A Crack In Creation: A Nobel Prize Winner's Insight into the Future of Genetic Engineering

by Jennifer A. Doudna

This book is its story, and mine. It is also yours. Because it won’t be long before the repercussions from this technology reach your doorstep too.

ominous yet cool #reading #science

every single CRISPR region had expanded to include a new snippet of DNA spliced between the repeats. Furthermore, these new spacers perfectly matched the DNA of the phage to which that strain was now immune.

CRISPR, now I get it!!

“We propose an alternative methodology based on RNA-programmed Cas9 that could offer considerable potential for gene-targeting and genome-editing applications.”

cue carmina burana #reading

Addgene is like Netflix, only for plasmids.

I LOVE THIS SENTENCE AND WANT TO TATTOO IT ON MY FOREHEAD. #reading

plasmid. By easing the burden on plasmid producers and satisfying requests from plasmid consumers, Addgene has helped to ensure that any academic or nonprofit lab in the world can obtain research materials, including those needed to employ the CRISPR technology, for its particular experimental needs.

Addgene truly is as awesome as it sounds! #reading

In 2015 alone, Addgene shipped some sixty thousand CRISPR-related plasmids to researchers in over eighty different countries.

WOW!! You go, Addgene; get on with your bad self!!! #science #reading

Weighing the dangers inherent in a technology like CRISPR against the responsibility to use its power for the benefit of humanity and our planet will be a test like no other. Yet it’s one that we must pass.

ay, there's the rub #reading

In 2015, 92 percent of all corn, 94 percent of all cotton, and 94 percent of all soybeans grown in the United States were genetically engineered in this way. The altered crops offer considerable environmental and economic advantages. By planting crops that have enhanced abilities to protect themselves against pests, farmers can attain higher yields while reducing their reliance on harsh chemical pesticides and herbicides.

Thanks, Monsanto! No,I really mean it. Unsarcastically. #unpaidschill #reading

The disjunction between scientific consensus and public opinion on the topic of GMOs is disturbing, to say the least.

YOU FUCKING DON'T SAY. #gmolol #unpaidschill #reading

Thus, the distinction between “natural” and “unnatural” has been obscured. Red grapefruits created by neutron radiation, seedless watermelons produced with the chemical compound colchicine, apple orchards in which every tree is a perfect genetic clone of its neighbors—none of these aspects of modern agriculture is natural. Yet most of us eat these foods without complaint.

A-FUCKING-MEN, SISTER!!!!!! #reading #gmolol

Canadian team created the Enviropig, an environmentally friendly transgenic pig containing an E. coli gene that allowed the animals to better digest a phosphorus-containing compound called phytate. Normal pig manure retains high phosphorus levels that leach into streams and rivers, causing algal blooms, the death of aquatic animals, and the production of greenhouse gases; Enviropig manure contained 75 percent less phosphorus, which could have been an enormous benefit to the planet and to the people who lived and worked near pig farms. Despite this, though, and despite reassuring safety data, consumers decried the Enviropig, causing the project’s financial backers to pull the plug.

this is why we can't have nice things! #reading #gmolol #science

Animal research is indispensable to the study of human disease, whether it’s used to confirm the genetic causes of certain disorders, to evaluate potential drugs, or to test the efficacy of medical interventions like surgery or cell therapy.

this is my new creed #science #reading #gmolol