The Biorevolution Podcast

Gene editing technology allows humans, for the first time, to change the code of life with a precise editing system offering the potential for curing genetic diseases. The gene editing field is moving with impressive speed: after the seminal paper on the technology was published in 2012, the Nobel Prize awarded for the technology in 2020, and the first therapy approved for treatment of blood diseases in 2023. In this episode of We’re doomed, we’re saved Andreas Horchler and Louise von Stechow, discuss the tremendous potential of the technology, but also its darker side – the high cost of the therapeutic applications and the potential for augmenting, altering, and redesigning human genomes.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow, Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast.

Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow

Image: Vipul Jha- via Unsplash

References: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/the-bio-revolution-innovations-transforming-economies-societies-and-our-lives https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/gene-therapy-coming-of-age-opportunities-and-challenges-to-getting-ahead https://endpts.com/vertex-looking-to-right-their-rd-ship-flashes-data-suggesting-their-sickle-cell-crispr-therapy-is-working/ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03590-6 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01389-z https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/books/chapters/more-than-human.html https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-death-of-jesse-gelsinger-20-years-later/ https://innovativegenomics.org/news/crispr-clinical-trials-2023/ https://answers.childrenshospital.org/crispr-gene-editing/ https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/cellular-gene-therapy-products/approved-cellular-and-gene-therapy-products

**** GERMAN EPISODE **** Ein Jahr We're doomed we're saved - seiten einem Jahr sprechen Andreas Horchler und Louise von Stechow über die Themen der Biorevolution. Wir haben über Anitbiotikaresistenzen, Biowaffen, Gentherapien, Neuroprothesen und AI gesprochen. Wir hatten spannende Gäste, wie den Mathematiker und idalab Gründer Paul von Bünau, und den Forschungs- und Entwicklungschef von Sanofi Adventis Deutschland mit denen wir über die Rolle neuer Technologien wie AI für die Medikamentenentwicklung gesprochen haben. In dieser Folge lassen wir die erste Staffel Revue passieren und machen "A big announcment". Dies wird unsere vorerst letzte Deutsche Episode sein - in der neuen Staffel, ab September, werden wir uns auf Englisch unterhalten.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow, Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast.

Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow

GERMAN EPISODE Biowaffen haben zum Glück in der Geschichte der Menschheit nur selten Anwendung gefunden – sind sie doch zu unkontrollierbar. Doch mit den Technologien der Biorevolution eröffnen sich neue Möglichkeiten in der Herstellung schädlicher biologischer Agenzien – mit böser Intention von Staaten, Terroristen und sogenannten Biohackern, doch auch wohlmeinenden und unbedachten Wissenschaftlern. In dieser Folge sprechen Andreas Horchler und Louise von Stechow über die Geschichte der Biowaffen, über neue Möglichkeiten und alte Ängste.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow, Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast.

Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow

Image: Alex Perz Via Unsplash

References: https://futureoflife.org/2018/10/12/genome-editing-and-the-future-of-biowarfare-a-conversation-with-dr-piers-millett/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7515815/ https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/synthetic-biology/Synthetic-biology-enable-bioweapons-development/96/i26 https://phys.org/news/2021-11-gene-weapon.html https://www.ft.com/content/9ac7f1c0-1468-4dc7-88dd-1370ead42371 https://bigthink.com/health/covid-gain-of-function-research/ https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-brace-media-storm-around-controversial-flu-studies https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form https://www.newscientist.com/article/2272899-artificial-life-made-in-lab-can-grow-and-divide-like-natural-bacteria/ https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/amerithrax-or-anthrax-investigation

GERMAN EPISODE Sogenannte Gene Drives sind spezielle Genveränderungsmethoden, die es Wissenschaftlern zum ersten Mal erlauben die Grenzen der klassischen Evolution nach Darwin zu sprengen und ihr Grundprinzip, die natürliche Selektion zu überwinden, in dem sie die Expression in allen Nachkommen erzwingen. In dieser Episode unterhalten sich Andreas Horchler und Louise von Stechow darüber wie Gene Drives in der Malariaprävention, in der Bewahrung bedrohter Arten und zur Erhöhung von Ernteerträgen eingesetzt werden könnten – und wie gefährlich diese Technologie in der Hand eines einzelnen Wissenschaftlers sein kann.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow, Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast.

Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow

Image: Ryan Grybill Via Unsplash

References 1) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02087-5 2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21508956/ 3) https://www.who.int/teams/global-malaria-programme/reports/world-malaria-report-2021 4) https://www.statnews.com/2017/03/14/malaria-mosquitoes-burkina-faso/ 5) https://www.statnews.com/2016/12/14/gene-drive-students-igem/ 6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675690/ 7) https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/07/gene-edited-mosquitoes-stop-malaria/ 8) https://psmag.com/ideas/most-controversial-tree-in-the-world-gmo-genetic-engineering 9) https://theconversation.com/genetically-modified-mosquitoes-could-be-released-in-florida-and-texas-beginning-this-summer-silver-bullet-or-jumping-the-gun-139710 10) https://www.editingnature.org/ 11) https://www.statnews.com/2015/11/12/gene-drive-bioterror-risk/#:~:text=The%20possibilities%20for%20%E2%80%9Cweaponizing%E2%80%9D%20gene,who%20briefed%20the%20bioweapons%20office. 12) https://www.ajtmh.org/view/journals/tpmd/96/3/article-p530.xml 13) https://elifesciences.org/articles/03401 14) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1805874115 15) https://www.etcgroup.org/content/reckless-driving-gene-drives-and-end-nature 16) https://www.vice.com/en/article/kz49ge/this-gene-technology-could-change-the-world-its-maker-isnt-sure-it-should-v26n4 17) https://medium.com/mit-media-lab/daisy-drives-will-let-communities-alter-wild-organisms-in-local-ecosystems-cb626c5a9f38#.91i6eyhc0

GERMAN EPISODE Antibiotika wurden einst als Heilbringer der Menschheit gefeiert und haben dazu beigetragen die durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung stark zu erhöhen. Doch schon in den frühen Tagen warnte der Finder des Penicillins, Sir Alexander Fleming, vor dem unbedachten und verschwenderischen Umgang mit diesen Wundermedikamenten. In dieser Folge beleuchten Andreas Horchler und Louise von Stechow die weltweite Gesundheitskrise, die von antibiotikaresistenten Bakterien hervorgerufen wird und besprechen ihre Ursachen und potentielle Gegenmaßnahmen.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow, Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast.

Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow

Image: CDC via Unsplash

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378521/ (antibiotic resistance overview)
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354621/ (antibiotic resistance overview, altered life expectancy)
3. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext (antibiotic resistance overview, Lancet study)
4. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-60058120 (antibiotic resistance overview, Lancet study overview)
5. https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-true-death-toll-of-covid-19-estimating-global-excess-mortality (COVID death statistics WHO)
6. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0225-clostridium-difficile.html (C diff)
7. https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(20)30206-7 (Horizontal gene transfer)
8. https://wellcome.org/news/why-is-it-so-hard-develop-new-antibiotics (the difficulties in developing novel antibiotics
9. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02884-3 (Nature, why big pharma abandoned antibiotics)
10. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02475-3 (Nature - 4 stories of antibiotic breakthroughs)
11. https://www.umu.se/en/news/-new-group-of-antibacterial-molecules-identified_11112855/ (new antibiotics, Karolinska and Uni Bonn)
12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26089440/#:~:text=Teixobactin%20is%20a%20recently%20described,(provisionally%20named%20Eleftheria%20terrae). (new antibiotics, Teixobactin)
13. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03899-0 (new antibiotics, rational design)
14. https://news.mit.edu/2020/artificial-intelligence-identifies-new-antibiotic-0220#:~:text=Using%20a%20machine%2Dlearning%20algorithm,resistant%20to%20all%20known%20antibiotics. (new antibiotics, MIT AI)