It's time to question bio-engineering - Paul Root Wolpe

Bioethicist Paul Root Wolpe describes an astonishing series of recent bio-engineering experiments, from glowing dogs to mice that grow human ears. He asks: Isn't it time to set some ground rules? (Filmed at TEDxPeachtree.)

Talk by Paul Root Wolpe.

[danllja]

Chinese student here, didn't know that in 2013, this field was already well established and the processes he mentioned really surprised me. I really agreed with the ethics part and it was a smart move talking about the autonomy of life. Good talk!

[MrGERiarza]

Scientific progress is so amazing. When we draw the ethical lines, let's just hope they aren't based on beliefs that have stopped our progress throughout generations. Hopefully the ones drawing the ethical lines are SCIENTIFICALLY literate and not just random people who just live and die without knowing anything about the world around them.

[timandjennymalcolm]

I have seen a few of these animal pictures before and I really thought they were fake. Years later now I'm watching your TED talk and just want to thank you for sharing the science and studies.

[misc.]

I love how this guy anticipates that these experiments will shock you and send you to the streets to protest, but the only thing that I got from this video was that genetic engineering is fucking cool and that I should find a way to be apart of it.

[presby]

this video will only work in one earphone for some reason. both earphones work on other videos though.

[pork]

Had the right AirPod in the entire time and just realized there was no noise...

[bionerd]

Btw, the bioluminescent animals featured in his presentation were given that gene because it was a part of a study and the scientists needed a non-invasive way to track the cells through the animal. Tell the whole story next time please. OH, and alsoooo, the Liger was breeded by accident.

[lexb]

Ok so I have to say that we didn't change the environment that in which we evolved. Yes, we did change our own evolution but we did it by changing the way we adapted to our environment. We stepped up our game by expanding our view of our environment. Not by changing the environment itself. However, very thought provoking stuff!!! And only 4mins in.... Love it!

[darinliu]

Ahhh yes the glitched ted ed video... My left ear was very happy after watching this.

[hussanpreetsingh]

The Video is bio-engineered😂, only left ear has the audio

[frette]

Those robot mice and bugs are literally the forefathers of Cybermen😭😭

[Penguinian]

oK BUT I KINDA WANNA GO INTO BIOENGINEERING BUT ALSO I HEAR ITS A HARD TO GET A JOB AND ALSO LIKE WHAT ARE MY ETHICS

[awesomelyshorticles]

This guy's speech was full of bullcrap, and I say that confidently because I have read about nearly all of those experiments he mentioned. I have taken up an interest in bioengineering, and I can say that what he says about how limitless our capabilities are are far short of the promises.
1.) he was talking about introducing genes to make chemicals in a sheep. He incorrectly used the term "molecules." Molecules is actually a specific chemistry term that does not apply to all biological compounds. In fact, hardly any biologically produced substances are molecules.
2) we are not changing the physical characteristics of animals. We are far from that. Most of the physical changes we introduce to animals comes from crossbreeding them with other animals. And scientists don't know nearly enough about genetics to start shaping the physical characteristics of animals. What they are managing to do is much simpler. They are barely managing to introduce one or two new genes to produce a few chemicals. When scientists made sheep that produced spider silk(this experiment not mentioned in this talk), they didn't make spider goats. They made goats that produced a silk compound(notice I didn't say molecule) in its milk. That's it.
3) this guy makes it sound like scientists are just guys with smart sciency stuff degrees and smart sciency stuff tools trying stuff out for the fun of it. In a way, that's true, but they can only do that when A- they have the time and money to do it B- it doesn't have too much of a bad consequence. They ask the same questions as the rest of the world. When they say something is safe they try every possible way they can think of it being unsafe and test it before declaring it safe. Then the public gives an outcry about how they are lunatics. But their research is required for them by their institutions to study it, and a lot of times it is not for fun, it is for the advancement of technology and research.
4) you'd be surprised how limited controlling a brain is. Those electrodes are massive compared to the neurons they need to study.the level of precision needed to completely control a brain is huge, even with a simple moth. What they are doing is electrifying a few parts of the brain and hoping that it works. They can't even make a moth land!
5) no scientist in their right mind would try to engineer their own human. Even they find the idea terrifying. They are people too, not blank faced dunces in lab coats. The idea of making changes to a human without their consent is extremely intolerable and unethical. It's the equivalent of biorape.
Scientists are just barely scratching the tip of the iceberg here. He is not giving them enough credit for doing their job. I feel sorry for them, because in the public's we, they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Bioengineering is like a knife: completely safe and very useful if its handled properly, but can be dangerously if used carelessly. (I didn't use the gun analogy because guns were invented to be used as a weapon, for killing animals and humans alike. However, please do not turn this into a gun debate.) I am sick of this distrust of scientists. It is their job to science things. Stop hating science.

[josephpereira]

Ted-Ed may actually be the perfect place for the nuance needed in deciding what speciees we choose to self-evolve into.

[Kassiusday]

I UNDERSTAND now WHY THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUT OF TECHNOLOGY HAS CREATED A BIO ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AND A MASTER DEGREE

[Smartishness]

This is not the first time that one side of the stereo audio has been missing. Please fix this problem for future videos.

[aruzhan_salih]

Questions:

1. What have been the three great stages of evolution?

2. What are some of the animal hybrids he presents?

3. What have scientists done with bioluminescent cells from jellyfish?

4. What does he say about the differences in regulations on genetic modifications between the US and Europe?

5. Name a few of the animals that have been successfully cloned.

6. What have scientists managed to do with cockroaches and goliath beetles?

7. What was so special about the monkey with the prosthetic arm?

8. What was grown on a mouse’s back?

9. What is Paul’s view on bio-engineering?

10. What changes does he predict in the future?

[cyndih]

What a sad life it would be to have been created by someone who can control me and would have determined my personality, my looks and my physical abilities based on their own opinion of what is beautiful, acceptable, and necessary for this world. This opens doors for some very wrong people to manipulate human development, to create slaves for their own bidding. It's amazing that some people who could be part of this research are not thinking about how their own lives would be if they had been a product of their own warped imaginations. If taken to this level, it would be dangerous and would cause a great waste and devaluation of human and animal life... People need to recognize the value of their own life and consider the value of the lives of others.

[IamZanderChen]

God gave us dominion, so yes, yes we do

[skit]

I'm jealous, bio-engineering is way further than us, IT-engineers :'(