How CRISPR Changes Human DNA Forever

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A Chinese scientist claims to have created the world’s first genetically-engineered babies. He used CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing technology, to deactivate a gene in their DNA linked to HIV infection. Editing human DNA in this way could save lives, but many researchers fear unintended consequences.

Following is a transcript of the video:

In 2011, scientists created glow-in-the-dark cats. The researchers took a gene from a glowing jellyfish and inserted it into the unfertilized eggs of house cats. It was a neat trick, but they had a bigger goal in mind. They also made the cats more likely to be resistant to a feline form of AIDS by, again, manipulating their DNA. And cats aren’t that different than humans. In fact, we share around 90 percent of our DNA with them. 

So why can’t we engineer humans in the same way? Well, we can – engineer ourselves to be resistant to life-threatening illnesses, that is. In fact, one scientist claims that he’s genetically engineered two babies using a revolutionary tool called CRISPR. But what exactly is a CRISPR baby, anyway?

Would you like to be six feet tall? Or never bald? The secret to traits like these lies in the six billion letters of your genetic code. But there can be something else in there as well. Mutations. Genetic mutations are linked to at least 6,000 medical conditions, from sickle cell anemia to Huntington’s disease. But what if you could make those mutations simply disappear? That’s where the gene-editing tool CRISPR comes in.

CRISPR is made from specialized proteins and other compounds found in certain bacteria. Normally, these proteins protect the bacteria by destroying enemy invaders like viruses, but the inventors of CRISPR figured out how to turn those proteins against genetic mutations and other genes linked to disease.  

First, they give the proteins coordinates of the wanted gene. Then, CRISPR runs a seek-and-destroy function. After that, other molecules are dispatched to repair the gene with new, healthy DNA. And just like that, you can edit the human genome.

But while edits may be quick, their changes can last for centuries. Especially if you’re editing the DNA in an embryo. Embryos start out with a single cell that eventually replicates into millions and then trillions more. So, if you alter that initial cell first, you’re manipulating the ingredients for every cell that follows later in life, and those same altered cells can be passed on from generation to generation. That’s one reason why most experiments on human embryos haven’t left the lab.

That is, except for the work of Dr. He Jiankui. He claims to have used CRISPR to target and knock out the CCR5 gene in human embryos, which is linked to HIV infection. And then he did something that shocked the scientific community. He implanted the embryos into several women, one of whom gave birth to genetically modified twins. Resistance to HIV aside, most scientists say that the procedure was too risky.  At least two studies suggest that edited cells might actually trigger cancer. And another found that CRISPR can accidentally take aim at healthy DNA.

So, while CRISPR could make us immune to disease, who knows what else we might get on the side?

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How CRISPR Changes Human DNA Forever
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why did I think it said *_cRiSpY_* baby

justshadytheories
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If you want a crisper baby just turn up the heat

timlewis
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The mom asked for her babies well done but they gave her *crispy...*

r.r.r
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I think they should modify us to breathe fire

billwilliams
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S Korea scientist did this in 2008, i was in an upper level elective GMO/DNA engineering course. We were discussing how dangerous this was, and the unintentional consequences of gene editing things that we are unaware of.

marknasia
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Correction: The cats from 2011 didn't actually glow in the dark. They exhibited fluorescence when exposed to UV light. There is big difference between these two things. Please get your facts straight.

Edit: Love this channel, but important not to give misinformation.

chuxter
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Poor cats……

Just like the Days of Noah, these fools are sinning against birds, beasts, against food and crops….against land and human dna (the jabs)

bridejesus
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Something bad is going to happen in the future, humans are not creators

ADHD
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Here comes the sequel of the tower of Babel

bernardjackson
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90% of comments are really bad crispy jokes.

imperialchimpanzee
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Honestly I’m kinda scared from this future...

jasmintea
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Gene editing is too dangerous & too complex for people to be messing with

onetruthmediacompany
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If twins are so great, then why isn’t there a twins 2?

HTPCYMC
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CRISPR:*snaps fingers*
Hundington's disease: Mr. DNA, i don't feel so good

josipj
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It’s happened already. 2020 operation warp speed. Humans ain’t “human” anymore.

johnnylego
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3 of my blood relatives died in less than a year. 98 percent of my family is dead. I lost my father to kidney disease. My mom to Alzheimers. My uncle to a heart attack. My family has a long list of sicknesses and illnesses. One day my families medical history is going to come to take me out as well. I am so close to being the last surviving member of my family. If my parents genetically engineered me and their parents engineered them then this would not be happening to me. I was born in 1980. No such thing as genetic engineering then. Maybe it's not that bad.

tiffanyalberti
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There was also a child born with three parents about two years ago with three parents. The biological mother had a disease in her mitochondrial dna and doctors replaced it with the mitochondrial dna of another woman

tatyanasvirko
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Soon it will be standard for parents to choose the eye color and hair color of their unborn child. 🔥

unleashingpotential-psycho
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Funny thing is. You got the same thing described in the Bible. And I’m not some religion freak. But it’s there. Genetic engineering is the reason for the flood of Noah. So it refers to the event and the reason why it supposedly happened

hellwithit
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😂 I just learned about this in class this morning! I think you explained it better than my teacher!

marim