{"id":30098,"date":"2019-10-29T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-29T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/noticias\/the-race-to-create-superhumans-has-already-begun\/"},"modified":"2019-10-29T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T11:00:00","slug":"the-race-to-create-superhumans-has-already-begun","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/en\/news\/the-race-to-create-superhumans-has-already-begun\/","title":{"rendered":"The race to create superhumans has already begun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week it emerged that an American researcher has developed a method<\/a> that could revolutionize gene editing<\/strong>, that is, the intentional alteration of DNA. David Liu and his team have published in the journal Nature<\/a> the results of 175 experiments with human cells in which they obtain a precision never seen before in the application of the CRISPR<\/strong> technique<\/a>, the most widely used today to modify the genome. This tool, present in laboratories around the world since the beginning of this decade, allows fragments of information to be inserted into DNA strands.<\/strong> It is the great hope of millions of patients with genetic diseases creating superhumans. <\/p>\n

It turns out, however, that CRISPR still has a lot of room for improvement: it usually generates genetic mutations <\/strong>(hence why the technique is still being tested on animals<\/a>). Liu’s merit is that, it seems, he is able to succeed in repairing 89% of genetic variants. <\/g>If their achievement is confirmed, curing rare diseases could end up being child’s play. The race to dominate the genome would take a giant step. <\/p>\n

In Search of the Superhuman<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some have not had to wait for the reliability of CRISPR to reach acceptable levels to launch experiments on humans. The Chinese scientist He Jiankiu surprised the world<\/g> last year by revealing that the first two babies genetically modified<\/g><\/g> to be more resistant to the AIDS virus (condemning them to suffer from a genetic disease, such as cancer) in the future, had been born. The international community was stunned by an act totally illegal in the United States or Europe, officially condemned in its own country… but realized. <\/p>\n

The twins Lulu and Nana (as Dr. He’s human guinea pigs are called) will be joined by a third genetically modified baby <\/strong>also in China, whose birth could have already taken place.<\/a> Russian molecular biologist Denis Rebrikov<\/strong>, meanwhile, announced this summer his intention to conduct experiments on babies.<\/a> Her goal, like He, would be to alter embryos of mothers with HIV so that children are born immune to the disease. Rebrikov believes that Russian legislation is ambiguous enough to accommodate his experiment. <\/p>\n

The first steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having state regulations that prohibit the genetic alteration of healthy embryos is not enough to avoid ethically questionable results. The line between medical progress and development of what Yuval Noah Harari<\/g> calls enhanced humans <\/g>is thin. In the case of the use of CRISPR, it is grotesque: there are alternative methods to gene editing to prevent the birth of children with HIV. <\/p>\n

Ethical considerations do not seem to be enough in China<\/strong>, where on paper the human genome cannot be altered<\/strong> but in practice it has happened at least two or three times (as far as is known). Russia could be the next <\/strong>territory in which genetically modified babies are born, and there is nothing to suggest that more countries will not be added to this list. Who will allow themselves to be left behind? <\/p>\n

Futurologist Gerd Leonhard<\/strong> does not rule out that we will soon see countries use genetics as a weapon, for example using the genome of 100 million people to create a kind of super-soldier.<\/a> There are two ways to have enhanced abilities: to be bitten by a radioactive spider and become Spider-Man or to have the best genetic material from a large mass of the population. The second seems simpler. <\/p>\n

The race to reach the superhuman has already begun<\/a>. We are seeing it in the news, although in more technical terms. No one will be able to say later that they did not see it coming. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are seeing it in the news, although in more technical terms. 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