to enhance health and cognitive abilities, and extend human life expectancy. It could also lead to the creation of humans adapted for space travel or living in different conditions on other planets, altering the future trajectory of human evolution.

What are some of the potential risks if genetic engineering is used by totalitarian regimes or falls into the wrong hands?

There is a risk that totalitarian regimes could use genetic engineering to create a genetically modified army of super soldiers or enforce gene editing on their population to cement their rule. Additionally, there is a concern about the possibility of creating 'designer babies' with selected traits, which could lead to a new form of eugenics.

How does the current state of genetic engineering relate to the historical context of computer technology in the 1970s?

Just as computer technology in the 1970s was in its early stages and led to transformative changes in society, genetic engineering is currently in a similar phase. The script suggests that, like computers, genetic engineering will continue to improve and become more integrated into society, with profound implications for the future.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 The Dawn of Genetic Engineering

This paragraph introduces the audience to the concept of genetic engineering, comparing it to the once seemingly absurd ideas of computers that have now become an integral part of our lives. It outlines the history of life engineering through selective breeding, the discovery of DNA, and the early attempts at genetic modification in the 20th century. The paragraph also discusses the commercialization of genetically modified organisms and the advent of CRISPR technology, which has revolutionized the field by making gene editing more accessible and affordable.

05:06

🧬 CRISPR: A Programmable Revolution

The second paragraph delves into the programmability of the CRISPR system, highlighting its precision, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use. It emphasizes CRISPR's ability to edit live cells, target specific DNA sequences, and its applicability across various forms of life, from microorganisms to humans. The discussion moves to the potential medical applications of CRISPR, including the treatment of HIV, cancer, and genetic diseases. It also raises the ethical considerations of using CRISPR to create 'designer babies' and the possibility of altering the human gene pool.

10:07

🛡️ Ethical and Technological Challenges

This paragraph addresses the ethical and technological challenges associated with genetic engineering. It explores the potential for solving major health issues like aging and diseases through genetic modification, while also considering the implications of creating a modified human population. The paragraph discusses the current state of genetic testing and the societal tendency to pre-select based on medical conditions. It warns of the risks of misuse by totalitarian regimes and the importance of cautious and transparent research. It concludes by acknowledging the power of the technology and the need for responsible oversight.

15:10

✨ The Future of Genetic Engineering

The final paragraph speculates on the future of genetic engineering, suggesting the possibility of extending human life expectancy and enabling space travel through genetic modification. It stresses the importance of thinking big and the inevitability of the future, which will be filled with opportunities and challenges. The paragraph ends with a call for support for further research and understanding of CRISPR, and an invitation for viewers to follow for more content on the topic.

Keywords

💡Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering refers to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses the historical development, current applications, and potential future implications of this technology. The video mentions how humans have been engineering life through selective breeding for thousands of years, and how modern genetic engineering, especially with the advent of CRISPR, has revolutionized our ability to modify life at the molecular level.

💡DNA

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions for the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all living organisms. In the context of the video, DNA is depicted as the 'code of life' that, once understood, allowed for the dawn of genetic engineering. The video explains how information is encoded in the structure of DNA, and how altering this code can change the traits of living beings.

💡Selective Breeding

Selective breeding is the process of deliberately choosing organisms with specific traits to breed, with the goal of enhancing those traits in subsequent generations. It is mentioned in the video as an ancient form of life engineering. Humans have used selective breeding to strengthen useful traits in plants and animals, although the underlying genetic mechanisms were not fully understood until the discovery of DNA.

💡CRISPR

CRISPR, which stands for 'Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats,' is a revolutionary gene-editing technology. The video highlights CRISPR as a game-changer in genetic engineering due to its precision, ease of use, and affordability. It allows scientists to edit DNA sequences and alter genes within organisms, with potential applications ranging from curing genetic diseases to creating 'designer babies.'

💡Designer Babies

The term 'designer babies' refers to the concept of using genetic engineering to select and alter specific traits in embryos before birth. This is a contentious topic within the video, as it raises ethical questions about the potential for creating humans with customized traits, such as resistance to diseases, enhanced physical or cognitive abilities, and other desirable characteristics. The video suggests that as technology progresses, the idea of designer babies could become more accepted.

💡Genetic Diseases

Genetic diseases are illnesses caused by abnormalities in an individual's DNA. The video discusses the potential of CRISPR to treat or even cure genetic diseases by correcting the specific genetic mutations responsible. It mentions that over 3,000 genetic diseases are caused by a single incorrect letter in DNA, and that CRISPR technology could be used to fix these errors, potentially eradicating these diseases.

💡Aging

Aging is the natural process of growing older, which involves a gradual decline in various bodily functions and an increased risk of age-related diseases. The video explores the possibility that genetic engineering could be used to slow down, stop, or even reverse the aging process. It suggests that by understanding and manipulating the genes that directly affect aging, we might be able to extend human life expectancy significantly.

💡Ethical Challenges

Ethical challenges are moral dilemmas or issues that arise from certain practices or technologies. The video addresses the ethical concerns surrounding genetic engineering, particularly the potential for misuse, such as creating a genetically modified army or enforcing 'designer babies' on a population. It emphasizes the importance of proceeding with caution, oversight, and transparency in the development and application of this technology.

💡Bacteriophages (Phages)

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria. They play a crucial role in the video's explanation of how CRISPR works. Phages are the natural enemies of bacteria, and the video describes how bacteria can develop a defense mechanism involving CRISPR, which scientists have harnessed for gene editing. This natural process has been adapted to allow for precise manipulation of DNA in various organisms.

💡Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies that involve testing new medical interventions in human subjects. The video mentions the approval of the first clinical trial for a CRISPR cancer treatment on human patients in the US in early 2016. This signifies a significant step in the application of CRISPR technology, moving from laboratory research to potential medical treatments for human diseases.

💡Genome

The genome is the complete set of genetic information for an organism, including all of its genes. The video discusses the potential to edit the human genome using CRISPR, which could lead to the eradication of genetic diseases, the creation of modified humans, and possibly even the end of biological aging. The genome is the fundamental target of genetic engineering, and the video highlights how advancements in this field could have profound implications for humanity.

Highlights

In the 1980s, the idea that computers would revolutionize various aspects of life seemed absurd, but it all came to pass.

Genetic engineering is at a similar pivotal moment today as computers were in the past.

Selective breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, but the discovery of DNA provided a deeper understanding of life's code.

The first genetically modified animal was born in 1974, marking a milestone in scientific research.

Commercial genetic engineering began in the 1980s with the patent of a microbe designed to absorb oil.

The Flavr Savr tomato, introduced in 1994, was the first lab-modified food available to consumers.

CRISPR technology has dramatically reduced the cost and time of gene editing, making it more accessible.

CRISPR's precision is akin to a DNA surgeon, offering unprecedented control over genetic manipulation.

CRISPR's programmability allows scientists to target specific DNA sequences for editing.

In 2015, CRISPR was used to successfully remove the HIV virus from living cells.

CRISPR has the potential to cure genetic diseases caused by a single DNA letter error.

The first clinical trial for CRISPR cancer treatment was approved in 2016, marking a new era in medical applications.

CRISPR could lead to the creation of 'designer babies' and irreversible changes to the human gene pool.

The technology to edit the genome of a human embryo already exists, with experiments conducted in 2015 and 2016.

Genetic engineering could potentially extend human life expectancy and enable space travel.

Ethical and technological challenges remain, including the possibility of misuse by totalitarian regimes.

The potential for genetic engineering to end disease and revolutionize healthcare is immense, but需谨慎 and透明地推进研究。

The future of genetic engineering holds both opportunities and challenges, with the potential to transform our reality.

Transcripts

magine you were alive back in the 1980's,

and were told that computers would soon take over everything:

from shopping, to dating, and the stock market,

that billions of people would be connected via a kind of web,

that you would own a handheld device, orders of magnitudes more powerful than supercomputers.

It would seem absurd, but then, all of it happened.

Science fiction became our reality, and we don't even think about it.

We're at a similar point today with genetic engineering.

So, let's talk about it.

Where it came from, what we're doing right now,

and about a recent breakthrough, that will change how we live and what we perceive as normal, forever.

Humans have been engineering life for thousands of years.

Through selective breeding, we strengthened useful traits in plants and animals.

We became very good at this, but never fully understood how it worked.

Until we discovered the code of life, Deoxyribonucleic Acid—DNA.

A complex molecule that guides the growth, development, function, and reproduction of everything alive.

Information is encoded in the structure of the molecule.

Four nucleotides are paired and make up a code that carries instructions.

Change the instructions and you change the being carrying it.

As soon as DNA was discovered, people tried to tinker with it.

In the 1960's, scientist bombarded plants with radiation to cause random mutations in the genetic code.

The idea was to get a useful plant variation by pure chance.

Sometimes it actually worked too.

In the 70's, scientists inserted DNA snippets into bacteria, plants, and animals

to study and modify them for research, medicine, agriculture, and for fun.

The earliest genetically modified animal was born in 1974, making mice a standard tool for research, saving millions of lives.

In the 80's, we got commercial. The first patent was given for a microbe engineered to absorb oil.

Today we produce many chemicals by means of engineered life,

like life-saving clotting factors, growth hormones, and insulin.

All things we had to harvest from the organs of animals before that.

The first food modified in the lab went on sale in 1994: the Flavr Savr tomato,

a tomato given a much longer shelf life where an extra gene that suppresses the build-up of a rotting enzyme.

But GM food and the controversy surrounding them deserve a video of their own.

In the 1990's, there was also a brief foray into human engineering.

To treat maternal infertility, babies were made that carried genetic information from 3 humans.

Making them the first humans ever to have 3 genetic parents.

Today there are super muscled pigs, fast-growing salmon, featherless chicken, and see-through frogs.

On the fun side, we made things glow in the dark.

Fluorescent zebrafish are available for as little as ten dollars.

All of this is already very impressive, but until recently

gene editing was extremely expensive, complicated, and took a long time to do.

This has now changed with a revolutionary new technology now entering the stage—CRISPR.

Overnight, the costs of engineering have shrunk by 99 %.

Instead of a year, it takes a few weeks to conduct experiments, and basically everybody with a lab can do it.

It's hard to get across how big a technical revolution CRISPR is.

It literally has the potential to change humanity forever.

Why did this sudden revolution happen and how does it work?

Bacteria and viruses have been fighting since the dawn of life.

So-called bacteriophages or phages hunt bacteria.

In the ocean, phages kill 40 % of them every single day.

Phages do this by inserting their own genetic code into the bacteria and taking them over to use them as factories.

The bacteria tried to resist but failed most the time because their protection tools are too weak,

But sometimes bacteria survive an attack.

Only if they do so can they activate their most effective antivirus system:

they save a part of the virus DNA in their own genetic code in a DNA archive called CRISPR.

Here it's stored safely until it's needed.

When the virus attacks again, the bacterium quickly makes an RNA copy from the DNA archive and arms a secret weapon—a protein called CAS9.

The protein now scans the bacterium's insides for signs of the virus invader

by comparing every bit of DNA it finds to the sample from the archive.

When it finds a 100-percent perfect match,

it's activated and cuts out the virus DNA, making it useless, protecting the bacterium against the attack.

What's special is that CAS9 is very precise, almost like a DNA surgeon.

The revolution began when scientists figured out that the CRISPR system is programmable.

You can just give it a copy of DNA you want to modify and put the system into a living cell.

If the old techniques of genetic manipulation were like a map, CRISPR is like a GPS system.

Aside from being precise, cheap, and easy, CRISPR offers the ability to edit live cells,

to switch genes on and off, and target and study particular DNA sequences.

It also works for every type of cell: microorganisms, plants, animals, or humans.

But despite the revolution CRISPR is for science, it's still just a first generation tool.

More precise tools are already being created and used as we speak.

In 2015, scientists use CRISPR to cut the HIV virus out of living cells

from patients in the lab, proving that it was possible.

Only about a year later, they carried out a larger scale project with rats

that had the HIV virus in basically all of their body cells.

By simply injecting CRISPR into the rats tails,

they were able to remove more than 50 % of the virus from cells all over the body.

In a few decades, a CRISPR therapy might cure HIV and other retroviruses,

viruses that hide inside human DNA like Herpes could be eradicated this way.

CRISPR could also defeat one of our worst enemies—cancer.

Cancer occurs when cells refuse to die and keep multiplying while concealing themselves from the immune system.

CRISPR gives us the means to edit your immune cells and make them better cancer hunters.

Getting rid of cancer might eventually mean

getting just a couple of injections of a few thousand of your own cells

that have been engineered in the lab to heal you for good.

The first clinical trial for a CRISPR cancer treatment on human patients was approved in early 2016 in the US.

Not even a month later, Chinese scientists announced that they would treat lung cancer patients

with immune cells modified with CRISPR in August 2016.

Things are picking up pace quickly.

And then there are genetic diseases.

There are thousands of them and they range from mildly annoying to deadly or entail decades of suffering.

With a powerful tool like CRISPR, we may be able to end this.

Over 3,000 genetic diseases are caused by a single incorrect letter in your DNA.

We are already building a modified version of CAS9 that is made to change just a single letter, fixing the disease in the cell.

In a decade or two, we could possibly cure thousands of diseases forever.

But all of these medical applications have one thing in common:

they are limited to the individual and die with them,

except if you use them on reproductive cells or very early embryos.

But CRISPR can and probably will be used for much more:

the creation of modified humans—designer babies—and will mean gradual,

but irreversible changes to the human gene pool.

The means to edit the genome of a human embryo already exists.

Though the technology is still in its early stages, but it has already been attempted twice.

In 2015 and 2016, Chinese scientists experimented with human embryos and were partially successful on their second attempt.

They showed the enormous challenges we still face in gene editing embryos,

but also that scientists are working on solving them.

This is like the computer in the 70's. There will be better computers.

Regardless of your personal take on genetic engineering, it will affect you.

Modified humans could alter the genome of our entire species, because their engineered traits will be passed on to their children

and could spread over generations, slowly modifying the whole gene pool of humanity.

It will start slowly. The first designer babies will not be overly designed.

It's most likely that they will be created to eliminate a deadly genetic disease running in a family.

As the technology progresses and gets more refined, more and more people may argue that not using genetic modification is unethical,

because it condemns children to preventable suffering and death and denies them the cure.

But as soon as the first engineered kid is born, a door is opened that can't be closed anymore.

Early on, vanity traits will mostly be left alone.

But as genetic modification becomes more accepted and our knowledge of our genetic code enhances, the temptation will grow.

If you make your offspring immune to Alzheimer, why not also give them an enhanced metabolism?

Why not throw in perfect eyesight?

How about height or muscular structure?

Full hair?

How about giving your child the gift of extraordinary intelligence?

Huge changes are made as a result of the personal decisions of millions of individuals that accumulate.

This is a slippery slope. Modified humans could become the new standard.

But as engineering becomes more normal and our knowledge improves,

we could solve the single biggest mortality risk factor: aging.

Two-thirds of the 150,000 people who died today will die of age-related causes.

Currently we think aging is caused by the accumulation of damage to our cells,

like DNA breaks and the systems responsible for fixing those wearing off over time.

But there are also genes that directly affect aging.

A combination of genetic engineering and other therapy could stop or slow down aging, maybe even reverse it.

We know from nature that there are animals immune to aging.

Maybe we could even borrow a few genes for ourselves.

Some scientists even think biological aging could be something that eventually just stops being a thing.

We would still die at some point, but instead of doing so in hospitals at age 90,

we might be able to spend a few thousand years with our loved ones.

Research into this is in its infancy,

and many scientists are rightly skeptical about the end of aging.

The challenges are enormous and maybe it is unachievable,

but it is conceivable the people alive today might be the first to profit from effective anti aging therapy.

All we might need is for someone to convince a smart billionaire to make it their next problem to solve.

On a bigger scale, we certainly could solve many problems by having a modified population.

Engineered humans might be better equipped to cope with high-energy food,

eliminating many diseases of civilization like obesity.

In possession of a modified immune system, with a library of potential threats,

we might become immune to most diseases that haunt us today.

Even further into the future, we could engineer humans to be equipped for extended space travel

and to cope with different conditions on another planets,

which would be extremely helpful in keeping us alive in our hostile universe.

Still, a few major challenges await us: some technological, some ethical.

Many of you watching will feel uncomfortable and fear that we will create a world in which we will reject non-perfect humans

and pre-select features and qualities based on our idea of what's healthy.

The thing is we are already living in this world.

Tests for dozens of genetic diseases or complications have become standard for pregnant women in much of the world.

Often the mere suspicion of a genetic defect can lead to the end of a pregnancy.

Take Down syndrome for example, one of the most common genetic defects.

In Europe, about 92 % of all pregnancies where it's detected are terminated.

The decision to terminate pregnancy is incredibly personal,

but it's important to acknowledge the reality that we are pre-selecting humans based on medical conditions.

There is also no use in pretending this will change,

so we have to act carefully and respectfully as we advance the technology and can make more and more selections.

But none of this will happen soon.

As powerful as CRISPR is—and it is, it's not infallible yet.

Wrong edits still happen as well as unknown errors that can occur anywhere in the DNA and might go unnoticed.

The gene edit might achieve the desired result—disabling a disease,

but also might accidentally trigger unwanted changes.

We just don't know enough yet about the complex interplay of our genes to avoid unpredictable consequences.

Working on accuracy and monitoring methods is a major concern as the first human trials begin.

And since we've discussed a possible positive future, there are darker visions too.

Imagine what a state like North Korea could do if they embraced genetic engineering.

Could a state cement its rule forever by forcing gene editing on their subjects?

What would stop a totalitarian regime from engineering an army of modified super soldiers?

It is doable in theory.

Scenarios like this one are far, far off into the future, if they ever become possible at all.

But the basic proof of concept for genetic engineering like this already exists today.

The technology really is that powerful.

While this might be a tempting reason to ban genetic editing and related research, that would certainly be a mistake.

Banning human genetic engineering would only lead to the science wandering off

to a place with jurisdiction and rules that we are uncomfortable with.

Only by participating can we make sure that further research is guided by caution, reason, oversight, and transparency.

Do you feel uncomfortable now?

Most of us have something wrong with them.

In the future that lies ahead of us, would we have been allowed to exist?

The technology is certainly a bit scary, but we have a lot to gain,

and genetic engineering might just be a step in the natural evolution of intelligent species in the universe.

We might end disease.

We could extend our life expectancy by centuries and travel to the stars.

There's no need to think small when it comes to this topic.

Whatever your opinion on genetic engineering, the future is approaching no matter what.

What has been insane science fiction is about to become our new reality,

a reality full of opportunities and challenges.

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