This is a fantastic explanation!!
Thanks for mentioning the palindrome aspect in particular, I remember exactly when I first saw that in reading the acronym, it was hilarious that it could be so simple and beautiful. I feel like there was an article or wiki page with some well depicted side story of how palindromics come into play for CRISPR, but I haven’t found it yet. I am sure this is significant as a principle of design, so your observation of their existence in switches is very helpful.
Thank you as well for mentioning the ethical considerations. The lack of ethical oversight in modern tech has left me dumbfounded, since back 20+ years ago, when the expansion of the field of genetics became more of a topic in mainstream news, there was much discussion of having ethics panels closely monitoring and gating the development and deployment of novel ( bioengineered ) genes.
And now we have rampant sudden adoption of a tool that I would have thought would be regulated under lock and key six miles underground for generations worth of study. So… I really don’t understand people.
This transition into a realm of rapid technological advancement has left hardly any mention of ethics in the dust. I am happy that Eterna’s license stipulates the need for considering human rights, but of course that is no guarantee that the data, once discovered, will be used appropriately.
Feynman deeply regretted the destructive nature of his atomic inventions, and Oppenheimer’s sobering commentary demonstrates at minimum a gravity about serious consequences of technologies that should not be forgotten.
I’ve been watching CRISPR unfold with both awe and concern, sensing its importance, yet simultaneously hoping that we don’t unlock its secrets just yet - maybe not until we evolve into creatures who would never use technology or science for harm. However there is such a powerful and true potential for actual healing with this technology, that for example I could not deny a person who wished to apply this therapy when having no other choice.
So it is one of those things I have a deeply cautious elation about. If we can manage to both facilitate healing, and protect ourselves from certain doom, therein is the ultimate balance on the novel tech tightrope.
I suppose my hope is that the more patterns we can declare public IP, the more protection we provide on behalf of everyone. Since somehow people are getting some aspects of nature’s patterns patented even though you aren’t supposed to be able to patent math and such things. I have concern for the potential locking down of our own access to medical knowledge, as has been done in the US medical and pharmaceutical industries.
The greatest risks are not only from random misapplications of the tech, but also from the systematized institutions of privilege and exploitation that already exist today in many countries.
Therefore, our research being open and available to all citizens of the world, is critical.
And I’m ready to drop all R&D on CRISPR like a hot potato if it proves to do more harm than good.
I think that is a fair start at honoring the lesson of ethical vigilance that Feynman himself wished he had applied throughout his own R&D process. He said something along the lines of, at first he had a good reason for working on the tech. But then he stopped paying attention to why he was continuing the work after the reason became moot, and only later, on reflection, did he grasp the consequences.
We can do our duty to science to remember the scientific method does not only champion positive results, but that null results are equally valid and important discoveries. It’s always nice when the thing you are working on works out. But if the data shows it is causing harm and not good, then we need to be able to accept those results, and make changes accordingly.
I assume Eterna is limited to researching RNA that heals people, and not for other purposes. But there’s no telling what a rock will be used for - a brick in a hospital wall, or a weapon.
Let us invite ongoing, neverending, perpetual awareness, discussion, and monitoring of all sensitive issues.
For example, there are already epigenetic consequences of things like poverty, and I wonder whether the differences biologically between classes could even emerge into multiple species given enough time and disparity in medical access. So we must advocate for equal access to medicine, and walk the walk by staying committed to the provision of these breakthrough resources to everyone.
I’m a hair’s breadth between wanting nothing to do with CRISPR, and believing it really could improve global quality of life more profoundly than any other invention I can think of.
It has seemed a bizarrely fortunate fact that we are made out of code since first learning the elegantly few letters of our DNA alphabet in school… and now… now we have a proper ability to begin programming?!? I will not be surprised if humanity does not last out the century. But if we can get it together to cooperate, CRISPR is also a potential harbinger of healing and world peace.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Here are my favorite articles I’ve saved going back to 2014:
( I’ll have to look on my other computer to see if I have any earlier articles. )
New study reveals key steps in CRISPR-Cas3 function at near-atomic resolution
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/bringing-crispr-focus
New technique enables safer gene-editing therapy using CRISPR
https://phys.org/news/2017-06-technique-enables-safer-gene-editing-therapy.html
CRISPR Gene Editing Can Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations
http://newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/blog/2017/05/30/crispr-gene-editing-can-cause-hundreds-of-unintended-mutations/
A Crack in Creation review – Jennifer Doudna, Crispr and a great scientific breakthrough
CRISPR studies muddy results of older gene research
Using Big Data to understand immune system responses
CRISPR gene-editing tested in a person for the first time
How CRISPR could lead to a cure for muscular dystrophy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2015/11/19/how-crispr-could-lead-to-a-cure-for-mu…
The Crispr Quandary
The CRISPR Quandary
http://synapse.ucsf.edu/articles/2017/02/22/crispr-quandary
Scientists have figured out how to pit viruses against superbugs
Combatting Viruses with RNA-Targeted CRISPR
CRISPR toolbox more versatile: Highly efficient new cas9 identified for in vivo genome editing
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150401133027.htm
Erasing a genetic mutation
A Powerful New Way to Edit DNA
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/health/a-powerful-new-way-to-edit-dna.html
Monkeys Modified with Genome Editing
Easy DNA Editing Will Remake the World. Buckle Up.
- The Genesis Engine. We now have the power to quickly and easily alter DNA. It could eliminate disease. It could solve world hunger. It could provide unlimited clean energy. It could really get out of hand.
https://www.wired.com/2015/07/crispr-dna-editing-2/
