♪
>>> MAYBE IT’S JUST THE TINITIS
KICKING UP IN ME, BUT WHOO.
OKAY.
THAT’S ONE WAY TO TEACH SCIENCE. THAT WAS A MUSIC PARODY FROM TIM
THAT WAS A MUSIC PARODY FROM TIM
BLAZE, A MASTERS DEGREE HOLDER
IN HIGH ENERGY FIZZ SICKTHEORETI
PHYSICS WHO EXPLAINING
SCIENTIFIC TOPICS ON HIS YOUTUBE
CHANNEL A CAPPELLA SCIENCE.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THE CORONAVI
LET’S BRING IN RIGHT NOW
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT TULANE
UNIVERSITY WALTER ISAACSON.
HIS LATEST BIOGRAPHY IS ON ONE
OF THE SCIENTISTS WHO DISCOVERED
CRISPER, IT’S TITLED THE CODE
BREAKER.
JENNIFER DOWDEN, GENE EDITING
AND THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN
RACE.
SO WALTER, BREAK THIS DOWN FOR
ME AND FOR THE AUDIENCE.
I’M A LIBERAL ARTS GUY.
I HAD TO GET FOUR CREDIT HOURS,
GOT IT, BEFORE CORE CURRICULUM.
SO AS DENZEL WASHINGTON SAID IN
THE MOVIE "PHILADELPHIA" EXPLAIN
IT TO ME LIKE I’M A FIFTH
GRADER.
BECAUSE IN THIS AREA I AM LIKE A
FIFTH GRADER.
>> THIS IS A WONDERFUL
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED OVER THE
PAST FEW YEARS BY JENNIFER
DOWDEN OF THE HERO OF MY BOOK,
AND HER RESEARCH PARTNER AND
MANY OTHERS THAT ALLOWS US TO GO
IN AND EDIT OUR GENES.
AND JUST A SIMPLE SCISSORS
THAT’S CONNECTED TO A GUIDE.
THE GUIDE IS A SNIPPET OF RNA,
THAT SAME WONDERFUL MOLECULE
THAT’S HELPING GET US ALL
VACCINATED.
THAT MOLECULE ACTS AS A GUIDE,
SO THAT GENE FOR CYSTIC --
WHATEVER, REPLACE IT, CHANGE THE
GENES IN OUR SYSTEM.
NOT ONLY CAN WE FIX GENETIC
DISEASES, BUT THE LONG RANGE
THING IS PERHAPS EDITING OUR
CHILDREN TO HAVE CERTAIN TRAITS
THAT WE WANT.
THIS IS A HUGE BOON TO THE
HEALTH AND, YOU KNOW, THE HUMAN
RACE BUT IT’S ALSO GOING TO
PRESENT US SOME CHALLENGES TO
FIGURE OUT, HEY, WHEN DO WE USE
IT TO EDIT OUR KIDS?
>> AND DO YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AS
FAR AS THE ETHICAL CHALLENGES?
A LOT OF PARENTS SAY, WAIT, WE
CAN EDIT OUR KIDS?
>> IT KIND OF SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.
>> THAT’S JUST A JOKE.
FOR PARENTS.
OBVIOUSLY, THERE’S SOME REAL
ETHICAL PROBLEMS, REAL ETHICAL
CHALLENGES HERE.
HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THAT IN THE
BOOK?
>> WELL, JENNIFER DOWDEN, WHO
HELPED INVENT THIS TECHNOLOGY,
AND SHE JUST WON THE NOBEL PRIZE
FOR IT, ONE DAY SHE HAD A
NIGHTMARE, SOON AFTER SHE
INVENTED THIS GENE EDITING
TECHNOLOGY AND THE TOOLS TO USE
IT.
AND SHE WALKS INTO A ROOM AND
SOMEBODY SAYS I WANT TO LEARN
ABOUT THIS TECHNOLOGY AND THE
PERSON WALKS UP AND IT’S HITLER.
SHE DECIDES SHE’S GOING TO
GATHER SCIENTISTS AND
POLICYMAKERS FROM AROUND THE
WORLD TO SAY, WHAT ARE WE GOING
TO DO WITH IT?
THIS PAST YEAR WE USED IT,
VICTORIA GRAY, A WONDERFUL WOMAN
DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI, GOT CURED
OF SICKLE CELL ANEMIA BY EDITING THE GENE.
THE GENE.
BUT THE YEAR BEFORE IN CHINA A
ROGUE DOCTOR USED IT TO -- GOING
DOWN THROUGH ALL THE HUMAN RACE.
NOW AT FIRST EVERYBODY’S
SHOCKED.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE EDIT HE
MADE MADE THEM LESS SUSCEPTIBLE
TO GETTING A VIRUS.
NOW, IF YOU COULD DO THAT
SAFELY, WE HAVE TO ASK
OURSELVES, ALL RIGHT, DOWN THE
ROAD DO WE WANT TO EDIT OUR
SPECIES TO BE LESS SU SETTABLE
TO VIRUSES.
THERE’S NO EASY ANSWER PUT IN
THE BOOK WALK HAND IN HAND, STEP