this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

i have the impression we could be there in several decades, not centuries?

[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

As a widely available, cost-effective treatment? Almost certainly not. We have yet to successfully genetically modify a human being and there's a metric ton of legal and ethical red tape to deal with before we can even try.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

red tape doesnt take centuries to cut

[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not necessarily, but the advancement of the technology and refinement of the technique are not progressing very quickly and since it's so far away from human application, there's not a lot of money/investment in it.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

there are clinical trials for gene therapy right now.

i can see arguing that it isnt close, because it doesnt look close, but id bet it will come in decades rather than centuries.

[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Gene therapy is not the same thing as CRISPR. CRISPR is modifying the genome before the organism makes it past 1 cell.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

thats not true. crispr gene therapy was just approved by the fda for sickle cell syndrome. the methods ability to change dna on living organisms is why its a big deal in the first place.

one can easily look this up.

[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 1 points 2 months ago

While that gene therapy does exist, it is not the same as what is being done here. The offspring of these mosquitos will have this same modified gene. The offspring of the recipients of the Sickle Cell gene therapy will not have the modified gene. We have the ability to alter a single human for their lifespan, but we do not have the ability to alter a human in such a way that their offspring will carry the same modification.