The 6th Mass Extinction

[morepork]

The designer baby boogeyman comes up pretty much every time a technology is developed that can modify genetic material and leave the system viable. Transgenic mice that are used to model disease are a cornerstone of therapeutic development and arose from technology developed that enabled the growth and manipulation of embryonic stems cells. Same fears were aired then, but no designer babies to date. If it were that simple to control the myriad gene-environment interactions that go into generating even the simplest multicellular organism, we would have cracked evolution and the secret of life. It's not simple because simplicity without redundancy would be an evolutionary dead end, like a small rural settlement on the South Island of New Zealand. Variation and disease exist and drive adaptation. Without them we would be nothing.

The only "dangers" of the technology would be it getting into unregulated hands. The CRISPR technology is great, but it has limits in terms of efficacy. It targets specific genetic identity with a reasonable degree of specificity, but there is still a significant chance of off target effects. For a heritable single gene disorder with high penetrance and no foreseeable effective treatment there might be the hope of editing out the defect in eggs or sperm using CRIPR so the mutation is not passed on to the next generation, but anyone that claims they have a magic cocktail of specific gene edits that will lead to increased intelligence or physical attributes is talking out of their arse. The result would be a total train smash.

[rowan]

Not so sure about that. I think the great moral debates of the next few centuries are going to revolve around should we or shouldn't we play God? Should we 'design' our babies or shouldn't we, should we bring ancient species back to life or shouldn't we? Should we control our natural environment or shouldn't we? Aldous Huxley knew this eighty years ago. It's completely inevitable.

[morepork]

What are you not sure of? That is the current state of biotechnology affairs.

[rowan]

Oh, sorry, according to my Google translator, it appeared like you were suggesting the concept of designer babies was pie in the sky, so to speak...

[morepork]

Oh, sorry, according to my Google translator, it appeared like you were suggesting the concept of designer babies was pie in the sky, so to speak...

A comedian.

It is very much currently pie in the sky territory.

[rowan]

A comedian.

It is very much currently pie in the sky territory.

[morepork]

What the fuck now?

[cashead]

Not so sure about that. I think the great moral debates of the next few centuries are going to revolve around should we or shouldn't we play God? Should we 'design' our babies or shouldn't we, should we bring ancient species back to life or shouldn't we? Should we control our natural environment or shouldn't we? Aldous Huxley knew this eighty years ago. It's completely inevitable.

1. God doesn't exist.
2. If it means eliminating preventable diseases and is safe and reliable, why not?
3. Yes, especially if the cause of their extinction is "people"
4. Yes, especially if it means revitalising vegetation.

The only debate about it is if you're a boring person who hates things that are good and cool.

[rowan]

Not so sure about that. I think the great moral debates of the next few centuries are going to revolve around should we or shouldn't we play God? Should we 'design' our babies or shouldn't we, should we bring ancient species back to life or shouldn't we? Should we control our natural environment or shouldn't we? Aldous Huxley knew this eighty years ago. It's completely inevitable.

1. God doesn't exist.
2. If it means eliminating preventable diseases and is safe and reliable, why not?
3. Yes, especially if the cause of their extinction is "people"
4. Yes, especially if it means revitalising vegetation.

The only debate about it is if you're a boring person who hates things that are good and cool.

Pretty much my view of it too

[OptimisticJock]

Russia or post antibiotic care. Mainly Russia though I reckon.

[Digby]

Russia or post antibiotic care. Mainly Russia though I reckon.

Tasmanian devil milk may address some bugs we're hearing today

[OptimisticJock]

Russia or post antibiotic care. Mainly Russia though I reckon.

Tasmanian devil milk may address some bugs we're hearing today

I thought "is he ripping the pish?" but I Googled anyway. Interesting.

[morepork]

The same Tasmanian Devil ravaged by a transmissible parasitic cancer?

[rowan]

Bring back the quetzalcoatlus, I say. Largest creatures ever to fly, they were as tall as giraffes, had a thirty-plus feet wing-span and weighed up to 200kg. They could also fly up to 10,000 miles nonstop. It's doubtful they could carry fully-grown humans, but light-weight jockeys might be able to ride them on short-haul flights.

[Vengeful Glutton]

Bring back Police Squad



and Mr Ed.



Can gemetetics do that?

[Vengeful Glutton]

Bring back Police Squad



and Mr Ed.



Can gemetetics do that?

[Vengeful Glutton]

The designer baby boogeyman comes up pretty much every time a technology is developed that can modify genetic material and leave the system viable. Transgenic mice that are used to model disease are a cornerstone of therapeutic development and arose from technology developed that enabled the growth and manipulation of embryonic stems cells. Same fears were aired then, but no designer babies to date. If it were that simple to control the myriad gene-environment interactions that go into generating even the simplest multicellular organism, we would have cracked evolution and the secret of life. It's not simple because simplicity without redundancy would be an evolutionary dead end, like a small rural settlement on the South Island of New Zealand. Variation and disease exist and drive adaptation. Without them we would be nothing.

The only "dangers" of the technology would be it getting into unregulated hands. The CRISPR technology is great, but it has limits in terms of efficacy. It targets specific genetic identity with a reasonable degree of specificity, but there is still a significant chance of off target effects. For a heritable single gene disorder with high penetrance and no foreseeable effective treatment there might be the hope of editing out the defect in eggs or sperm using CRIPR so the mutation is not passed on to the next generation, but anyone that claims they have a magic cocktail of specific gene edits that will lead to increased intelligence or physical attributes is talking out of their arse. The result would be a total train smash.

Cheers for that. I agree that there is a lot of hysteria surrounding it. Interesting (bit in bold). I guess the point is that disease, for all the suffering it causes, has got us to where we're at. So eradicating it might be a bad thing?

[rowan]

Cheers for that. I agree that there is a lot of hysteria surrounding it. Interesting (bit in bold). I guess the point is that disease, for all the suffering it causes, has got us to where we're at. So eradicating it might be a bad thing?

Many diseases were created by adaptation; not the other way around; with measles, tuberculosis, influenza and smallbox the result of animal domestication, great plagues being caused by the squalor of medieval urban societies, scurvy resulting from long voyages at sea duing the age of exploration, and the prevalence of chemicals and radiation in the modern world, along with diet, alcohol, tobacco and general slothfulness being the primary reasons for cancer. Eliminating all these should be top of the agenda.

[morepork]

Technically most of those are caused by pathogens, not adaptation, and all of them would be history if anti-vaccination dickheads could be isolated on an island. By adaptation, I assume you mean genetic diversity. Innate errors in the reproduction and repair process cause cancer.

[kk67]

The designer baby boogeyman comes up pretty much every time a technology is developed that can modify genetic material and leave the system viable. Transgenic mice that are used to model disease are a cornerstone of therapeutic development and arose from technology developed that enabled the growth and manipulation of embryonic stems cells. Same fears were aired then, but no designer babies to date. If it were that simple to control the myriad gene-environment interactions that go into generating even the simplest multicellular organism, we would have cracked evolution and the secret of life. It's not simple because simplicity without redundancy would be an evolutionary dead end, like a small rural settlement on the South Island of New Zealand. Variation and disease exist and drive adaptation. Without them we would be nothing.

The only "dangers" of the technology would be it getting into unregulated hands. The CRISPR technology is great, but it has limits in terms of efficacy. It targets specific genetic identity with a reasonable degree of specificity, but there is still a significant chance of off target effects. For a heritable single gene disorder with high penetrance and no foreseeable effective treatment there might be the hope of editing out the defect in eggs or sperm using CRIPR so the mutation is not passed on to the next generation, but anyone that claims they have a magic cocktail of specific gene edits that will lead to increased intelligence or physical attributes is talking out of their arse. The result would be a total train smash.

Cheers for that. I agree that there is a lot of hysteria surrounding it. Interesting (bit in bold). I guess the point is that disease, for all the suffering it causes, has got us to where we're at. So eradicating it might be a bad thing?

Very interesting.
Playing fast and loose with evolution is never a good thing. Mad cow disease.....how did they think making a vegetarian grazing creature into a carnivorous cannibal was going to be a good idea..?.

[WaspInWales]

Considering we've only managed to eradicate one infectious disease so far, I don't fancy our chances to eradicate many more that soon anyway.

[morepork]

Considering we've only managed to eradicate one infectious disease so far, I don't fancy our chances to eradicate many more that soon anyway.

are you referring to smallpox?

If fucking new age wankers would get on board with vaccination, measles and TB would be history too.

[kk67]

I was reading something about oestrogen in the water supply causing something something.......can't remember what it was but it was all the fault of the wimmin.

[morepork]

Maybe women on the pill pishing it into the system?

[kk67]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... nster.html

Dinosaur technology. The Jurassic Park scenario.

We realize it's cheaper to raise her hive army of Nessie's than to renew Trident.
The war deepens when we realize the Ruski's now control hordes of migrating trained, killer Mammoths and the Japs have guerrilla cells of Super Godzilla.
Rapid, French, carnivorous Diplodocus are dominating the close quarter contact,....