DailyDirt: Life As We Know It...

All the biology we study today is based on life that relies on DNA (and RNA) to propagate. The ability to control DNA sequences will have a profound effect on our environment and society. We can already create synthetic lifeforms, but are we responsible enough to play with biotechnological fire?

• Editing DNA precisely could change a lot of things. The Crispr-Cas9 technique for editing genes isn't perfect, so it could do a lot of good -- or a lot of damage. It can be applied to people or bacteria or just about any living thing we know about, and we'll have to figure out whether our edits are improvements or bioweapons. [url]
• GMO animals might be cruelty free -- if we can engineer farm animals to not feel pain? We're not quite up to speed with Douglas Adams yet, but hornless Holsteins and other mutants might be ready for the dinner table soon. [url]
• Gene editing is one biotech tool, and gene activation is another -- and they're both related. Steering the epigenome and turning certain genes on or off could create gene therapies that cure disease or increase longevity.... [url]

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