Harvard geneticist goal: to protect humans from viruses, genetic diseases, aging

[Duppers]

Our lives have been transformed by the information age. But what's coming next is likely to be more profound, call it the genetic information age. We have mapped the human genome and in just the last few years we have learned to read and write dna like software. And you're about to see a few breakthroughs-in-waiting that would transform human health. For a preview of this revolution in evolution we met George Church, a world leading geneticist, whose own DNA harbors many eccentricities and a few genes for genius.

The complicated ethics of genetic engineering
We found George Church in here.

...He helped pioneer mapping the human genome and editing DNA. Today, his lab is working to make humans immune to all viruses, eliminate genetic diseases, and reverse the effects of time.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harvard-geneticist-george-church-goal-to-protect-humans-from-viruses-genetic-diseases-and-aging-60-minutes-2019-12-08/

[RandySF]

1. We already have too many people.

[applegrove]

7. That is why the rich right wingers don't want good healthcare for most

americans. They are planning to live 8 generations and they need to clear some space.

[Duppers]

2. Wait for the Christofascists to declare he is

Interfering in god's work.

[RandySF]

3. It would certainly push us to extinction.

[Duppers]

5. Watch or read about this.

One of the primary goals is to increase human intelligence. Only idiots keep propagating beyond capacity.

[triron]

4. Part of Ray Kurzweil's prediction of the approaching 'singularity', that being where human lifespan

begins to increase exponentially. Ray is a futurist and very interesting read.

[Cicada]

6. I remember Church saying he would eliminate natural death if he got time

I guess he has finished his other work so now he has time to turn to this project. I had a friend when I was in graduate school, a young doctor researching stomach cancer at the med school, in the eighties. He said aging might be because cosmic rays damage the dna in our cells. Or it might be something evolution built into us. Species which didn’t die could not evolve evolve very rapidly. So nature produced more dying species than non dying ones, by evolution. He said if it is a signal wired into us then someday we will cure it. He predicted a George Church would come along.mha calculated how long we would live if we died only from murders, accidents, car crashes. He was amused that he got around 900 years, like methuselah in the Bible.

[Duppers]

8. I have friends currently dying of cancer.

Your doctor friend was most prophetic.

I've recently listened to an old friend tell me she's now terrified of dying. I wish she had many decades left but docs give her less than a year.

Dr. Church mentioned that one of his goals was to increase human intelligence, innate intelligence. I see that is a very positive thing which could overcome human impulse to keep breeding ourselves to extinction.

Dr. Church's research would essentially result in human-assisted evolution, would it not?

[pansypoo53219]

9. evolved? call me when the kardashians disappear.

[greyl]

11. Right, but culture is always a subset of species.

Our culture does not at all represent humanity writ large.

[Cicada]

10. Sure. Homo Sapiens will soon be replaced by Homo Crspr. Literally.

Mankind will elevate to Gods. What before only nature could do - evolve - man has learned to do, first breed now genetically engineer. Hello Dr Manhattan!

[Duppers]

12. Dr. Manhattan - sorry, not familiar...

with DC Comics but I did research CRISPR in the last few wks.

I'm just an old fart...fartess. But I'll take your very informed word.

[Cicada]

13. Spoiler Watchmen. Only today I learned about Dr Manhattan

HBO show the Watchmen is my favorite TV show. My wife doesn’t get into it though. A character in the show, Dr Manhattan, has god like powers, such as the ability to create species with a wave of his hand. My comment Welcome Dr Manhattan was written right after I watched the episode which revealed this. I found it exhilarating. My wife found it stupid and adolescent.

[harumph]

14. viruses and other pathogens are drivers for evolution.