Improved CRISPR gene drive solves problems of old tech

Cornell University ^ | MARCH 4, 2020 | by Cornell University

[RomanSoldier19]

Gene drives use genetic engineering to create a desired mutation in a few individuals that then spreads via mating throughout a population in fewer than 10 generations.

In theory, such a mechanism could be used to prevent malarial mosquitoes from transmitting disease, or possibly to wipe out an invasive species by disabling its ability to reproduce.

Though scientists have had success proving the concept in the lab, they have found that wild populations invariably adapt and develop resistance to the scheme. And when gene drives work, they are all or nothing—without nuance—they spread to all individuals, which can be a drawback.

[RomanSoldier19]

And when gene drives work, they are all or nothing—without nuance—they spread to all individuals, which can be a drawback.

So, the scary level is 4:

Biosafety level - Wikipedia Search domain en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_levelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_level Biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) is the highest level of biosafety precautions, and is appropriate for work with agents that could easily be aerosol-transmitted within the laboratory and cause severe to fatal disease in humans for which there are no available vaccines or treatments.

[momincombatboots]

People ask why I do not roll my sleeve up for every vax that comes along.. I know if they are publishing this, some government somewhere is 20 years ahead. Like wuhan for instance.. jk. Think about it. Want alk white males to develop a gene to lose their memory quickly, no problem? Makes you question why your grandparents memory was much sharper than yours doesn’t it?

[CIB-173RDABN]

Makes you question why your grandparents memory was much sharper than yours doesn’t it?

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Literacy as we know it today is a fairly recent concept. The idea that everyone can and should be able to read and write is “new”.

Knowledge was passed on by word of mouth. Memories were important are the “tribe” loses it’s common history, culture and traditions. Humans had the capacity to remember a vast amount of knowledge.

This began to change with the Gutenberg printing press. Now people began to learn to read and write and books on many subjects began to appear. It was no longer required for an individual to “remember” everything, a written record could be made. If you wanted to know something specific and did not have the book yourself you could go to the public library and look it up.

This process continued to evolve until today if you want to know something you pull out your cell phone and do a search and you have an answer (if not thousands of answers).

(Note - while typing this, I wanted to check on the spelling of “Gutenberg” and so looked it up on line.)

The need for a “good memory” is no longer required.

Is this a good or bad thing? Personally I think it is bad because if an individual does not know some information and relies on a data base controlled by others then it is easier to mislead the masses.

But back to my point, today’s generation have less general knowledge stored in their head for one reason and one reason only - cell phones and internet, not a vaccine.

[VanShuyten]

I heard a pep talk by a Nobel Prize winning biochemist to a group of grad students who complained about the number of biochem cycles they had to memorize. They said that every biochem book had the important ones and the library had the others in their journal collection.

He said that new ideas come from the manipulation of acquired knowledge, not the search for articles in the library.