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Chill out.
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I'm a dog breeder.
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I knew a little bit about genetics,
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but not about genetic engineering.
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I'm not a PhD,
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or I have no degree, actually.
I have a GED.
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I had assumed that getting DNA
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and making changes and stuff
cost millions of dollars
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and that you needed a huge lab and
research team and all this sort of stuff,
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but you'd be surprised
what there is on YouTube.
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Just selective breeding isn't enough.
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Big dogs age fast and die young.
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Can we make dogs
that have even better noses?
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Get a dog who, um... who's healthy,
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but he's also what you intended him to be.
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These are the bacteria...
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that I'm using.
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This is bioluminescence.
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They produce their own light chemically.
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This is my first experiment on the dogs.
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I started thinking about,
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"What do I need to do
so nobody's gonna doubt it?"
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I need to do something
that's obviously completely unnatural.
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No dogs glow,
so if I make a dog that glows,
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nobody's gonna doubt
it was genetic engineering.
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We're on the verge
of a technological breakthrough
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that could change the future of mankind.
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Most people have no idea
how rapidly things are changing.
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We're now changing the DNA,
the code of life.
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It's amazing, the sorts of things
that we could do with this.
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The question is, should we?
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What happens if diseases
were just eradicated?
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All technology is inherently about
changing away from what is natural.
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You can't really see it.
It's a frozen, uh, sample.
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I don't know if you can see that liquid
frozen in the bottom there.
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It's, uh, basically a protein
that can be used for genome editing.
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It can alter the DNA in any cell
in any organism,
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including animal and plant cells,
even human cells.
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So, here I am holding this little tube,
and it looks so simple,
40
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but it will have profound implications
for the future.
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We are about to unfold for you
an adventure in the world of science,
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the science that deals with
the nature of living things.
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Our story is about you and me.
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The story is the same
for all living things.
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Animals, plants,
46
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even the lowliest creature.
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Using physical and chemical clues,
48
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scientists have been able to figure out
how the DNA molecule looks in detail.
49
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We don't have a map
of the human chromosomes yet,
50
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but we know the genes are there.
51
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We know that they determine
what our cells will do
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and what we will be like.
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You think they'll ever see
what those units look like?
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Well, they're getting warm.
55
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And the road they're taking
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is leading them close
to the secret of life itself.
57
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A revolutionary technology
that can edit genetic mistakes
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is getting attention and scrutiny
this morning.
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It's very exciting.
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This is a molecule that can change one
of the three billion letters of DNA.
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This is the future.
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It'd be a major change
in our ability to transform genes.
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It allows us to potentially make
uh, designer plants,
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designer animals,
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correct diseases.
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For years we debated it,
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but we couldn't do it.
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Now we can do it.
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Working with evolution a lot
does make you think about...
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"Why are we here?"
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and "What should we be doing?"
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We think it's tragic when
evolution makes something beautiful...
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and then it goes away forever.
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But evolution doesn't care.
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Evolution is always interested in
what can be better.
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It does not care about suffering.
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The interesting question in my mind is
to what extent we should defy evolution
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in service to our morality.
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What life has explored
in all of this incredible diversity
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is still the tiniest of tiny fractions
of what is actually possible.
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What's different now
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is that we can read the DNA
of every species in this room.
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We're learning how to intervene
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in the process that has been going on
since the beginning of life.
85
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It's amazing the sorts of things
that we could do with this.
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But...
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the question is...
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should we, and who gets a say?
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A genome is DNA that consists of a code
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of four different letters: A, C, G, and T.
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In the early 2000s,
there was that sort of catalytic event
92
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when we created the first draft sequence
of the human genome.
93
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...hoping it's gonna be
the best year all of us have ever had.
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Today, we are learning
the language in which God created life.
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This is the most important,
most wondrous map
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ever produced by humankind.
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Gathering together
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all that information
about the human genome
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allowed unprecedented insight
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into the evolutionary mechanisms
that created humans.
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And having that parts list
allows us to understand
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how that code makes people,
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how it is broken in people with diseases.
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This piece of paper has 6,400 letters,
front and back.
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Given the size of the genome,
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it would take one million
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of these pieces of paper,
printed front and back,
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to print out the entire genome.
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One letter change
in the 6.4 billion bases
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can cause a serious disease.
111
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Where are you?
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I know you're somewhere.
113
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- Which one are you looking for?
- I'm looking for the...
114
00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,346
other two planes that I did not...
115
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Oh, I found one.
116
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There's one,
and your other big one's over here.
117
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- What's this?
- It's your rocket, buddy.
118
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Where's the button on this thing?
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- I got it.
- Oh, you got it.
120
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Can you help me put these back on, Mom?
121
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Coolest thing about space is black holes.
122
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Basically a giant thing
that pulls everything into it, even light.
123
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Every single little molecule
gets torn apart.
124
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Ten, nine...
125
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And this is called spaghettify.
126
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I'm not joking.
127
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It's called "spaghettify."
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It's what it's called.
129
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- ...one...
- Science is a crazy thing.
130
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...zero. Live connect. Liftoff!
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00:10:04,854 --> 00:10:07,690
I want to be the first person
to ever go to Mars.
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What I can see is...
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I can't really explain it. It's hard.
It's hard to explain.
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You can't... You can't know something
that you don't know.
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Main menu. Folder name.
136
00:10:29,337 --> 00:10:32,673
Re... Li... Cradle. Document to open.
137
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Everyone.
138
00:10:34,675 --> 00:10:35,801
"Everyone...
139
00:10:37,094 --> 00:10:39,347
else is headed...
140
00:10:40,514 --> 00:10:41,514
toward..."
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00:10:41,557 --> 00:10:44,352
Space. Exclamation mark, double quote.
142
00:10:44,852 --> 00:10:46,604
When he was very little,
143
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I noticed he wasn't looking at our faces.
144
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Doctors suggested that he...
145
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was on the spectrum, um, of having autism.
146
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Um... put you up here.
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Wait, wait.
148
00:11:02,036 --> 00:11:03,954
Look out, there. Put you right there.
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00:11:04,205 --> 00:11:05,205
Ha ha!
150
00:11:05,247 --> 00:11:07,458
I'm the most powerful person
in the whole world!
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00:11:07,541 --> 00:11:09,585
Nothing can stop me now!
152
00:11:09,669 --> 00:11:11,128
"You are wrong, Jafar.
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There is one person
who is still mightier than you:
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00:11:14,590 --> 00:11:15,633
the Genie."
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00:11:16,008 --> 00:11:18,552
Insurance wouldn't pay
for genetic testing.
156
00:11:18,636 --> 00:11:22,682
They said that there was no benefit
for a young child to have genetic testing.
157
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"We won't pay for it."
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"The l-law is the law."
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00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:31,982
We ended up seeing
a low-vision specialist.
160
00:11:33,359 --> 00:11:35,528
And then, we finally got the answer.
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00:11:38,656 --> 00:11:42,952
He's missing both copies
of the RPE65 gene.
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One from me, one from his father.
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He will eventually go completely blind.
164
00:11:53,421 --> 00:11:55,501
One
of the most significant developments
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in this field
is the newly discovered ability to modify
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the very genes in our DNA.
167
00:12:01,512 --> 00:12:04,348
The technique is known
by the acronym CRISPR.
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00:12:04,473 --> 00:12:08,102
CRISPR is a technique
that allows scientists to go into the DNA
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of a plant or an animal,
or even a human being,
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00:12:10,938 --> 00:12:15,067
and remove or replace a small part
of that organism's genetic code.
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00:12:15,151 --> 00:12:17,486
- How big of a breakthrough is this?
- Wow!
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00:12:17,570 --> 00:12:20,322
The potential of what can be done here.
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CRISPR has generated immense excitement.
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It's fast, cheap,
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and can cut and paste genetic code
with great precision.
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00:12:28,748 --> 00:12:31,351
A professor
at the University of California, Berkeley,
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00:12:31,375 --> 00:12:33,586
Jennifer Doudna,
who helped develop this breakthrough...
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00:12:33,669 --> 00:12:35,921
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
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00:12:38,132 --> 00:12:40,551
We found a protein in bacteria,
180
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and that led to a...
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00:12:43,179 --> 00:12:46,557
fundamental change in the technology
for gene editing.
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It really works like a molecular scalpel,
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but it's programmable.
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We can control where it makes a change
in a DNA sequence.
185
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Chemical cleavers in the protein
186
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swing into position and cut the DNA
187
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so that you get a clean break,
188
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and in the process, introduce a change.
189
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Could it cure virtually any disease?
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00:13:10,289 --> 00:13:13,793
- Any disease that has a genetic basis.
- That's incredible.
191
00:13:14,710 --> 00:13:17,505
If you had asked me
whether it would be possible,
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even a few years ago,
193
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I would have laughed.
194
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I would have said
that's going to take maybe a long time
195
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to get to the point
where science can do that.
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And here we are, a few years later,
197
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and we're in possession of a tool
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00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:34,271
that gives scientists remarkable control
over the code of life.
199
00:13:34,855 --> 00:13:36,899
What is the dark side of this technology?
200
00:13:36,982 --> 00:13:40,110
We're talking about something
that would affect human evolution.
201
00:13:40,194 --> 00:13:41,779
It's raised a lot of concerns,
202
00:13:41,862 --> 00:13:43,239
- ethical concerns...
- Yeah.
203
00:13:43,322 --> 00:13:44,615
...about playing God.
204
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- You are changing something forever.
- Yeah.
205
00:13:48,494 --> 00:13:50,996
You are relaxed about that?
206
00:13:51,288 --> 00:13:53,123
I wouldn't say I'm relaxed about it.
207
00:14:10,808 --> 00:14:14,061
We are experiencing a revolution.
208
00:14:14,645 --> 00:14:16,480
CRISPR is a technology
209
00:14:16,564 --> 00:14:19,692
that has opened up our imagination.
210
00:14:33,581 --> 00:14:36,542
These zebrafish, they're amazing.
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00:14:36,876 --> 00:14:38,377
They have this ability
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00:14:38,460 --> 00:14:41,463
that if you cut their fin or their heart,
213
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,425
they will grow it back
214
00:14:44,508 --> 00:14:46,844
and it will work perfectly again.
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00:14:48,637 --> 00:14:51,682
We are now trying to move this
to humans.
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00:14:53,350 --> 00:14:57,563
What is it that we have to turn on and off
in our genomes
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00:14:57,646 --> 00:14:59,023
to have this ability?
218
00:15:00,983 --> 00:15:05,487
We are learning how to copy,
edit, paste DNA,
219
00:15:05,571 --> 00:15:08,741
the same thing you will do
in a word processor.
220
00:15:09,950 --> 00:15:13,579
That means rewriting the book of life.
221
00:15:15,831 --> 00:15:18,876
What we see here is a chicken embryo
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that has a normal appearance.
223
00:15:22,046 --> 00:15:24,548
It has a head. It has limbs.
224
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This experiment entailed
just adding one factor, one gene,
225
00:15:31,931 --> 00:15:33,849
and when you go a little in detail,
226
00:15:34,642 --> 00:15:38,228
you can see that there is something
growing here
227
00:15:38,312 --> 00:15:39,605
that is not normal.
228
00:15:40,356 --> 00:15:42,608
An entire new limb.
229
00:15:44,818 --> 00:15:49,156
We will not need to ask another person,
"Give me your heart."
230
00:15:49,490 --> 00:15:51,742
We will be able to regenerate
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00:15:51,992 --> 00:15:56,956
our hearts, our limbs,
or any other organ of our bodies.
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We are about to see the magic.
233
00:16:02,086 --> 00:16:03,671
This is tissue engineering.
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00:16:03,754 --> 00:16:07,257
Eventually, if your kidney is damaged,
235
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these cells can regrow your kidney.
236
00:16:11,095 --> 00:16:14,723
We can fix mutations,
can repair broken genes,
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can cure diseases.
238
00:16:16,558 --> 00:16:18,143
So, here we are.
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00:16:18,686 --> 00:16:21,146
I will target a neuron
240
00:16:21,230 --> 00:16:24,316
that will be edited
to engineer brain cells.
241
00:16:24,733 --> 00:16:27,319
CRISPR was originally
discovered in bacteria,
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00:16:27,403 --> 00:16:29,822
and now clearly works in human cells.
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00:16:29,905 --> 00:16:32,616
So, early-onset Alzheimer's,
cystic fibrosis,
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00:16:33,075 --> 00:16:35,828
sickle cell anemia,
could be diseases of the past.
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00:16:35,911 --> 00:16:38,622
And even HIV and cancer.
Think about that.
246
00:16:38,706 --> 00:16:40,541
By using the Cas9 system,
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00:16:40,624 --> 00:16:45,587
we can create cartilage
and cure or prevent arthritis in humans.
248
00:16:46,755 --> 00:16:51,802
We can turn on that gene
and help treat muscle dystrophy.
249
00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:55,431
Muscle size is also bigger.
250
00:16:56,265 --> 00:17:00,894
It is natural to ask,
"Can we make a better human being?"
251
00:17:01,854 --> 00:17:04,648
There are some ethical concerns
and implications with this.
252
00:17:04,732 --> 00:17:06,692
What are they,
and how will they be addressed?
253
00:17:06,775 --> 00:17:07,901
And where's the line?
254
00:17:07,985 --> 00:17:11,530
The potential to make a child smarter,
faster, bluer eyed...
255
00:17:11,613 --> 00:17:14,950
This really is something
that needs to be discussed.
256
00:17:15,367 --> 00:17:16,452
On the other hand...
257
00:17:17,661 --> 00:17:19,830
it is also important to realize
258
00:17:19,913 --> 00:17:22,875
that these technologies may open the door
259
00:17:22,958 --> 00:17:26,170
for rewriting the book of life
260
00:17:26,837 --> 00:17:30,132
in ways that we don't understand today.
261
00:17:32,426 --> 00:17:37,598
I think we all agree that it's good
to fix diseases.
262
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,434
I'm not sure we all agree
263
00:17:40,517 --> 00:17:42,644
on whether it's good or bad
264
00:17:43,395 --> 00:17:45,189
to try to enhance...
265
00:17:46,065 --> 00:17:47,274
our abilities...
266
00:17:48,484 --> 00:17:50,319
intellectual abilities,
267
00:17:50,402 --> 00:17:52,696
physical abilities,
268
00:17:53,655 --> 00:17:59,286
to try to create new functions for which
we don't even know today what they are.
269
00:18:06,043 --> 00:18:08,712
Has anybody...
First, has anybody ever heard of CRISPR?
270
00:18:08,796 --> 00:18:10,881
It's this genetic engineering technology.
271
00:18:11,256 --> 00:18:14,384
I'm... I'm curious to hear your opinions
on this stuff.
272
00:18:14,468 --> 00:18:17,012
We can take a gene from one organism,
put it in another,
273
00:18:17,096 --> 00:18:20,724
and make a medication that can save
a bunch of people's lives.
274
00:18:20,808 --> 00:18:22,768
And you start thinking about other things.
275
00:18:22,851 --> 00:18:25,813
Let's say they can genetic engineer
any organism they wanted.
276
00:18:25,896 --> 00:18:27,606
Does that kind of scare you?
277
00:18:27,689 --> 00:18:29,858
Everybody doing genetic engineering?
278
00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:33,237
Like, humans becoming smarter or stronger?
279
00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,782
Like, should we really be doing that?
Should we really be messing with it?
280
00:18:36,865 --> 00:18:39,868
'Cause then you get into
the whole Nazi, like...
281
00:18:40,536 --> 00:18:42,162
blonde hair, blue eyes... thing.
282
00:18:42,246 --> 00:18:46,333
Are you saying people would try
to create a master race or somebody...
283
00:18:46,416 --> 00:18:49,586
Just like, if you already have
a certain amount of power, then...
284
00:18:50,879 --> 00:18:52,941
I mean, I don't know how to explain
what I'm trying to say.
285
00:18:52,965 --> 00:18:55,217
No, so what you're trying to say, I think,
286
00:18:55,300 --> 00:18:57,386
is people who have a lot of money,
287
00:18:57,928 --> 00:19:00,848
they might use that money
288
00:19:00,931 --> 00:19:04,434
to genetically engineer themselves
way better than everybody else.
289
00:19:04,518 --> 00:19:05,518
Yeah.
290
00:19:05,727 --> 00:19:07,062
What if...
291
00:19:07,646 --> 00:19:09,815
that was democratized?
292
00:19:09,898 --> 00:19:12,693
What happens if somebody...
293
00:19:13,277 --> 00:19:17,573
came up with an easy method to use it
so that anybody could?
294
00:19:17,865 --> 00:19:19,700
I feel like that would just be
really chaotic.
295
00:19:19,783 --> 00:19:21,451
Like, it would be more fair,
296
00:19:21,535 --> 00:19:24,997
but it would lead to a lot of, like,
weird shit running around
297
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,583
that might fuck with the environment.
298
00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:30,210
Yeah, nice. Down. All right, good.
299
00:19:30,335 --> 00:19:32,375
Push down on that.
Just push down like this. Like...
300
00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:33,755
There you go. Now lift up.
301
00:19:33,839 --> 00:19:34,715
There you go.
302
00:19:34,798 --> 00:19:36,133
Stick your pipette down.
303
00:19:37,634 --> 00:19:42,222
So, we have a tube of bacteria
that we're gonna genetically engineer.
304
00:19:42,347 --> 00:19:43,557
One for each person.
305
00:19:44,766 --> 00:19:47,227
If you see little white dots
on your plate...
306
00:19:47,311 --> 00:19:50,063
it should take,
like, 24 to 48 hours...
307
00:19:50,147 --> 00:19:52,524
you know your genetic engineering
experiment worked.
308
00:19:58,030 --> 00:20:00,866
By people learning
how to computer program,
309
00:20:00,949 --> 00:20:04,953
they also learn how to be
a criminal hacker at the same time.
310
00:20:06,830 --> 00:20:08,790
Should we not teach people
computer programming
311
00:20:08,874 --> 00:20:12,544
because they can use the same knowledge
to do something bad?
312
00:20:32,022 --> 00:20:34,775
People are really afraid
of what they don't understand.
313
00:20:35,275 --> 00:20:37,986
Really afraid of change.
314
00:20:42,074 --> 00:20:44,034
I started out working at NASA.
315
00:20:45,077 --> 00:20:48,747
And at NASA,
I worked on engineering bacteria
316
00:20:48,830 --> 00:20:51,500
to help astronauts survive on Mars.
317
00:20:53,627 --> 00:20:56,380
I was hearing a lot about CRISPR,
318
00:20:57,089 --> 00:20:59,424
and I thought,
319
00:20:59,508 --> 00:21:01,760
"What if I could break this down?
320
00:21:02,552 --> 00:21:05,097
What if I could make a protocol
321
00:21:05,180 --> 00:21:08,767
that wouldn't have to be done in a lab,
but could be done in a home?"
322
00:21:15,774 --> 00:21:19,695
One big thing
that everybody is afraid of is that...
323
00:21:20,445 --> 00:21:24,116
only the rich and the powerful
will be able to use genetic engineering.
324
00:21:27,035 --> 00:21:29,204
If we can give access to everybody...
325
00:21:30,247 --> 00:21:33,250
it could completely change
the balance of power.
326
00:21:39,047 --> 00:21:42,426
So, in this box is everything you need
327
00:21:43,051 --> 00:21:45,929
to do your CRISPR experiment at home.
328
00:21:47,055 --> 00:21:50,726
Of course,
the most important part is the DNA.
329
00:21:50,809 --> 00:21:54,396
These are DNA that contain
all the CRISPR components,
330
00:21:54,479 --> 00:21:56,440
replicated in bacteria.
331
00:21:57,858 --> 00:22:00,027
We got some plastic tubes.
332
00:22:00,902 --> 00:22:02,404
We got some gloves.
333
00:22:02,487 --> 00:22:05,240
This is nutrients
for the bacteria to grow on.
334
00:22:07,576 --> 00:22:10,370
Bacteria have been used
for lots of amazing things.
335
00:22:10,454 --> 00:22:12,539
Drugs, like insulin,
336
00:22:12,622 --> 00:22:14,416
or anti-cancer agents.
337
00:22:17,836 --> 00:22:20,297
The kit comes with an example experiment
338
00:22:21,131 --> 00:22:23,342
to engineer these bacteria
339
00:22:23,425 --> 00:22:26,553
to survive
in a non-hospitable environment.
340
00:22:27,804 --> 00:22:30,682
You're changing one single protein.
341
00:22:32,726 --> 00:22:36,104
Sometimes that's all it takes
to give somebody superpowers.
342
00:22:37,439 --> 00:22:39,566
But people can do much more.
343
00:22:40,442 --> 00:22:42,903
We have advanced engineering guides,
344
00:22:42,986 --> 00:22:46,490
if people wanna do something else
than what's included with the kit.
345
00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:05,509
We're here to discuss
the science and ethics
346
00:23:05,592 --> 00:23:07,886
of genetically-engineered human DNA.
347
00:23:07,969 --> 00:23:11,348
It is rare that prominent members
of the scientific community
348
00:23:11,473 --> 00:23:14,935
come together to warn our leaders
of a technological breakthrough
349
00:23:15,018 --> 00:23:17,270
that could change the future of mankind.
350
00:23:17,354 --> 00:23:21,441
If genetic modifications are made
to so-called germline cells...
351
00:23:21,566 --> 00:23:23,026
sperm, eggs, embryos...
352
00:23:23,110 --> 00:23:26,780
then the modifications will be
carried forward to future generations,
353
00:23:26,863 --> 00:23:30,242
which has implications
that we need to carefully consider.
354
00:23:30,325 --> 00:23:34,162
Dr. Doudna, you were one of the developers
of this new technology.
355
00:23:34,246 --> 00:23:36,706
When did you start
being concerned about that?
356
00:23:36,790 --> 00:23:41,586
I think we've seen now
this technology is... is very democratic
357
00:23:41,670 --> 00:23:43,213
and very simple to employ.
358
00:23:43,296 --> 00:23:47,426
The concerns we will have
is that countries will see this as,
359
00:23:47,968 --> 00:23:49,761
"Oh, my God,
it might be terribly unethical,
360
00:23:49,845 --> 00:23:53,598
but it gives us a leg up,
uh, militarily or economically."
361
00:23:54,641 --> 00:23:59,020
Can you even list the countries that,
within five years,
362
00:23:59,104 --> 00:24:00,647
could be where we are now?
363
00:24:00,730 --> 00:24:04,067
I'm not sure that it even requires,
um, countries.
364
00:24:04,151 --> 00:24:08,613
It's individuals who have access
to the, um... capacity.
365
00:24:09,364 --> 00:24:11,783
If we should see
366
00:24:12,367 --> 00:24:15,120
an element get outside the bounds,
367
00:24:16,079 --> 00:24:17,372
can we do anything?
368
00:25:14,930 --> 00:25:16,306
Sodium tetraborate,
369
00:25:16,389 --> 00:25:18,058
magnesium chloride,
370
00:25:18,141 --> 00:25:19,434
yeast extract.
371
00:25:19,809 --> 00:25:21,895
These are some chemicals from Josiah.
372
00:25:23,563 --> 00:25:24,773
And some bacteria...
373
00:25:26,358 --> 00:25:27,651
for stuff.
374
00:25:30,445 --> 00:25:33,031
So the nice thing is that
you can get things
375
00:25:33,114 --> 00:25:35,992
that you wouldn't necessarily get
from a bigger supplier.
376
00:25:38,745 --> 00:25:40,622
They wouldn't send it
to a regular person.
377
00:25:41,706 --> 00:25:43,792
You don't have to have,
like, a business license
378
00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:45,460
and... and all this sort of stuff.
379
00:25:46,545 --> 00:25:49,506
And then of course, it's, like,
a tenth of the price.
380
00:25:50,423 --> 00:25:52,509
This is one of the... the coolest things.
381
00:25:53,552 --> 00:25:56,346
This is a bioluminescent rat.
He's part firefly.
382
00:25:56,429 --> 00:25:58,640
He was genetically engineered
with firefly genes
383
00:25:58,723 --> 00:26:00,141
to give him the ability to glow.
384
00:26:01,059 --> 00:26:02,394
He just runs around...
385
00:26:03,144 --> 00:26:04,563
like a little rat light bulb.
386
00:26:04,646 --> 00:26:05,939
Here's a bunch of them.
387
00:26:06,439 --> 00:26:10,151
Big labs use green fluorescent proteins
from jellyfish
388
00:26:10,819 --> 00:26:12,445
as a signal that their test worked.
389
00:26:16,157 --> 00:26:17,325
If I can do that,
390
00:26:18,368 --> 00:26:20,870
successfully move a gene
from a bacteria to a dog,
391
00:26:22,205 --> 00:26:24,499
it opens up a whole bunch of options
there never were.
392
00:26:41,224 --> 00:26:43,184
Okay. So, Leonardo da Vinci
393
00:26:43,268 --> 00:26:46,813
was a painter, a composer,
a mathematician.
394
00:26:46,896 --> 00:26:48,440
He invented things.
395
00:26:48,898 --> 00:26:50,275
He was born out of wedlock
396
00:26:50,358 --> 00:26:51,901
and he was born into poverty,
397
00:26:51,985 --> 00:26:53,111
so he did...
398
00:26:53,820 --> 00:26:56,448
overcome a lot of things, too.
399
00:26:58,074 --> 00:27:00,577
My favorite da Vinci invention was
400
00:27:01,536 --> 00:27:03,413
the robotic knight.
401
00:27:03,496 --> 00:27:07,500
Okay. So it's the first,
like, humanoid robot.
402
00:27:07,584 --> 00:27:09,085
Yeah, humanoid automaton.
403
00:27:09,878 --> 00:27:13,590
He was, um, like 500 years
ahead of his time in some cases.
404
00:27:13,673 --> 00:27:14,841
Mm-hmm.
405
00:27:15,717 --> 00:27:16,968
"A successful artist,
406
00:27:17,052 --> 00:27:19,387
Leonardo was given permission
to dissect human corpses
407
00:27:19,471 --> 00:27:22,390
at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova
in Florence."
408
00:27:22,474 --> 00:27:24,809
What are you trying to...
What are you trying to make?
409
00:27:25,810 --> 00:27:28,313
So, I'm gonna make a game.
410
00:27:28,605 --> 00:27:32,442
Doesn't have to be complicated,
but you have to make it from code.
411
00:27:43,536 --> 00:27:44,788
Come all the way around.
412
00:27:45,372 --> 00:27:46,790
Good girl. Pet her.
413
00:27:47,165 --> 00:27:48,249
Tell her "good girl."
414
00:27:49,042 --> 00:27:51,169
- Good girl. Tell her.
- Good girl.
415
00:27:51,544 --> 00:27:52,671
- Good girl.
- Good girl.
416
00:27:53,963 --> 00:27:55,563
Sebastian, can you bring the puppy over?
417
00:27:57,634 --> 00:27:59,511
Grab him by the collar,
and let's just walk.
418
00:27:59,594 --> 00:28:00,594
There you go.
419
00:28:04,391 --> 00:28:06,935
Gonna have to work with him
to get his prey drive up good.
420
00:28:09,688 --> 00:28:12,941
Have to give them a little bit of stress
and see how they process it.
421
00:28:15,694 --> 00:28:19,197
What I'm looking for is a dog
that's heat tolerant, large,
422
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,074
protective, intelligent,
423
00:28:21,491 --> 00:28:23,118
athletic, fast.
424
00:28:23,201 --> 00:28:24,244
Good girl.
425
00:28:25,203 --> 00:28:28,665
Dogs are something
we've been selectively modifying
426
00:28:28,748 --> 00:28:30,250
for like, 40,000 years.
427
00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:36,881
Some of the modifications
have been not useful for them or for us.
428
00:28:36,965 --> 00:28:38,591
So they're just, like, fashion.
429
00:28:39,134 --> 00:28:42,554
They have more genetic diseases
than any other species on the planet.
430
00:28:42,637 --> 00:28:44,639
That's our fault. That's something we did.
431
00:28:48,226 --> 00:28:50,520
It takes a long time
to make significant changes.
432
00:28:50,603 --> 00:28:53,064
In order to get ten generations
down the line,
433
00:28:53,148 --> 00:28:55,066
you'd have to take 150 years to do it.
434
00:28:55,859 --> 00:28:58,820
With genetic engineering,
you can do it in a generation or two.
435
00:28:59,154 --> 00:29:00,196
Come.
436
00:29:01,030 --> 00:29:05,201
Now we can just direct evolution
to fix the mistakes that we've made.
437
00:29:13,835 --> 00:29:15,879
We do want to communicate that
438
00:29:15,962 --> 00:29:19,007
gene editing is prone to genetic errors
439
00:29:19,632 --> 00:29:22,635
and that this could be
a real significant problem
440
00:29:22,719 --> 00:29:24,846
for food and environmental safety.
441
00:29:24,929 --> 00:29:29,392
I want the infographic
to be one that you can just look at
442
00:29:29,476 --> 00:29:34,564
and understand what gene editing is,
what is CRISPR.
443
00:29:36,107 --> 00:29:37,317
We can make it shorter.
444
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:39,527
I mean, fewer words are better, right?
445
00:29:41,029 --> 00:29:43,156
To allow people
446
00:29:43,239 --> 00:29:48,953
to play and experiment
with profoundly risky technologies
447
00:29:49,037 --> 00:29:53,541
is incredibly problematic,
and can put, not just individuals,
448
00:29:53,625 --> 00:29:56,795
but can put entire environments
and other people
449
00:29:56,878 --> 00:29:58,588
in very dangerous situations.
450
00:29:58,671 --> 00:30:02,675
Genetic engineering can affect
all the different realms of our lives,
451
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:05,470
everything from insects
and animals and food
452
00:30:05,553 --> 00:30:08,264
to bioweapons and... and pharmaceuticals.
453
00:30:08,348 --> 00:30:09,849
We know
454
00:30:09,933 --> 00:30:14,729
that genetically-engineered organisms
will escape from labs,
455
00:30:14,813 --> 00:30:19,400
whether it is a high security lab
or somebody's garage.
456
00:30:19,484 --> 00:30:23,613
It needs to have
extremely careful regulations.
457
00:30:23,696 --> 00:30:27,367
We need oversight
and we need to have safety assessments.
458
00:30:27,450 --> 00:30:29,994
We need to ask
all the questions beforehand,
459
00:30:30,078 --> 00:30:32,455
not watch the disasters happen later.
460
00:30:47,011 --> 00:30:48,596
Got a few nice insects.
461
00:31:01,025 --> 00:31:03,695
Yeah.
Got a couple of deer ticks sitting here.
462
00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:06,155
That one's a lone star tick.
463
00:31:06,739 --> 00:31:09,951
Five years from now,
that's all you'll see here.
464
00:31:10,034 --> 00:31:12,537
Diseases carried by ticks are on the rise,
465
00:31:12,620 --> 00:31:14,873
the annual total more than tripled.
466
00:31:14,956 --> 00:31:16,457
Why are we seeing this surge?
467
00:31:16,541 --> 00:31:19,794
Climate change plays into it.
So, the warmer the temperatures,
468
00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:21,838
the more the ticks can live
in northern climates
469
00:31:21,921 --> 00:31:23,673
that they normally
couldn't live in before.
470
00:31:23,756 --> 00:31:25,359
Lyme is sort of the most famous,
471
00:31:25,383 --> 00:31:27,927
but there are other diseases besides Lyme
that ticks carry.
472
00:31:28,011 --> 00:31:30,531
No question. There are
more and more of these diseases,
473
00:31:30,597 --> 00:31:32,724
and some of them, it can even be fatal,
474
00:31:32,807 --> 00:31:35,852
and some of them create
permanent neurologic deficits.
475
00:31:38,062 --> 00:31:39,230
In your story,
476
00:31:39,314 --> 00:31:41,983
you profile a young scientist
named Kevin Esvelt,
477
00:31:42,066 --> 00:31:44,319
and I want to quote a line
from your story:
478
00:31:44,402 --> 00:31:48,031
"Capable of fundamentally altering
the natural world."
479
00:31:48,114 --> 00:31:51,576
I mean, that is
a pretty extraordinary set of ambitions.
480
00:31:52,827 --> 00:31:57,123
It's a tremendously energetic
and ambitious idea.
481
00:31:58,666 --> 00:32:01,878
You report on a particular
experiment they're running in Nantucket,
482
00:32:01,961 --> 00:32:03,421
trying to target Lyme disease.
483
00:32:03,504 --> 00:32:05,465
Can you explain
what they're hoping to do there?
484
00:32:05,548 --> 00:32:06,382
Got one.
485
00:32:06,466 --> 00:32:10,386
The real reservoir for Lyme
is the white-footed mouse.
486
00:32:12,388 --> 00:32:14,057
So there are ticks on his ear.
487
00:32:14,140 --> 00:32:16,309
Means he's probably busily infecting them.
488
00:32:18,561 --> 00:32:24,025
Kevin Esvelt said,
"Gee, let's rewrite the DNA of the mouse
489
00:32:24,108 --> 00:32:26,903
so that it is resistant to the Lyme tick,
490
00:32:26,986 --> 00:32:29,697
so when a Lyme tick bites it,
it doesn't matter."
491
00:32:30,740 --> 00:32:32,992
But when you're talking about editing DNA,
492
00:32:33,076 --> 00:32:35,119
you're talking about changing a species.
493
00:32:35,203 --> 00:32:37,080
And that's not a minor thing.
494
00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:41,000
That's a fundamental, powerful choice.
495
00:32:42,877 --> 00:32:46,381
So, these mice were vaccinated,
and so they should be immune.
496
00:32:46,464 --> 00:32:47,966
That's the hope.
497
00:32:48,049 --> 00:32:51,260
The hope is we'd be able to make mice
that actually kill ticks that bite them.
498
00:32:52,261 --> 00:32:55,473
If we can make any tick
that bites a mouse die,
499
00:32:56,015 --> 00:32:57,725
it's not gonna transmit anything.
500
00:32:58,267 --> 00:33:01,896
It will disrupt the transmission cycle
of every tick-borne disease.
501
00:33:02,730 --> 00:33:05,733
And by encoding that
in the genome of the mice,
502
00:33:05,817 --> 00:33:07,777
we could ensure
that all of their descendants
503
00:33:07,860 --> 00:33:09,529
would be similarly immune to ticks.
504
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,535
You say that CRISPR
could enormously improve the world,
505
00:33:15,618 --> 00:33:18,246
but it could also endanger the world.
506
00:33:18,329 --> 00:33:20,581
How... How could gene editing
endanger the world?
507
00:33:26,087 --> 00:33:31,342
Because it is an attempt to alter
the shared environment,
508
00:33:31,426 --> 00:33:33,594
it's not like developing a new medicine.
509
00:33:33,678 --> 00:33:35,054
If we develop a new medicine,
510
00:33:35,138 --> 00:33:37,640
your doctor recommends it to you,
you can say no.
511
00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:39,726
You can opt out.
512
00:33:39,809 --> 00:33:43,855
But this is an environmental change.
513
00:33:43,938 --> 00:33:46,482
And so if the community decides to do it,
514
00:33:47,025 --> 00:33:48,901
you will be affected. You can't opt out.
515
00:33:48,985 --> 00:33:52,989
This is about figuring out how to develop
these kinds of technologies
516
00:33:53,865 --> 00:33:56,784
in a responsible manner,
and I think that means community control.
517
00:33:57,493 --> 00:33:58,493
So...
518
00:33:59,245 --> 00:34:04,125
they're talking about...
genetically modifying enough mice
519
00:34:04,208 --> 00:34:06,085
so that they could be released
520
00:34:06,169 --> 00:34:09,088
and mate with the mice that are here
and win out.
521
00:34:09,172 --> 00:34:13,342
And what you're doing is you're changing
the genetics of something forever,
522
00:34:13,718 --> 00:34:16,179
and you're changing an entire species
in an ecosystem,
523
00:34:16,262 --> 00:34:19,223
and I think it's kind of ridiculous
to pretend
524
00:34:19,307 --> 00:34:21,809
that we could figure out
what would happen all the time
525
00:34:21,893 --> 00:34:23,561
if you did something like that.
526
00:34:23,770 --> 00:34:26,564
Well, let me just point out
527
00:34:26,647 --> 00:34:29,192
that our current civilization
is not sustainable,
528
00:34:29,275 --> 00:34:30,860
absent continued advances.
529
00:34:31,444 --> 00:34:33,488
So we have no choice. We have to continue.
530
00:34:33,613 --> 00:34:36,783
The question is, as technology
becomes increasingly powerful...
531
00:34:38,034 --> 00:34:39,410
can we make wise decisions?
532
00:34:40,661 --> 00:34:42,622
But it is your environment and your call,
533
00:34:42,705 --> 00:34:44,665
and that is the only ethical way
to do this.
534
00:34:44,749 --> 00:34:46,751
And involving you from the get-go,
535
00:34:46,834 --> 00:34:49,045
that's why this is different, I think.
536
00:34:49,128 --> 00:34:51,672
What's a victory look like in a vote?
537
00:34:51,756 --> 00:34:53,716
Is it 51 percent?
538
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,177
Is it all the people
who live on the island?
539
00:34:56,260 --> 00:34:59,514
I mean, what is a democratic victory
540
00:34:59,597 --> 00:35:03,351
for changing the genetic essence of life
look like?
541
00:35:04,852 --> 00:35:06,604
Well, maybe this is a punt,
542
00:35:06,687 --> 00:35:09,482
but I'm not sure it's appropriate
for me to tell you
543
00:35:09,565 --> 00:35:11,150
how to run your government.
544
00:35:11,984 --> 00:35:12,984
A hand.
545
00:35:13,653 --> 00:35:15,780
We've talked about democracy,
546
00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:21,160
but in the future, the tools
might become direct and democratic.
547
00:35:21,244 --> 00:35:23,788
Maybe ten years or 30 years from now,
548
00:35:23,871 --> 00:35:27,458
a small group of people could decide
to make changes on their own.
549
00:35:27,542 --> 00:35:28,376
Right.
550
00:35:28,459 --> 00:35:29,502
Or next Tuesday.
551
00:35:29,710 --> 00:35:30,710
Uh...
552
00:35:31,170 --> 00:35:32,588
When... Anyone? Everyone?
553
00:35:46,269 --> 00:35:49,438
I really don't have
any moral or ethical concerns
554
00:35:49,522 --> 00:35:51,566
about the use of genetic engineering.
555
00:35:52,650 --> 00:35:54,068
I'm more concerned about
556
00:35:54,694 --> 00:35:56,404
the government regulating it
557
00:35:56,529 --> 00:35:59,198
so the people don't have access to it.
558
00:36:00,449 --> 00:36:02,118
If I could do anything,
559
00:36:02,201 --> 00:36:05,246
I'd definitely work on engineering humans.
560
00:36:07,165 --> 00:36:09,625
I think that's something
561
00:36:09,709 --> 00:36:12,378
that you'll probably start to see
in the next year.
562
00:36:12,962 --> 00:36:16,340
Biohackers actively working
on engineering...
563
00:36:17,633 --> 00:36:18,759
themselves.
564
00:36:39,071 --> 00:36:40,489
Frogs can use...
565
00:36:41,157 --> 00:36:43,242
almost all the same DNA elements
566
00:36:43,326 --> 00:36:44,785
that can be used in humans.
567
00:36:45,369 --> 00:36:48,414
So they're a great way to prototype
568
00:36:48,497 --> 00:36:51,209
things like changes in muscle growth
569
00:36:51,292 --> 00:36:53,711
or different performance things.
570
00:36:56,839 --> 00:37:01,260
These are the frogs we're going to inject
with the gene therapy.
571
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,684
Scientists actually don't
anesthetize the frogs
572
00:37:08,768 --> 00:37:11,187
when they do these experiments.
573
00:37:11,270 --> 00:37:12,313
Look at that guy.
574
00:37:12,396 --> 00:37:13,415
- Trying to escape!
- Oh, no.
575
00:37:13,439 --> 00:37:15,775
They're so slippery. Oh, no!
576
00:37:15,858 --> 00:37:17,693
Oh, no, no, no!
577
00:37:18,152 --> 00:37:20,446
These frogs are so hard to grab.
578
00:37:20,529 --> 00:37:21,906
It's pretty entertaining.
579
00:37:23,324 --> 00:37:25,284
You have the knocked-out frog.
580
00:37:28,162 --> 00:37:32,416
This is a solution of DNA, the IGF-1 gene.
581
00:37:32,500 --> 00:37:35,461
This should cause the frogs
to increase their growth
582
00:37:35,544 --> 00:37:38,130
in size and muscular strength.
583
00:37:38,214 --> 00:37:39,966
There we go. Boo.
584
00:37:40,299 --> 00:37:41,926
All right, Esther, for you.
585
00:37:51,936 --> 00:37:56,732
We'll see, uh, what the results
are looking like after five or six times
586
00:37:56,816 --> 00:37:58,276
or three months or something.
587
00:38:10,496 --> 00:38:13,582
Most scientists working on their own
588
00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:17,169
can't reliably anticipate the consequences
of what they're doing.
589
00:38:19,255 --> 00:38:20,381
Six years ago,
590
00:38:20,464 --> 00:38:23,634
no one imagined that we would have a tool
591
00:38:23,718 --> 00:38:26,137
that would work
in so many different species.
592
00:38:27,638 --> 00:38:29,557
And now we're making changes
593
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,144
that we are, for the first time,
contemplating releasing into the wild
594
00:38:33,227 --> 00:38:36,063
where they'll evolve
outside of our control.
595
00:38:39,358 --> 00:38:43,904
The prospect of a wave
of genetically-modified anything
596
00:38:44,697 --> 00:38:46,907
sweeping generation after generation,
597
00:38:46,991 --> 00:38:48,534
geographically expanding
598
00:38:48,617 --> 00:38:50,536
into city, country...
599
00:38:51,287 --> 00:38:52,496
across continents...
600
00:38:53,497 --> 00:38:54,915
is utterly terrifying.
601
00:38:55,583 --> 00:38:57,543
Which is why I have nightmares
about fruit flies.
602
00:39:00,046 --> 00:39:01,380
Yellow engineered flies.
603
00:39:02,590 --> 00:39:03,883
They're everywhere.
604
00:39:04,884 --> 00:39:07,261
People are screaming in the background,
605
00:39:07,762 --> 00:39:10,806
and I'm overwhelmed by horror
and then I always wake up.
606
00:39:12,933 --> 00:39:15,519
Given the stakes for this field
607
00:39:15,603 --> 00:39:17,646
and possibly for all of biotechnology,
608
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:21,275
perhaps it's not unreasonable
that I have such nightmares.
609
00:39:21,525 --> 00:39:23,778
Good! I'm glad you do.
610
00:39:23,861 --> 00:39:27,448
Because that is the kind of caution
you want from someone in his position.
611
00:39:27,531 --> 00:39:29,992
He clearly doesn't want to end up
in a limerick that goes,
612
00:39:30,076 --> 00:39:33,454
"There once was a man from Nantucket
who gathered some mice in a bucket.
613
00:39:33,579 --> 00:39:35,623
He altered those mice,
engineered with a splice,
614
00:39:35,706 --> 00:39:37,625
and now all the seagulls are dead."
615
00:39:40,836 --> 00:39:42,396
Things can absolutely go wrong.
616
00:39:42,421 --> 00:39:45,021
We are two-year-olds when it comes
to understanding the ecosystem.
617
00:39:47,385 --> 00:39:50,388
So we want to know,
do mice from over there come over here?
618
00:39:50,471 --> 00:39:52,264
Do you think they come along that sandbar?
619
00:39:52,348 --> 00:39:56,018
I'd be stunned if there wasn't
some amount of mouse gene flow,
620
00:39:56,102 --> 00:39:57,144
at least some years.
621
00:39:59,355 --> 00:40:01,524
When you're engineering a system
you don't understand,
622
00:40:01,607 --> 00:40:03,192
you make the smallest possible change
623
00:40:03,275 --> 00:40:05,319
that you think has a chance
of solving the problem
624
00:40:05,403 --> 00:40:06,654
before you scale up.
625
00:40:07,363 --> 00:40:11,492
What we need is a field trial
on a small, mostly uninhabited island
626
00:40:12,159 --> 00:40:13,828
and seeing what happens.
627
00:40:14,787 --> 00:40:16,306
I was checking to see if the...
628
00:40:16,330 --> 00:40:18,308
- There you go.
- Just need to lift it up a bit.
629
00:40:18,332 --> 00:40:20,042
I'm sure I can get this thing working.
630
00:40:24,713 --> 00:40:26,966
The released mice
would be genetically altered.
631
00:40:27,049 --> 00:40:28,092
But in this case,
632
00:40:28,175 --> 00:40:30,845
our proposal would involve
keeping them 100 percent mouse.
633
00:40:30,928 --> 00:40:33,514
That is, they would not have
any foreign DNA from other species.
634
00:40:33,597 --> 00:40:36,725
Their immunity is passed on
to their next generation?
635
00:40:37,101 --> 00:40:39,854
Yes, we would take the genes
that encode those antibodies
636
00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:41,647
and put them into the germline,
637
00:40:41,730 --> 00:40:44,233
that is the cells that will make
sperm and eggs of the mice,
638
00:40:44,316 --> 00:40:46,652
so they will be inherited by offspring.
639
00:40:46,735 --> 00:40:49,947
I'm wondering if you can point
to a single case in history
640
00:40:50,030 --> 00:40:54,076
where we've brought a new species
to an island,
641
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:55,619
and the results turned out...
642
00:40:56,787 --> 00:40:57,787
beneficial.
643
00:40:58,164 --> 00:41:01,459
There... There are lots of cases
where it turned out poorly. Absolutely.
644
00:41:01,834 --> 00:41:03,544
But we've done this in lab mice,
645
00:41:04,211 --> 00:41:05,211
and it works great.
646
00:41:05,254 --> 00:41:06,714
It seems like this step...
647
00:41:07,256 --> 00:41:10,718
is skipping many other organic steps
that are reversible,
648
00:41:10,801 --> 00:41:12,887
whereas this one is irreversible.
649
00:41:12,970 --> 00:41:15,473
And I think that to rush this
in the next two months
650
00:41:15,556 --> 00:41:17,933
would be a huge mistake,
one we can't reverse.
651
00:41:18,017 --> 00:41:20,352
I mean, if we have to wait,
and it delays things,
652
00:41:20,436 --> 00:41:21,812
then it delays things, right?
653
00:41:21,896 --> 00:41:23,915
There's a lot of things
that could delay this project.
654
00:41:23,939 --> 00:41:25,649
The point is solving the problem...
655
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,652
in a way that the community
is comfortable with.
656
00:41:28,986 --> 00:41:32,072
It's more important to do it right,
so let's do it right.
657
00:41:38,954 --> 00:41:41,194
If we don't intervene
in many existing problems,
658
00:41:41,248 --> 00:41:42,625
they will just get worse.
659
00:41:45,085 --> 00:41:47,213
Yes, there's going to be opposition.
660
00:41:47,630 --> 00:41:48,923
And maybe that's discouraging,
661
00:41:49,006 --> 00:41:51,342
but I don't think
there's any way to do anything
662
00:41:51,425 --> 00:41:52,885
that would work in the long run
663
00:41:52,968 --> 00:41:55,679
without the consent
of the communities who live there.
664
00:41:57,264 --> 00:42:01,685
So a large part of what I'm doing
is trying to come up with a new way
665
00:42:01,769 --> 00:42:05,189
of developing these technologies
hand-in-hand with the communities,
666
00:42:05,272 --> 00:42:07,816
in fact,
driven by the communities directly,
667
00:42:08,484 --> 00:42:09,777
because...
668
00:42:09,860 --> 00:42:13,447
an unethical group of researchers
could conceivably do it
669
00:42:13,531 --> 00:42:15,407
on their own without asking anyone.
670
00:42:15,491 --> 00:42:17,535
It would be discovered,
people would be outraged,
671
00:42:17,618 --> 00:42:22,081
and then that would be the end
of that technology for a very long time.
672
00:42:22,164 --> 00:42:23,249
All benefits lost.
673
00:42:25,626 --> 00:42:27,670
Trust is in short supply in our society,
674
00:42:27,753 --> 00:42:31,966
and further damaging social confidence
in technologies
675
00:42:32,049 --> 00:42:34,885
is something we should be
deeply, deeply afraid of.
676
00:42:36,345 --> 00:42:39,515
What do you do when someone disagrees
with something you want to do,
677
00:42:39,598 --> 00:42:41,934
and you think it's right,
and you're very convinced,
678
00:42:42,017 --> 00:42:43,519
but somebody disagrees with you?
679
00:42:43,602 --> 00:42:44,687
How do you handle it?
680
00:42:44,770 --> 00:42:46,855
I'm not saying that we humans have
681
00:42:46,939 --> 00:42:48,941
great ways of overcoming
disagreements like that.
682
00:42:49,024 --> 00:42:52,027
But at least the debate
needs to happen in public,
683
00:42:52,111 --> 00:42:54,113
and then, hopefully,
we can come to a decision.
684
00:42:54,196 --> 00:42:55,281
Maybe it will be wise.
685
00:42:55,364 --> 00:42:57,866
I will be watching your experiment
with great interest.
686
00:42:57,950 --> 00:42:59,743
What if it shuts down the work?
687
00:43:00,119 --> 00:43:02,037
What if Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard,
688
00:43:02,121 --> 00:43:05,958
these communities you're working with,
say no?
689
00:43:06,041 --> 00:43:07,918
Then we walk away. We have to walk away.
690
00:43:11,171 --> 00:43:16,844
I think science fosters a community
of protected, coddled individuals.
691
00:43:17,177 --> 00:43:18,177
Um...
692
00:43:19,638 --> 00:43:21,015
And they're super risk-averse.
693
00:43:22,641 --> 00:43:24,561
People always have
these stupid ethical arguments
694
00:43:24,602 --> 00:43:26,604
about whether people
should use CRISPR or not,
695
00:43:26,687 --> 00:43:29,607
but, like, it's pointless
if nobody's using it.
696
00:43:34,028 --> 00:43:35,863
Welcome to Synbiobeta 2017.
697
00:43:35,946 --> 00:43:38,365
He helped initiate
the Human Genome Project...
698
00:43:38,449 --> 00:43:41,952
I'm tired of all this stuff
just being, like, fiction, and...
699
00:43:42,036 --> 00:43:44,913
I'm tired of going to conferences
like this, and it's boring as shit,
700
00:43:44,997 --> 00:43:46,665
where a bunch of people get up there
701
00:43:46,749 --> 00:43:48,792
and talk about bullshit
that doesn't affect anybody.
702
00:43:48,876 --> 00:43:53,130
The world before us
is almost science fiction-like.
703
00:43:57,926 --> 00:43:59,595
As you could probably already assume,
704
00:43:59,678 --> 00:44:03,182
this workshop will be a bit different
from the rest of the conference.
705
00:44:03,265 --> 00:44:04,558
I gotta spice it up a little
706
00:44:04,642 --> 00:44:09,563
by seducing you
with some free human CRISPR DNA.
707
00:44:09,647 --> 00:44:12,691
My whole goal and purpose is to...
708
00:44:13,108 --> 00:44:15,110
make this technology accessible now.
709
00:44:15,819 --> 00:44:17,738
Basically, no matter what it takes.
710
00:44:17,821 --> 00:44:19,156
Oh, you can come in. Feel free.
711
00:44:21,241 --> 00:44:26,372
Now, if I want to modify myself
with CRISPR, what do I need to know?
712
00:44:26,789 --> 00:44:28,248
You don't even need to search far.
713
00:44:28,582 --> 00:44:30,459
There are actually websites out there.
714
00:44:30,542 --> 00:44:33,837
You can type in the name of a gene
and press enter,
715
00:44:33,921 --> 00:44:36,340
so that the Cas9 enzyme can cut
716
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:38,759
in your genome at this exact place,
717
00:44:38,842 --> 00:44:41,220
and you could modify yourself with CRISPR.
718
00:44:42,846 --> 00:44:45,474
This DNA right here
modifies the myostatin gene.
719
00:44:45,557 --> 00:44:50,896
I don't know if you've ever seen those,
like, jacked dogs and pigs
720
00:44:50,979 --> 00:44:53,982
that they always have in the media
with CRISPR, right?
721
00:44:54,066 --> 00:44:55,651
So, myostatin knockouts
722
00:44:55,734 --> 00:44:58,612
cause you to have more muscles
and more strength.
723
00:44:59,154 --> 00:45:01,407
If you basically took his DNA
and put it on your skin,
724
00:45:01,490 --> 00:45:05,160
it would change the genetic material
of your cells.
725
00:45:05,244 --> 00:45:06,912
That's all it takes.
726
00:45:06,995 --> 00:45:08,414
Maybe that's scary.
727
00:45:08,497 --> 00:45:09,373
I don't know.
728
00:45:09,456 --> 00:45:11,083
To me, it sounds really awesome.
729
00:45:12,084 --> 00:45:14,044
- Yeah?
- What about off-target activity?
730
00:45:14,086 --> 00:45:15,546
There's off-target activity with...
731
00:45:15,921 --> 00:45:18,441
People are complaining about
off-target activity and it's, like,
732
00:45:18,507 --> 00:45:20,884
I go outside in San Francisco,
and I breathe in something,
733
00:45:20,968 --> 00:45:22,219
and it's modifying my genome.
734
00:45:22,302 --> 00:45:25,180
I smoke a cigarette,
it's modifying my genome.
735
00:45:25,514 --> 00:45:29,643
It actually modifies my genome enough
that I can literally grow another organ.
736
00:45:29,727 --> 00:45:31,645
Right? Tumor or something like that.
737
00:45:31,729 --> 00:45:35,107
Oh, totally okay.
The FDA doesn't regulate that shit.
738
00:45:35,190 --> 00:45:39,945
The sun. UV light is modifying your genome
when you're out there.
739
00:45:40,028 --> 00:45:42,948
You know? Nobody complains
about those off-target effects.
740
00:45:43,407 --> 00:45:44,825
So what's... what's stopping us?
741
00:45:44,908 --> 00:45:48,996
What's stopping us from just all
putting this in our shot glasses
742
00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:50,664
and making ourselves jacked right now?
743
00:45:51,123 --> 00:45:53,751
So, have you tried it?
What's holding you back?
744
00:45:53,834 --> 00:45:56,587
What's holding me back?
745
00:45:56,670 --> 00:45:58,964
Are you suggesting maybe I should try it?
746
00:45:59,047 --> 00:46:01,049
Well, isn't that
what you're suggesting we do?
747
00:46:01,133 --> 00:46:02,801
All... All right, let's do it.
748
00:46:06,263 --> 00:46:08,849
What we got here is some, uh, DNA
749
00:46:09,475 --> 00:46:13,687
mixed with, uh, PEI,
which is a polycationic polymer.
750
00:46:14,229 --> 00:46:15,481
This is a syringe.
751
00:46:29,953 --> 00:46:31,538
All right. There we go.
752
00:46:35,375 --> 00:46:37,252
I don't know why people don't try it.
753
00:46:37,336 --> 00:46:39,797
The amount of cells it's gonna modify
will be pretty small.
754
00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:42,090
Probably take a number injections
over a period of time
755
00:46:42,174 --> 00:46:44,760
to actually see a significant effect
on my body.
756
00:46:44,843 --> 00:46:46,613
- Thank you very much.
- If the efficiency's low,
757
00:46:46,637 --> 00:46:47,930
you can just make more.
758
00:46:48,013 --> 00:46:50,599
So like, this DNA, you put it in bacteria,
759
00:46:50,682 --> 00:46:55,312
tomorrow, you're gonna have ten times,
100 times, 1,000 times as much.
760
00:46:55,395 --> 00:46:56,772
No, no, no, take it.
761
00:46:56,855 --> 00:46:59,650
I want people to have a choice. Right?
762
00:46:59,733 --> 00:47:02,069
Because it's not gonna be me who like...
763
00:47:02,152 --> 00:47:04,952
Probably not gonna be any of these
big companies that change the world.
764
00:47:04,988 --> 00:47:08,283
Like, it's gonna be some dude
in his apartment and garage
765
00:47:08,367 --> 00:47:11,078
who none of us even know
the name of right now, right?
766
00:47:11,745 --> 00:47:13,956
That's the person
that's gonna change the world.
767
00:47:14,039 --> 00:47:15,541
"Biohackers," they're called.
768
00:47:15,624 --> 00:47:18,877
Basically, in their bedroom,
they can inject themselves.
769
00:47:19,253 --> 00:47:23,006
So we have somebody like Josiah Zayner
who's a former NASA scientist.
770
00:47:23,090 --> 00:47:25,342
I mean, he edits the gene
into his muscles.
771
00:47:25,425 --> 00:47:27,386
Biohacker Josiah Zayner...
772
00:47:29,888 --> 00:47:31,056
Josiah Zayner...
773
00:47:31,139 --> 00:47:33,517
He is injecting himself with DNA.
774
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:35,602
Visante said his stunt was reckless,
775
00:47:35,686 --> 00:47:37,686
and could it could have led
to severe consequences,
776
00:47:37,729 --> 00:47:40,649
like his own immune system
attacking his actual muscles.
777
00:47:40,732 --> 00:47:45,070
If there's a possibility to take out
mutations that cause cancer,
778
00:47:45,153 --> 00:47:46,280
why can't we test it?
779
00:47:46,363 --> 00:47:48,156
Guy's just trying
to get his muscles bigger.
780
00:47:48,240 --> 00:47:49,783
He makes some pretty wild statements.
781
00:47:49,867 --> 00:47:53,495
He argued that using CRISPR
should ideally be like downloading an app.
782
00:47:53,579 --> 00:47:57,040
Why can't people use this technology
783
00:47:57,124 --> 00:47:59,835
without necessarily
completely knowing how it works?
784
00:48:00,210 --> 00:48:03,005
Oh, oh, oh...
I can answer that one for you.
785
00:48:03,088 --> 00:48:05,465
Because it could be dangerous
and someone could get hurt.
786
00:48:07,092 --> 00:48:09,803
Biohacking, right,
or whatever you want to call that,
787
00:48:10,345 --> 00:48:14,141
is... is a problem that doesn't have
an easy solution,
788
00:48:14,224 --> 00:48:15,767
if you even think of it as a problem.
789
00:48:15,851 --> 00:48:17,811
We ordered a do-it-yourself CRISPR kit.
790
00:48:17,895 --> 00:48:19,771
It just arrived in the mail.
791
00:48:19,855 --> 00:48:21,481
I've decided to take up biohacking,
792
00:48:21,565 --> 00:48:23,692
which is amateur genetic engineering.
793
00:48:23,775 --> 00:48:24,985
We have a package!
794
00:48:25,068 --> 00:48:27,696
We got it from The, dash, Odin...
795
00:48:27,779 --> 00:48:31,366
The king of the Odin Project.
Odin himself, Josiah Zayner.
796
00:48:31,450 --> 00:48:32,868
What is a biohacker?
797
00:48:32,951 --> 00:48:35,287
Somebody who's doing science
non-traditionally,
798
00:48:35,370 --> 00:48:38,665
so outside of like a big corporation
or an academic lab.
799
00:48:38,749 --> 00:48:41,877
CRISPR, genetic modification...
I think it's the new frontier.
800
00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:44,004
You injected a modified gene, myostatin.
801
00:48:44,087 --> 00:48:45,213
Here's a dog.
802
00:48:45,297 --> 00:48:47,358
I wanna look like the dog on the left.
803
00:48:47,382 --> 00:48:49,760
Yeah, it wasn't so much
that I wanted muscle.
804
00:48:49,843 --> 00:48:52,971
- It was just like a good proof of concept.
- You were trying to get beefed up.
805
00:48:53,055 --> 00:48:57,100
I'm really just focused on getting stuff
out to people, like DNA literacy.
806
00:48:57,184 --> 00:48:58,518
- I want people...
- Yes! Yes!
807
00:48:58,602 --> 00:49:01,730
...to understand how this stuff works,
so then we have our next generation
808
00:49:01,813 --> 00:49:04,274
of scientists and medical doctors
809
00:49:04,399 --> 00:49:07,361
who are just way beyond
what any of us can do right now.
810
00:49:07,444 --> 00:49:09,613
Everyone says, "Any idiot can do CRISPR."
811
00:49:09,696 --> 00:49:12,741
I'm not sure about any idiot,
but it is easy.
812
00:49:12,824 --> 00:49:14,910
People using a genetic chemistry set
813
00:49:14,993 --> 00:49:18,288
and doing that in their basement is
something we don't have control over.
814
00:49:18,372 --> 00:49:21,172
- It's not easy to regulate.
- This is illegal in some countries.
815
00:49:21,249 --> 00:49:22,727
- Germany, a good example.
- Yeah.
816
00:49:22,751 --> 00:49:24,878
You can go to jail
for using some of our kits.
817
00:49:24,962 --> 00:49:27,422
If I now add this tiny little droplet
818
00:49:27,506 --> 00:49:30,092
to this smush in this tube over here,
819
00:49:30,175 --> 00:49:31,385
I will go to jail.
820
00:49:31,468 --> 00:49:35,430
If the purpose is to perform
gene editing on bacteria,
821
00:49:35,514 --> 00:49:38,308
okay, you can make
bacteria phosphorescent.
822
00:49:38,392 --> 00:49:40,727
This is our glow-in-the-dark beer.
823
00:49:40,811 --> 00:49:43,647
But what are biohacking kits for,
824
00:49:43,730 --> 00:49:46,108
but for trying to
genetically modify individuals?
825
00:49:46,608 --> 00:49:49,152
He talks of being
in the midst of a genetic revolution.
826
00:49:49,236 --> 00:49:50,487
- He's right.
- He's right.
827
00:49:50,570 --> 00:49:52,447
He also goes on to say,
828
00:49:52,531 --> 00:49:55,033
"I think this is, like,
literally a new era of human beings.
829
00:49:55,117 --> 00:49:58,286
It's gonna create
a whole new species of humans."
830
00:49:59,830 --> 00:50:02,124
If you could give yourself
a DNA treatment
831
00:50:02,207 --> 00:50:05,127
to change something about you,
give yourself some kind of power
832
00:50:05,210 --> 00:50:07,504
or ability, what would the one thing be?
833
00:50:08,755 --> 00:50:11,883
We have these people here
who are talking about science fiction.
834
00:50:11,967 --> 00:50:13,343
The technology's out there,
835
00:50:13,427 --> 00:50:17,931
and a lot of it is becoming reality
right now and in the near future,
836
00:50:18,015 --> 00:50:19,867
and a lot of it's being prevented
by the government.
837
00:50:19,891 --> 00:50:22,978
The regulations in the US,
and kind of in the world,
838
00:50:23,061 --> 00:50:26,148
prevent genetic-engineering technology
from going forward.
839
00:50:26,356 --> 00:50:27,649
To me, that's kind of fucked up.
840
00:50:27,983 --> 00:50:29,276
Don't you want to be superhuman?
841
00:50:29,359 --> 00:50:31,611
Like, if I came to you tomorrow
and said, "Look,
842
00:50:31,695 --> 00:50:35,198
$500, I can genetically modify you
so you never have to work out again."
843
00:50:35,282 --> 00:50:36,575
Would you do it?
844
00:50:36,658 --> 00:50:39,828
Are there really any serious consequences
that could harm me?
845
00:50:39,911 --> 00:50:43,498
We don't know. There's relatively little
that we know about biology.
846
00:50:43,582 --> 00:50:45,625
But how...
how will we know if we don't do it?
847
00:50:45,709 --> 00:50:48,170
Well, that's why...
that's why people do clinical trials.
848
00:50:48,253 --> 00:50:50,630
But you can't do clinical trials
on healthy people.
849
00:50:50,714 --> 00:50:51,798
I just gotta go for this.
850
00:50:51,882 --> 00:50:54,259
In here is my skin tissue,
851
00:50:54,342 --> 00:50:57,846
which presumably has been
genetically engineered.
852
00:50:57,929 --> 00:51:00,599
There is a reason for oversight
853
00:51:00,682 --> 00:51:05,228
before things are permitted to be done
to human participants.
854
00:51:05,312 --> 00:51:08,607
This is just the first step,
but if this is possible...
855
00:51:08,690 --> 00:51:12,319
He's very relaxed about enhancements.
856
00:51:12,402 --> 00:51:14,029
You know, it gets back to the question
857
00:51:14,112 --> 00:51:18,366
of who decides and who regulates,
uh, such a... such a thing.
858
00:51:18,450 --> 00:51:20,786
There are still technical challenges
to work out,
859
00:51:20,869 --> 00:51:22,996
but we can see that this is coming.
860
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:27,209
Now you're introducing
a bioengineered organism into the wild.
861
00:51:28,293 --> 00:51:30,504
Doesn't seem very bioethical to me.
862
00:51:30,587 --> 00:51:32,005
You worry too much.
863
00:51:32,089 --> 00:51:33,757
I worry too much. Right.
864
00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:34,840
- Right.
- I don't know.
865
00:51:47,813 --> 00:51:49,648
The problem I ran into is...
866
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:52,776
uh, one of my males
has gone sterile on me,
867
00:51:52,859 --> 00:51:56,196
but I just got another dog brought in
from Texas who is much younger,
868
00:51:56,279 --> 00:51:58,365
but he doesn't quite like me yet.
869
00:51:58,448 --> 00:52:01,618
So, he still tries to eat me
when I get near him.
870
00:52:02,452 --> 00:52:05,580
I talked to one dog breeder
who found out, who's super excited,
871
00:52:05,997 --> 00:52:09,793
but I think some people are getting
weird ideas about what's going on.
872
00:52:09,876 --> 00:52:12,337
Just a bunch of crazy guys
tinkering in their basements
873
00:52:12,420 --> 00:52:14,673
trying weird shit,
don't know what the hell we're doing.
874
00:52:14,756 --> 00:52:16,925
I don't think
you can change anybody's mind.
875
00:52:17,175 --> 00:52:18,051
Right.
876
00:52:18,135 --> 00:52:20,595
And you're better off
just doing your... your stuff
877
00:52:20,679 --> 00:52:23,306
and trying to show people
through your work.
878
00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:27,102
Yeah. The only thing I would really like
is a bigger centrifuge.
879
00:52:27,185 --> 00:52:30,313
Send over a list
of all the stuff you need,
880
00:52:30,397 --> 00:52:34,401
and I'm sure we can get it out tomorrow
or Tuesday or something.
881
00:52:39,239 --> 00:52:42,492
When your great-grandfather
was a pig farmer
882
00:52:42,576 --> 00:52:45,620
and your grandfather was a welder
and so on,
883
00:52:45,704 --> 00:52:48,748
you don't get a whole lot of opportunity
to go to MIT.
884
00:52:49,416 --> 00:52:54,087
The scientists, um...
who are against DIY bio people,
885
00:52:54,171 --> 00:52:58,258
it's sort of a paternal kind of thing,
uh, where it's like,
886
00:52:58,341 --> 00:53:01,887
"Okay, these... these poor stupid people
don't know how to do anything,
887
00:53:01,970 --> 00:53:03,597
and they're just gonna hurt themselves."
888
00:53:06,016 --> 00:53:07,809
Science itself isn't something
889
00:53:07,893 --> 00:53:11,479
that they have a right
to claim ownership of.
890
00:53:20,155 --> 00:53:22,199
The dogs are very, very scent oriented,
891
00:53:23,033 --> 00:53:29,456
so the right smells
are really the whole procedure.
892
00:53:37,714 --> 00:53:39,299
Ah!
893
00:53:42,177 --> 00:53:43,178
He's camera shy.
894
00:53:50,518 --> 00:53:52,270
Biology's kind of a dirty job.
895
00:53:53,563 --> 00:53:56,483
I bet they don't teach that at MIT.
896
00:54:11,498 --> 00:54:15,043
I feel like, right now, a lot of fear
897
00:54:15,126 --> 00:54:18,338
is causing people
to push back against progress.
898
00:54:20,340 --> 00:54:22,342
It might terrify people
899
00:54:22,425 --> 00:54:26,012
because he's just doing it in his shed.
900
00:54:26,096 --> 00:54:28,098
So they just say,
"Just don't do it," full stop.
901
00:54:29,266 --> 00:54:32,394
But I think it's great
that we can take these ideas
902
00:54:32,978 --> 00:54:35,063
and manifest them.
903
00:54:36,606 --> 00:54:39,567
I don't find it terrifying at all
that people could...
904
00:54:40,652 --> 00:54:43,530
even alter themselves
to be whatever they want to be.
905
00:54:44,030 --> 00:54:47,409
It's on my hands. It landed on my hand.
906
00:54:48,451 --> 00:54:51,288
You know, why hem and haw
over whether it's...
907
00:54:52,414 --> 00:54:53,414
unnatural?
908
00:54:57,043 --> 00:55:01,840
I guess I don't feel like humanity
is to be stuck in the past.
909
00:55:02,716 --> 00:55:04,384
I want to go to the future
910
00:55:05,343 --> 00:55:06,343
where...
911
00:55:08,179 --> 00:55:09,764
people can be anything.
912
00:55:15,562 --> 00:55:17,439
This is a fluorescent microscope.
913
00:55:17,522 --> 00:55:20,567
It basically allows you to see
fluorescent things
914
00:55:21,234 --> 00:55:22,777
at the microscopic scale.
915
00:55:25,447 --> 00:55:28,825
If the DNA winds up inside the sperm,
then you can see it under the microscope.
916
00:55:28,908 --> 00:55:30,410
So if the sperm glow, then it works.
917
00:55:52,140 --> 00:55:53,266
There they are.
918
00:55:54,434 --> 00:55:56,144
Some of them are glowing super brightly.
919
00:56:02,859 --> 00:56:06,071
This gene started in a jellyfish
and wound up in a dog's sperm.
920
00:56:09,199 --> 00:56:10,199
That's exciting.
921
00:56:26,132 --> 00:56:27,372
Which one are these?
922
00:56:27,425 --> 00:56:30,428
So these are the ones
that have undergone the treatment.
923
00:56:31,137 --> 00:56:32,514
We are going to compare them
924
00:56:32,597 --> 00:56:35,308
to the mice that have not undergone
any treatment.
925
00:56:38,603 --> 00:56:40,230
This mouse is very old.
926
00:56:41,064 --> 00:56:44,984
You can see the curvature of the spine
that we see in old people.
927
00:56:47,654 --> 00:56:49,948
Now,
this is the sibling of the mouse.
928
00:56:50,532 --> 00:56:53,118
They are born on the same day
from the same mother.
929
00:56:54,035 --> 00:56:57,831
The only difference is this mouse
has been genetically engineered
930
00:56:57,914 --> 00:57:01,918
to express four genes
that are normally expressed in stem cells
931
00:57:02,001 --> 00:57:03,294
and in the embryo.
932
00:57:03,378 --> 00:57:06,089
If you turn them on in an old individual,
933
00:57:06,506 --> 00:57:09,175
they can make the cells much younger.
934
00:57:09,759 --> 00:57:12,804
And we can see this mouse
is much more active,
935
00:57:12,887 --> 00:57:15,515
much healthier in gross appearance,
936
00:57:16,433 --> 00:57:20,061
and doesn't have the curvature of spine
that we saw in the other mouse.
937
00:57:20,645 --> 00:57:23,606
We can clearly see
the difference between them.
938
00:57:26,151 --> 00:57:27,444
They are the same age.
939
00:57:29,154 --> 00:57:30,738
This is wonderful.
940
00:57:31,656 --> 00:57:35,076
What is the average time
we increased their lifespan?
941
00:57:35,160 --> 00:57:38,413
Thirty percent extension
in their maximum life span.
942
00:57:39,205 --> 00:57:40,457
Incredible.
943
00:57:41,791 --> 00:57:44,085
The excitement of this experiment
944
00:57:44,169 --> 00:57:46,463
is that we can see for the first time
945
00:57:46,546 --> 00:57:50,091
that you can reverse the process of aging.
946
00:57:51,968 --> 00:57:54,053
The implications are so vast.
947
00:57:55,555 --> 00:57:57,765
In a way, all we are doing...
948
00:57:58,558 --> 00:58:02,979
...is against nature,
is against evolution.
949
00:58:04,272 --> 00:58:07,609
Safety lines, ethical lines, moral lines.
950
00:58:08,151 --> 00:58:10,570
This is the unknown territory.
951
00:58:10,653 --> 00:58:13,156
And when we don't know, we are afraid.
952
00:58:14,991 --> 00:58:17,368
In the end, my personal opinion is that...
953
00:58:18,244 --> 00:58:22,415
we change our lines,
our ethical and moral lines,
954
00:58:22,499 --> 00:58:26,377
when we see sound results
that are positive for humankind.
955
00:58:26,461 --> 00:58:30,798
We're okay to make glasses, to see...
956
00:58:31,966 --> 00:58:34,010
that everyone sees the same thing.
957
00:58:34,761 --> 00:58:39,265
But we're not okay
to have binoculars in us
958
00:58:39,349 --> 00:58:41,434
so that we see better than the other.
959
00:58:42,310 --> 00:58:44,145
- No? That's something that...
- Yes.
960
00:58:44,229 --> 00:58:47,899
We're okay to restore vision
to the same level,
961
00:58:47,982 --> 00:58:51,277
and no one will say this is
an ethical thing, if wear glasses,
962
00:58:51,361 --> 00:58:53,821
but if I wear two binoculars
963
00:58:53,905 --> 00:58:56,407
that will make me see better than you,
964
00:58:57,242 --> 00:58:58,618
that's the problem, no?
965
00:58:58,701 --> 00:59:02,163
That's what, with enhancement,
is what we are discussing here.
966
00:59:02,247 --> 00:59:06,042
Because maybe you can do it,
maybe I cannot do it.
967
00:59:06,125 --> 00:59:07,377
It will generate...
968
00:59:08,211 --> 00:59:09,211
um...
969
00:59:10,296 --> 00:59:11,381
inequalities.
970
00:59:11,464 --> 00:59:12,715
But in principle,
971
00:59:13,967 --> 00:59:15,927
if everyone could have...
972
00:59:16,803 --> 00:59:18,888
the vision of an eagle,
973
00:59:18,972 --> 00:59:20,390
what is wrong with that?
974
00:59:34,195 --> 00:59:35,822
When you go up on stage,
975
00:59:36,239 --> 00:59:37,699
make sure you have all your...
976
00:59:37,782 --> 00:59:39,784
Props!
977
00:59:39,867 --> 00:59:42,495
- And when you are performing...
- Act it out.
978
00:59:42,579 --> 00:59:44,414
Act it out! Thank you.
979
00:59:44,497 --> 00:59:45,707
Jackson, that reminds me.
980
00:59:45,790 --> 00:59:47,667
You could be a little bit meaner, Jackson.
981
00:59:47,750 --> 00:59:50,712
I know you're not a mean person,
but can you act mean?
982
00:59:50,795 --> 00:59:51,629
Mm-hmm.
983
00:59:51,713 --> 00:59:55,216
And try to put your head in the direction
of the people to whom you are speaking.
984
00:59:55,300 --> 00:59:57,343
- Does that make sense? Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
985
01:00:01,139 --> 01:00:03,224
Let's do this. Let's go. Let's do this.
986
01:00:04,601 --> 01:00:06,936
The lamp!
Once I have it, the world will be mine.
987
01:00:07,020 --> 01:00:08,813
Hurry, to the Cave of Wonders.
988
01:00:10,982 --> 01:00:14,235
♪ Oh, we come from a land
Where mirage is the rule ♪
989
01:00:14,319 --> 01:00:17,155
♪ And the wildest tales come true ♪
990
01:00:17,614 --> 01:00:19,532
The lamp is almost mine, mine, mine!
991
01:00:19,907 --> 01:00:22,285
Give... me... that... lamp!
992
01:00:25,580 --> 01:00:27,248
The lamp is upside down.
993
01:00:27,332 --> 01:00:28,332
Hold it.
994
01:00:29,125 --> 01:00:30,543
Welcome back, kiddies.
995
01:00:30,627 --> 01:00:32,920
I made a few changes around here.
996
01:00:33,004 --> 01:00:35,214
Changes, changes!
997
01:00:35,298 --> 01:00:38,551
♪ A whole new world ♪
998
01:00:38,635 --> 01:00:42,680
♪ A dazzling place I never knew ♪
999
01:00:42,764 --> 01:00:45,516
♪ But when I'm way up here ♪
1000
01:00:45,600 --> 01:00:47,477
♪ It's crystal clear ♪
1001
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:53,399
♪ That now I'm in a whole new world
With you ♪
1002
01:01:00,031 --> 01:01:01,866
Can you help me? Catch one for me?
1003
01:01:04,077 --> 01:01:05,495
I have one. Do you want it?
1004
01:01:05,578 --> 01:01:06,704
Don't pinch him.
1005
01:01:07,830 --> 01:01:08,915
Um...
1006
01:01:10,166 --> 01:01:13,419
- It's in your hand. Right there. Wait.
- I don't see him.
1007
01:01:18,466 --> 01:01:20,385
This is so cool.
1008
01:01:26,099 --> 01:01:29,018
I can't really see at night.
1009
01:01:29,102 --> 01:01:31,854
If there's, like, any lights,
that's all I see.
1010
01:01:31,938 --> 01:01:34,232
Just the lights
that are coming from the lights.
1011
01:01:40,738 --> 01:01:42,782
So there's a full moon.
1012
01:01:42,865 --> 01:01:44,075
Crescent.
1013
01:01:44,158 --> 01:01:45,660
Half.
1014
01:01:45,743 --> 01:01:47,328
Gibbous.
1015
01:01:47,495 --> 01:01:48,913
Full.
1016
01:01:50,248 --> 01:01:53,000
He obviously wants to work for NASA.
1017
01:01:53,084 --> 01:01:54,836
It's dark all around here.
1018
01:01:56,254 --> 01:01:58,047
I don't think there's anything over here.
1019
01:02:00,383 --> 01:02:01,903
No, there are no stars, Ava.
1020
01:02:01,968 --> 01:02:03,720
There's teensy weensy ones.
1021
01:02:04,053 --> 01:02:06,556
I still only see the sun.
1022
01:02:06,639 --> 01:02:08,409
He really wants to be an astronaut.
1023
01:02:08,433 --> 01:02:11,144
He wants to go into space
more than anything.
1024
01:02:11,227 --> 01:02:13,396
They're trying to get here. Mars.
1025
01:02:15,857 --> 01:02:16,899
Good idea.
1026
01:02:17,358 --> 01:02:19,444
I feel like something, like...
1027
01:02:20,361 --> 01:02:22,321
is going to happen, like, so wrong,
1028
01:02:22,405 --> 01:02:25,575
and, like, it's not gonna be
very good for Earth.
1029
01:02:25,658 --> 01:02:27,326
That... That's what worries me.
1030
01:02:28,369 --> 01:02:31,622
He watches films about space and NASA,
1031
01:02:31,706 --> 01:02:34,292
and in it,
they said something to the effect,
1032
01:02:34,375 --> 01:02:36,794
"Astronauts have to have 20-20 vision."
1033
01:02:39,046 --> 01:02:40,173
And that just...
1034
01:02:45,470 --> 01:02:47,555
It really upset him for a long time.
1035
01:02:55,146 --> 01:02:56,946
And I believe...
Like, when he says something,
1036
01:02:57,023 --> 01:02:59,942
that something's gonna happen
or he's gonna do something,
1037
01:03:00,026 --> 01:03:01,152
I believe him.
1038
01:03:02,445 --> 01:03:04,363
He's gonna go to space. I believe it.
1039
01:03:06,199 --> 01:03:09,243
An FDA advisory panel
voted unanimously yesterday
1040
01:03:09,327 --> 01:03:11,621
to recommend approval
of a groundbreaking treatment
1041
01:03:11,704 --> 01:03:13,748
for people with a faulty gene
1042
01:03:13,831 --> 01:03:16,876
that causes severe vision loss
starting in childhood.
1043
01:03:16,959 --> 01:03:19,670
They take a virus
and put in a normal copy of the gene
1044
01:03:19,754 --> 01:03:21,964
and they inject it
into the white of the eye.
1045
01:03:22,048 --> 01:03:24,801
And then, literally,
days later, sight returns
1046
01:03:24,884 --> 01:03:27,428
to most of the people in the trial.
1047
01:03:28,054 --> 01:03:30,414
It's amazing.
I feel like we're on the cusp of...
1048
01:03:31,933 --> 01:03:34,685
some, like, major changes for him.
1049
01:03:36,020 --> 01:03:39,232
And it's an amazing thing.
This is the start of a new revolution.
1050
01:03:39,315 --> 01:03:41,567
This is science fiction science,
1051
01:03:41,651 --> 01:03:44,904
because it really is something we've
dreamed of and talked about for decades,
1052
01:03:44,987 --> 01:03:46,322
but now it's happening.
1053
01:03:47,365 --> 01:03:52,912
Every important undertaking that faces us
is limited by biology.
1054
01:03:56,833 --> 01:03:58,459
As a species on a single planet,
1055
01:03:59,043 --> 01:04:02,713
we are at serious existential risk.
1056
01:04:04,674 --> 01:04:07,176
And one of the problems
that we need to solve
1057
01:04:07,260 --> 01:04:09,637
is how we're going to get people
1058
01:04:09,720 --> 01:04:12,849
living safely in space on other planets.
1059
01:04:13,933 --> 01:04:16,978
There's a lot of focus on the rockets
to get us up there,
1060
01:04:17,061 --> 01:04:18,354
the vehicles, you know,
1061
01:04:18,437 --> 01:04:21,315
that we can, uh, rove planets
and mine planets,
1062
01:04:21,399 --> 01:04:25,236
but unlike previous journeys into space
1063
01:04:25,319 --> 01:04:27,446
where we've gone and come back,
1064
01:04:27,530 --> 01:04:29,949
at some point, we're gonna have to take
a one-way journey.
1065
01:04:30,032 --> 01:04:33,244
We're gonna have to go
without any promise of coming back,
1066
01:04:33,327 --> 01:04:36,372
and our biology is gonna have to be fit
for space.
1067
01:04:36,789 --> 01:04:39,250
You know, radiation-intense environments,
1068
01:04:39,333 --> 01:04:41,419
um, low-gravity environments.
1069
01:04:42,003 --> 01:04:44,005
And those challenges will only be met
1070
01:04:44,088 --> 01:04:49,635
once we understand
how we can make the changes in our genomes
1071
01:04:49,719 --> 01:04:52,889
to thrive, uh, on other planets.
1072
01:04:53,306 --> 01:04:56,225
When I was a kid,
growing up reading Isaac Asimov
1073
01:04:56,309 --> 01:04:58,436
and other... other science fiction writers,
1074
01:04:58,769 --> 01:05:01,397
watching Star Trek on TV
and things like that,
1075
01:05:01,480 --> 01:05:05,234
things that were clearly
in the realm of fiction at that time
1076
01:05:05,693 --> 01:05:07,862
are increasingly being realized.
1077
01:05:10,448 --> 01:05:13,618
It's a powerful tool
partly because it is democratizing.
1078
01:05:13,701 --> 01:05:17,705
It's available inexpensively
to scientists around the world.
1079
01:05:18,456 --> 01:05:19,457
Whether...
1080
01:05:20,166 --> 01:05:24,462
we as a society will...
will grapple with that appropriately
1081
01:05:24,545 --> 01:05:25,838
remains to be seen.
1082
01:05:27,256 --> 01:05:29,508
I think we're at a crossroads right now.
1083
01:05:31,260 --> 01:05:33,137
What does this look like, writ large,
1084
01:05:33,220 --> 01:05:37,058
if we begin to engineer our entire world,
1085
01:05:37,141 --> 01:05:40,603
if we start to engineer
all that we can in nature?
1086
01:05:41,646 --> 01:05:44,982
This is going to have
long-lasting ripple effects,
1087
01:05:45,066 --> 01:05:46,817
and we don't have to go that way.
1088
01:05:49,528 --> 01:05:52,823
Humanity is very bad at saying no
to technologies everywhere.
1089
01:05:52,907 --> 01:05:54,533
Because even if you say no,
1090
01:05:55,326 --> 01:05:57,328
is everyone else in the world
going to say no?
1091
01:05:59,538 --> 01:06:03,125
Our civilization is vulnerable.
It's not sustainable.
1092
01:06:03,626 --> 01:06:06,226
We have no choice but to continue
exploring the tree of knowledge,
1093
01:06:06,253 --> 01:06:09,507
but we always run the risk
of discovering something
1094
01:06:10,383 --> 01:06:11,509
that we cannot handle.
1095
01:06:12,051 --> 01:06:13,260
So it's a balance.
1096
01:06:13,386 --> 01:06:15,054
I don't know where that will go.
1097
01:06:15,179 --> 01:06:17,807
I try to imagine a world
1098
01:06:17,890 --> 01:06:21,268
where people can overcome
1099
01:06:21,852 --> 01:06:24,897
a lot of the inequalities
that have been placed upon them.
1100
01:06:26,357 --> 01:06:30,778
We're no longer constrained
by the genetics we were born with.
1101
01:06:30,861 --> 01:06:33,072
It immediately removes that barrier,
1102
01:06:33,155 --> 01:06:37,034
that, like, rich people get something,
and poor people don't.
1103
01:06:37,118 --> 01:06:40,121
Like, rich people get expensive
medical treatment, poor people don't.
1104
01:06:41,539 --> 01:06:42,581
That can change.
1105
01:06:47,878 --> 01:06:50,506
The way I see it, life is information.
1106
01:06:55,177 --> 01:06:59,557
A person and... and a, you know,
pile of organic matter
1107
01:06:59,640 --> 01:07:02,040
are made of the same materials.
It's just how it's organized.
1108
01:07:03,269 --> 01:07:04,979
Get up. Hey, Daddy!
1109
01:07:05,062 --> 01:07:07,648
You see that small chunk of wood?
Can I chop that up?
1110
01:07:07,732 --> 01:07:10,401
- Okay. There you go.
- Oh! It was right there.
1111
01:07:10,484 --> 01:07:13,946
If you rearrange the atoms
in a pile of, you know, rotten leaves,
1112
01:07:14,780 --> 01:07:15,948
you can make a person.
1113
01:07:16,657 --> 01:07:18,577
Because you've got
all the right materials there,
1114
01:07:18,659 --> 01:07:20,036
but the wrong information.
1115
01:07:21,037 --> 01:07:24,123
People think of themselves as objects,
but we're not anything like an object
1116
01:07:24,206 --> 01:07:25,875
because I'm not the material.
1117
01:07:25,958 --> 01:07:28,461
I'm the information
that organizes the material.
1118
01:07:31,213 --> 01:07:33,883
When you have the power to change that,
1119
01:07:33,966 --> 01:07:36,302
you can just tweak the information
a bit...
1120
01:07:37,845 --> 01:07:39,138
...and then let it spread
1121
01:07:40,139 --> 01:07:43,517
and reorganize matter from the ground up.
1122
01:07:50,941 --> 01:07:53,527
There's so many things that could be,
that aren't.
1123
01:07:54,904 --> 01:07:58,908
That nature may never have made
or may never have evolved.
1124
01:08:00,117 --> 01:08:03,162
And now you're going to make choices
that change things.
1125
01:08:04,538 --> 01:08:06,665
Then what kind of world can we build?
1126
01:08:07,333 --> 01:08:08,459
Peek-a-boo.
1127
01:08:10,503 --> 01:08:12,088
Don't put your lips on it.
1128
01:08:12,171 --> 01:08:13,923
Why are you guys taking pictures?
1129
01:08:14,006 --> 01:08:15,508
What did they take from you?
1130
01:08:15,591 --> 01:08:16,425
My blood.
1131
01:08:16,509 --> 01:08:18,594
Your blood. Do you know why
they took your blood?
1132
01:08:18,677 --> 01:08:19,677
No.
1133
01:08:20,054 --> 01:08:22,723
- Yeah, to help me see.
- Yeah!
1134
01:08:22,807 --> 01:08:25,142
They called me yesterday.
1135
01:08:25,226 --> 01:08:27,228
Okay. Are they able to cure it?
1136
01:08:29,146 --> 01:08:30,146
Yeah.
1137
01:08:30,189 --> 01:08:31,607
Oh, yes!
1138
01:08:34,985 --> 01:08:37,571
There's a chance that
you might be able to see.
1139
01:08:46,539 --> 01:08:48,666
Are you excited?
1140
01:08:51,794 --> 01:08:55,297
I thought I was just gonna be
stuck like this my whole entire life.
1141
01:08:57,133 --> 01:08:59,385
When are we going down?