The Biorevolution Podcast - We're doomed we're saved #17

We're doomed we're saved #17

12/01/23 • 41 min

CRISPR CAS – Life’s processing tool

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

CRISPR CAS – Life’s processing tool

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Image: Vipul Jha- via Unsplash

Previous Episode

We're doomed we're saved #16

Synthetic Biology - Rewriting Life

Synthetic biology - the artificial creation of biological molecules, cells, and even organisms - has the potential to revolutionize biotechnology and agriculture, allowing for the creation of novel biomaterials and fuels, opening new opportunities for DNA-based information storage and computation, and even aiding in the exploration and colonization of space. The first synthetic bacterium was created about ten years ago, and since then, the technologies supporting synthetic biology have become faster, cheaper, and more innovative. With the assistance of artificial intelligence, synthetic biology could unlock vast potential, recognized by various industries. Synthetic biology could also enable bad actors to create harmful microbes.

In the 16th episode of "We're Doomed We're Saved," Andreas Horchler and Louise von Stechow discuss the potential, risks, and some fascinating applications of synthetic biology.

Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler

Image: Brett Jorden- via Unsplash

References: https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/bio2.0/artemisinin_a_synthetic_biology_success/ https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/designers-blend-bacteria-and-organic-technology-into-conceptual-grow-to-wear-space-suit-line/news-story/b843c57c29d889610c236a4c7accc665 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20488990/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2272899-artificial-life-made-in-lab-can-grow-and-divide-like-natural-bacteria/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7153315/ https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-9891-1_3 https://news.mit.edu/2021/dna-data-storage-0610 https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/save-it-in-dna/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31819259/ https://www.nasa.gov/space-synthetic-biology-synbio/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30929030/ https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cbic.202000091

Next Episode

We're doomed we're saved #18

Ozempic & co – A new era of weight loss?

In principle the solution to the problem of overweight should be very easy: eat less and exercise more.But anyone who’s ever tried to lose weight – so probably almost anyone – will be able to testify that things are not as simple. So now Ozempic enters the scene, a diabetes drug that looks like a gamechanger in the big business of weight loss. In episode 18 of We're doomed we're saved, Andreas Horchler and Louise von Stechow discuss the history of weight loss pills and the medical and cultural reasons why we (think we) need to be thin.

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.

Image: Nathan Dumlao- via Unsplash

References: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/28/business/denmark-ozempic-wegovy.html https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-023-00075-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-021-00337-8 https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ema-statement-ongoing-review-glp-1-receptor-agonists