How far could gene editing go?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Humans now have the ability to directly change their DNA, and gene-editing tool CRISPR has led to a new era in gene-editing. CrowdScience listener ‘Bones’ wants to know how gene-editing is currently being used and what might be possible in the future.

Gene-editing offers huge opportunities for the prevention and treatment of human diseases, and trials are currently underway in a wide range of diseases like sickle cell anaemia. CrowdScience presenter Caroline Steel finds out about some of the most promising work tackling disease before turning to consider the possibilities of using gene editing to enhance ourselves.

Will we be able to extend human longevity, swap our eye colour or improve athletic performance? And even if we can do all these things, should we?

As scientists push the boundaries of gene-editing and some people are DIY experimenting on themselves with CRISPR, we discuss the practical and ethical challenges facing this promising but potentially perilous area of science.

Produced by Melanie Brown and presented by Caroline Steel for the BBC World Service Contributors: Prof George Church Prof Waseem Qasim Jimi Olaghere Josiah Zayner Prof Joyce harper Prof Julian Suvalescu

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of
0:07.0	Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.5	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:32.1	I had this secret I robbed banks in my spare time lives less ordinary from the BBC
0:40.0	World Service this is not a good thing to do because police are after you.
0:46.1	Find out more at the end of this podcast.
0:50.1	You're listening to Crowds Alliance on the BBC World Service. I'm Caroline Steele and right now I'm trying to dye my hair.
1:01.0	Every couple of months I go through this time consuming process of bleaching my hair from brown to blonde because I prefer the colour but it is a bit of a faff.
1:12.0	If I had a choice I would change my hair permanently, but will that ever
1:18.0	be an option? Well, that's something one of our listeners has also been wondering.
1:22.7	This is Bones from the Flint Hills of Kansas in the USA.
1:28.6	What is your question for crowd science?
1:30.9	My question is, what are the limits of gene engineering? That is, what is
1:38.0	possible now and what might be possible in the near future? For example, could we change our skin color or eye color or cure diseases such as cancer?
1:49.0	So if you could use gene editing on yourself.
1:53.2	Would you change anything?
1:55.3	Really, I'm very satisfied.
1:57.1	I have no problems, but my hair has gotten thinner
	...

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