The Code Breaker

by Walter Isaacson

Coming soon Work is also underway on some more ambitious uses of CRISPR gene editing that could make us less vulnerable to pandemics, cancers, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. For example, a gene known as P53 encodes for a protein that suppresses the growth of cancerous tumors. It helps the body respond to damaged DNA and prevents cancerous cells from dividing. Humans tend to have one copy of this gene, and cancers proliferate if something goes wrong with it. Elephants have twenty copies of this gene, and they almost never get cancer. Researchers are currently exploring ways to add an extra P53 gene into humans. Likewise, the gene APOE4 raises the risk of the devastating disease of Alzheimer’s. Researchers are looking for ways to convert it into a benign version of the gene.