lads i was really just going about my life today and i came into my genetics lecture and my professor put both hands on the podium and explained to our suddenly silent 200+ person lecture hall that a chinese scientist has just created the world’s first GMO babies by taking human embryos and modifying them to be resistant to HIV. there are two of them and they’re twins. apparently we don’t know yet if it’s successful but it was at a conference where a ton of GMO researchers were discussing if genetic modification of humans should be allowed and if so to what extent and apparently this dude got the microphone and said ‘ive already done it’ and showed some data (apparently not a lot though) and there’s a ton of drama happening right now because ‘what the FUCK do you MEAN you already did it????? what the FUCK dude?????’. my professor kept saying to us with complete sincerity ‘this is important, this is really, really important’ and anyway i just…….what a time to be alive, you know?
like i dont feel comfortable taking a stance on any of this without more information but i do know for certain that god, i wish i could have witnessed that room of GMO researchers when this dude got the mic and was really like ‘i have modified human embryos’
Hey! I’m a scientist who works with gene editing and can def give you more context on the gmo babies! tldr it’s unethical and Not Great, but basically there’s been an (unenforceable) international moratorium on gene editing humans since 2015. It’s maybe illegal, maybe just advised against in China. The university, hospital, and government are all denying knowledge of it tho, which makes this super shady. (1/?)
Here’s the thing: gene editing has been used in therapy in humans, but 1. patients give full consent and 2. cells are removed from the body, CHECKED, double-checked, then put back in, because gene editing can have off-target effects and we want to avoid those, and 3. only cells that can’t be inherited are edited, so that an individual is only giving consent to alter their own body, not their children and/or the general gene population. NONE OF THOSE THREE HAPPENED IN THIS CASE. (2/?)
It’s extremely unclear if the parents knew what was happening, other than that the dad was HIV+ and the research was supposed to prevent the kids from getting HIV. (There are a LOT of cheaper and more accessible ways to do this than gene editing). So far, the scientist hasn’t proven that he checked for (or prevented) off target effects – but we do know one of the kids is a mosaic, meaning only SOME of her cells were altered. This could be really bad for her health, we literally don’t know (3/?)
This guy waited until he had produced human beings to make his announcement, didn’t consult the public, other scientists, or regulatory boards, and sprung the announcement RIGHT before the human gene editing conference – which signals that he did this for his own sake, not for science. He’s set a dangerous precedent and potentially damaged the public perception of gene editing, not to mention endangering those children (the edit made them more susceptible to West Nile). So. Fuck that guy. (4/4)
……👀
this is…quite literally the wildest shit like i understand the incredible temptation to try something just to see if it could be done, every scientist understands that, but holy shit dude what the fuck?
idk this has a LOT happening and im not gonna be able to address all of it but my thoughts right off the bat: current gene editing (see: modifying someone’s existing genome. different from this case because in gene editing, the person is born and is displaying symptoms of a genetic disease, where here the embryos are being modified before birth) is pretty life changing and very safe and effective from my understanding of it and what i’ve been taught, and it makes me angrier knowing that this might set back that kind of science that’s more ethical in terms of consent. i also don’t like that the lives of these kids are gonna be inherently controversial. i also don’t like……………uh…..almost all of this, actually. like this is A Lot, holy shit.
morning reblog of this, this time with some more sources that basically echo what @sunsetsovercitylights said; this shit was super shady, medically unnecessary, and dubiously consensual.
also, i recommend reading the comments on this post; there are also lots of scientists and grad students saying shit along the lines of ‘everyone in my department is pissed that he dared do this for literally 143093581 reasons’, which seems to be the general response of the scientific community so far. this is important…..but it’s also appalling.
Remember this the next time you want to complain about GMO’s, we may not have done it in a lab but they still are that.
Bananas looked like lemons wtf
Isn’t this more of a combination of selective breeding and GMOs? Not just GMOs?
Yes. But people talk about how GMO’s are “unnatural”, yet for centuries humanity has been exploiting mutations in animals and plants to produce food for themselves.
GMO’s are simply the process of inducing these mutations reliably.
People hear “Lettuce being modified with scorpion DNA” and think that we’re now eating scorpions. But, in reality, they’re taking a tiny bit of scorpion DNA and splicing it into the plant. Why? So the plant will produce poison that is not harmful to humans but will deter insects, reducing the use of pesticide, which CAN be harmful to humans and the environment.
GMOs are producing rice that can survive flooding, which makes rice more reliable yields and will prevent food shortages in poor nations that rely on said crops for staple food.
GMOs are also creating spider-goat hybrids. Why? So we can splice web production into the goat’s udders. We’ll be able to spin huge quantities of spider silk, enough to reliably create spider silk cables and ropes, which have more tensile strength than steel.
I for one am glad I live in a time where watermelons aren’t giant tomato abominations
The issue with GMOs is that corporations like Monsanto are patenting GMOs and arresting indigenous farmers for cross pollinating with they seeds. But there is nothing dangerous about the science.
^This.
The problem isn’t the science, it’s what capitalism does with that science.
I love how leftists are oh-so-smug about their support of scientific evidence, then they post images like this and pretend like they’re peer reviewed studies.
I’ll try my best to explain the biochemical differences between genetically altered corn and unmodified corn as well as other variables such as pesticide usage, overall costs, yield and the economic outcomes. Full disclosure, I’m better suited to explain the economic reasoning, but I consulted a biochemist over this who helped me understand the difference between modified and non-modified corn. This biochemist also promised to rip me apart if I get anything wrong, so here goes nothing.
Economically, GMO’s provide higher yields per acre. This isn’t too big of a deal for an industrialized nation like America, but in some countries like India, GMO crops are cutting losses in half.
More food, less hungry people.
So to answer the question, yes, I am smarter than a squirrel.
I wanted to add to this, because GMO’s are so misunderstood and the political controversy that surrounds them is based in scientific illiteracy.
One of the coolest GMO’s I know about is “golden rice.” Vitamin A deficiency is fairly rampant in parts of Asia. When children are deficient in vitamin A it results in blindness. Furthermore, Vitamin A deficiency contributes to 2 million childhood deaths each year (2012 Am J Clin Nutr, 96:658-64). Scientists genetically modified golden rice in order to provide vitamin A.
UNFORTUNATELY political opposition has delayed the release of golden rice for over a decade. And as @libertybill pointed out, no one dies from genetically modified food.
If you are against GMO’s because you think Monsanto is a big baddy (which I’m not going to pretend they haven’t done some asshole-ish things) or you think the GMO is going to cause cancer or some other stupid ass thing, please take time to educate yourself.
We need to get around to realizing that genetic modification isnt contamination, or carcinogenic chemicals, or sludge, or evil godless mutations. They aren’t horrifying and they’re grown natural just like everything else.
“i don’t buy anything with gmos,” said the woman walking her purebred pug
We need to get around to realizing that genetic modification isnt contamination, or carcinogenic chemicals, or sludge, or evil godless mutations. They aren’t horrifying and they’re grown natural just like everything else.
“i don’t buy anything with gmos,” said the woman walking her purebred pug
look don’t be against GMOs be against PATENTING GENES and PURPOSELY DESIGNING CROPS TO BE STERILE SO FARMERS HAVE TO KEEP BUYING SEEDS.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Humans have been genetically modifying organisms since the dawn of human history. It’s called “domestication”.
PiraticOctopus 