The Digital Revolution Is Over And the Genetic Revolution Is Beginning
Photo by Robin Canfield on Unsplash
In the 1930’s we had the automotive and mechanical revolution. Cars were the latest technology and names like Ford and Chrystler were leading the revolution. From the 1980s to the present day we experienced the computer and digital revolution. Apple and Microsoft came to dominate the market of personalized computers. Internet giants such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google were born and revolutionized the internet.
After reading the book The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (disclaimer: Amazon Affiliate Link) I believe that the next revolution will be the genetic revolution. Instead of engineering and coding to build cars and websites, a new type of code will allow us to engineer our human DNA. In this post, I want to share with you some of the learnings I got after reading this book. Here’s how this post is broken down.
- How does gene editing work
- What can gene editing be used for today
- What can gene editing be used in future
- Challenges faced by gene editing
- Companies that are working on gene editing technologies
How does gene editing work?
The use of CRISPR-Cas9 to modify DNA was discovered through the work of many researchers across different fields and universities. The book describes the work done by Jennifer Doudna, Feng Zhang, Emmanuelle Charpentier, George Church, as well as many others, to figure out exactly how gene edits can be performed on humans. If you want a very in-depth summary of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, I suggest checking out this TED Talk by Jennifer Doudna.
This is how I think about it:
There is a molecule (RNA) that is programmed to find a specific line of code in your DNA. Then another molecule called Cas-9 cuts that chunk of code. This is called gene-slicing. It’s kind of like a “control-x” action on your keyboard. Once you remove that genetic code, a new piece of genetic code can also be inserted like a “control-v” action.
What can gene editing be used for today?
Today, gene editing is focused on treading genetic diseases. For example, Sickle Cell is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in a single gene. Gene-editing therapy aims to introduce new cells into a person’s body that have the mutated gene corrected. Those new cells that have the mutation corrected will eventually replicate and, hopefully, the majority of cells in that person’s body will no longer contain the mutation that causes sickle cell.
What can gene editing be used for today in the future?
Other than genetic diseases, many of our personal traits and attributes are controlled by some gene in our DNA. Theoretically, any trait that we possess such as height, hair color, eye color, or muscle density, can be traced to a gene in our body. These genes if modified at a sperm cell or egg level are called germline edits and the edits can be passed down generation after generation.
For example, there is a genetic mutation found commonly in marathon runners that allows their red blood cells to hold more oxygen [1]. There are also other genetic traits that may be linked to being better for endurance exercises [2]. In the future, perhaps we could isolate those genes and modify all humans to be capable of running marathons and having higher levels of endurance?
Challenges faced by gene editing
The book also discusses many challenges before genetic editing can become mainstream.
- It’s difficult to modify genes in a fully grown human. It’s easier to modify the genes of an embryo, or a sperm and egg cell, simply because there is only a single cell to modify. This is difficult to do because there is more to learn about gene editing before it can be done on humans at such an early stage. There are numerous safety and regulatory questions which need to be overcome before we can start making germline edits to humans. It’s a catch-22: we can’t start editing embryos without knowing what will happen to a human, but we can’t understand what will happen to a human without experimenting with embryo gene editing.
- There are numerous ethical questions when it comes to the limits and purpose of genetic editing. How far should we go? What should be edited and what should be left to nature and random probability to decide?
- After the Human Genome Project, scientists found around 20,000 genes within the human genome. These genes comprise about only 1-2% of the 3 billion base pairs of DNA that we have [3]. Imagine that you wanted to change someone’s computer program and you had to scroll through 3 billion lines of code that had a lot of interconnected functions and dependencies. Even though we have a rough idea of how many genes we have, it would be difficult to figure out what certain genes do, how different genes are related, and what exactly will happen if we edit them. After reading the book, it was evident that there is still a tremendous amount of unknown when it comes to what genes do, and what will exactly happen if we edit them.
Companies that are working on gene editing technologies
(Disclaimer, I own shares of Editas and Beam Therapeutics).
There are only a couple of publicly traded companies that are working on gene editing as a means to treat genetic diseases.
- Editas (Ticker Symbol: EDIT)
- Beam Therapeutics (Ticker Symbol: BEAM)
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Ticker Symbol: CRSP)
Finally, there is a company that is supplying chemicals and molecules to perform gene-editing research.
- Thermofisher Scientific (Ticker Symbol: TMO)
Again, I advise you to do your own research into these companies before you invest. As of today, many of these companies have dropped in value. Even though these stocks may be at a discount right now, they’re still inherently risky because gene-editing technologies are still in early-stage development. It will be difficult to predict how these companies will do in the long term due to technological and regulatory unknowns.
Also, just because these are the first companies in the field, it doesn’t mean that they will be the best. For example, IBM was one of the first personal computer companies, however, it’s nowhere near as valuable as Microsoft or Apple. Another example was Pets.com – this was a hot and trendy internet company during the late 1990s when the internet revolution was starting, but today that company is no longer in business.
As with most early technologies, it’s unknown how long it will take for the technology to mature. It will be some time before we see which companies will grow to dominate the field. Regardless, gene editing seems like the next technological revolution.
[1] Bouchard, Claude, et al. “Familial aggregation of Vo2 max response to exercise training: results from the HERITAGE Family Study.” Journal of applied physiology 87.3 (1999): 1003-1008.
[2] Moir, Hannah J et al. “Genes and Elite Marathon Running Performance: A Systematic Review.” Journal of sports science & medicine vol. 18,3 559-568. 1 Aug. 2019