Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: thedoc on 17/08/2015 20:19:03
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Adrian Bird is studying the proteins that bind DNA methylation, with the
hope of finding a treatment for the genetic disease Rett Syndrome
Read a transcript of the interview by clicking here (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/interviews/interview/1001404/)
or [chapter podcast=1001136 track=15.08.14/Naked_Genetics_15.08.14_1003998.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd) Listen to it now[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_individual/15.08.14/Naked_Genetics_15.08.14_1003998.mp3)
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You kids probably don't remember the old movie newsreels which often had a comedy short with the catchphrase, "Monkeys is the cwaziest peoples!" Nevertheless, we could say the same about genetic disorders today, "Genetic disorders is the cwaziest peoples!"
What the world needs is a molecular nanosurgeon that cuts out the bad gene and sticks in the good gene. HOWEVER you must promise not to go bananas with it and start doing stuff like making all girl babies look like Heidi Klum or turning all the Irish into a bunch of Brits.
If you have pinkie sworn not to do that, then look up CRISPR in the wikipedia....
"The CRISPR/Cas system has been used for gene editing (adding, disrupting or changing the sequence of specific genes) and gene regulation in species throughout the tree of life.[7] By delivering the Cas9 protein and appropriate guide RNAs into a cell, the organism's genome can be relatively cheaply cut at any desired location."
The reason that you must pinkie swear is that you would be messing with the tree of life. You don't want to put the razz up you-know-who -- and I don't mean the Archbishop of Canterbury.