22DNA design· Journalists Team

Pimp my DNA

VisionProbability 90/100

// A story from 2051

Stephen and Laila are the happy future parents of Lani, a little boy. The pregnancy is almost full-term, and the couple is heading to their last pre-natal appointment with their child’s geneticist. Dr. Austin has been a true angel to them since the first appointment. At an early stage of the pregnancy, the foetus wasn’t developing well as Laila was found to be carrying the gene for sickle-cell anaemia.

But now there is nothing to worry about. As soon as the problem was detected, the geneticist performed all the necessary procedures and the couple is now preparing for the birth of a healthy child. With both parents being huge endurance sports addicts, Dr. Austin has also worked on a few genes – namely ACTN3 and ACE – which will favour the future child’s strength and endurance development. The future parents will, of course, let their child choose whatever he wants to do, but they believe improved endurance and strength will help him in many ways in life.

Fast-forward to summer, 2051 – Tahiti. Lani has grown up so much already. He’s now a healthy five-year-old boy, enjoying his childhood on the island. On this Wednesday morning, he’s meeting his friends for his swimming lesson at the local surf school. The little boy has shown great capacity. He already manages to keep his head above water and has mastered breaststroke. The genetic modifications his parents made before he was even born means that – compared to some of the other kids – he is almost tireless, and he tries over and over until he succeeds. Ironically, if it weren’t for his development problem, Stephen and Laila would never have thought to consult with a geneticist. It’s a trend that has only become popular in the last three years.

Once the lesson is over, Stephen takes his son home for lunch. Thanks to his genetic profile, established since his birth, Lani’s parents always know what to give their child to help him achieve optimal growth. They know the exact amount of proteins, carbs, fats and nutrients he should take in each week, and as they have now registered their child’s affinity for water sports in his genetic profile, they also supplement him with vitamins B and C. Nothing too serious for now, he’s just a child after all.

This afternoon, Lani has his bi-annual check-up with the same geneticist his mom had consulted with during her pregnancy. There’s no need to go to the lab, as Dr. Austin calls them in holo-conference. Thanks to constant updates from a chip implanted in Lani’s shoulder, Dr. Austin has access to all data related to the child’s genetic development. Everything seems normal. And if, as Lani grows up, he becomes more serious about water sports, thanks to the advance of genetics research, the doctor will even be able to improve his metabolism. She might also even be able to help him breathe underwater for up to two minutes. With such rapid progress being made in the field of genetics, there’s no knowing what they might be able to do next.

// The science behind it

From understanding to action

After spending many years studying genetic biology, scientists began to use what they learned in the 1970s to venture into the promising field of genetic engineering. The first genetically modified rat – the work of Beatrice Mintz & Rudolph Jaenisch in 1974 – paved the way for an extraordinary human adventure: DNA editing.

In 2021, with the completion of the "human genome project", biogenetics takes another giant leap forward, triggering revolution in the medical field. At the same time, similar advances are being made in the fields of agriculture, through the sequencing of the DNA of the plants and animals that populate the planet. It has long been known that DNA is the key to understanding and changing the world. Now that we have a very precise idea of how it works, it is possible to take control of it to improve our daily lives. All of which means better treatment of diseases, better agricultural yields, as well as a grip on Mother Nature that will improve our living conditions and therefore our longevity.

With the exponential evolution of technology, the archaic and cumbersome equipment needed for gene editing is rapidly giving way to instruments that are increasingly sophisticated, but also more compact and transportable. There is no longer any need to build imposing laboratories to practice the discipline. It is now possible to do so from anywhere, and more affordably.

In parallel with this, genetics will also benefit from the giant steps made in the field of artificial intelligence. Gradually, the machine will take over and reduce human interaction to a strict minimum. Now capable of formulating hypotheses on its own, it can also design simulations, analyse the data, and draw the necessary scientific conclusions.

Pocket laboratories

If, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was already possible to obtain DNA and RNA codes online, or to consult collaborative genomic databases (such as the NCBI or the UCSC), the decades that followed saw the emergence of a sort of 'collective genetic consciousness', facilitating the convergence of all individual knowledge in the field. From being localised, experiments have become global, with scientists from the four corners of the planet now able to collaborate remotely, in real time, on the same experiments.

Genetics used to be the preserve of large laboratories, but today it is practised in our kitchens. Now accessible to everyone, everywhere, it has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, fuelled by better sharing of global knowledge, the easy exchange of ideas and designs, and the undeniable contribution of increasingly sophisticated artificial assistants and advisors. From the early days of CRISPR technology, to today's automated editors, genetics is undoubtedly one of the areas of science where progress has been most notable, and most beneficial to our civilisation.

We can now directly influence things like intelligence, stamina and life expectancy, to improve the living conditions of the entire human race. At the same time, we are preparing future generations for the challenges of tomorrow, by intervening in the genetic codes of our fauna and flora. With the phenomenon of designer babies now becoming widespread, it is now possible to not only reduce potential health risks at the embryonic stage, but also to accentuate certain physical characteristics of future new-borns, leading ultimately to the improvement of our entire civilisation.

The advent of chimeras

Of course, since its emergence, genetic engineering has had its detractors – those worried about the inevitable crossing of an indefinable ethical threshold. But the inevitable democratisation of the technology has not really left time for debate. The highly controversial experiments involving the combination of human DNA with animal DNA, the famous "chimeras", have nevertheless led to unprecedented medical advances. The laboratory design of mice, with an immune system modelled on that of humans, has made it possible – through pharmacogenomics – to study the effect of certain drugs without the pitfalls of using humans as guinea pigs. And if the idea of improving our intrinsic characteristics by importing the specificities of certain animals (to increase our field of vision, or to improve our metabolism) is still frowned upon by a large part of the population, this is nonetheless the future of genetics. In the long term, these artificial evolutions will make it possible to facilitate the colonisation of other worlds, by 'reconfiguring' our respiratory system so that it is able, for example, to breathe the air of otherwise hostile exoplanets.

Medicine, agriculture, the environment, the climate - the fields of application of genetic engineering are numerous, making it an indispensable discipline for the advancement of our civilisation. The main obstacle to its development will clearly not be technological. Most of the tools needed to master it already exist (virtualisation, data sharing, AI) or are on their way to becoming a reality.

The main obstacle to its development will undoubtedly be the ethical and moral considerations – to which we do not yet have a definitive answer. A pessimistic vision of the misuse of genetic applications by ill-intentioned people is contrasted with a more humanistic and optimistic vision that sees an exponential increase in the number of advances beneficial to humanity.

The environmental implications of DNA editing should not be minimised; most genetic experiments today are conducted by private companies not exactly known for their concern for the planet. And the risks of side effects are – for the time being – still rather difficult to measure (crossbreeding, destruction of ecological systems, etc.). Not to mention the potentially colossal transformative impact on the very essence of what makes us human.

To solve this ethical problem, we will need to combine these technological advances with other areas of reflection. It may require us to seek the combined wisdom of philosophers, economists, historians, lawyers and politicians to help solve this complex conundrum. To serve humanity in the best possible way, genetics must become and remain everyone's business, not just the preserve of technicians.

// Sources & further reading