We are already gene editing humans. You just haven’t noticed.
George Church, Harvard geneticist and Human Genome Project pioneer, explains why CRISPR wasn’t the real breakthrough, how multiplex gene editing unlocked organ transplants and de-extinction, and why aging will likely require rewriting many genes at once.
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0:00 — Gene Editing Mammals → Humans
8:36 — Germline vs Somatic
14:56 — Modified Humans Are Already Here
18:50 — Enhancing Healthy Humans
25:00 — Aging Therapies vs Cognitive Enhancement
30:20 — Embryo Selection
38:10 — Is US Losing To UAE?
42:33 — Biotech Failures
49:31 — Next Dire Wolf Moment
54:21 — AI x Science
1:02:07 — Synthetizing Entire Genomes.
The Accelerate Bio Podcast explores the future of humanity in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Subscribe for deep-dive conversations with founders, scientists, and investors shaping AI, biotechnology, and human progress.
This episode discusses George Church, gene editing, CRISPR, human enhancement, longevity, aging, embryo selection, synthetic biology, multiplex editing, AI biotech.
Among the many promising possibilities of using CRISPR-based therapeutics, their translational use in monogenic human genetic diseases has the potential to provide long-term therapy after a single treatment. Genetic disorders can be treated with the help of CRISPR by editing the defective (disease-causing) gene or by editing the enhancer or regulator of the defective gene. Numerous studies, which are summarized in the table below (Table ), have shown promising results by using these two approaches.
3. Examples of CRISPR-Based Therapeuticsfor the Treatment of Genetic Disorders.
DiseaseCRISPR targetapproachmajor outcome of the studyreferenceDuchenne muscular dystrophydystrophin gene (DMD)single or multiplexed sgRNAs were developedto restore thedystrophin reading frame by targeting the mutational hotspot at exons45–55 and introducing shifts within exons or deleting one ormore exonsdystrophin expression is restored in vitroOusterout et al. Huntington’sdiseaseHuntingtin gene (HTT)HTT 5′ UTR was targetedimpropermaturation of the transcript and reducing the expressionof the disease-causing alleleKolli et al.a dual sgRNA approachwas used in vitro toexcise a 44kb promoter region upstream of a mutant HTT gene to silence its expressionexpression of the Huntington’sdisease-causing variant wasablatedShin et al.glaucomamyocilin gene (MYOC)Knocked down the expression of mutant MYOC in a mouse model of primary open-angle glaucomareductionof ER stress, lower intraocular pressure, and thepreventability of further glaucomatous damage in mouse eyes was observed. The authors also demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing CRISPR/Cas9in human eyes with glaucomaJain et al.hereditary tyrosinemiatype Ifumarylacetoacetate hydrolase gene (FAH)HDR-mediated point mutation correction in mouse hepatocytes.a significant proportion of alleles were correctedVanLith et al. Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10)centrosomalprotein 290 gene (CEP290)AAV5-basedtherapy (EDIT-101) encapsulates Staphylococcusaureus Cas9 (SaCas9) and two sgRNAs targeting genomic locationsupstream and downstream of the intronic CEP290 pointmutation. The two sgRNAs enable cutting around the mutation to induceits removal or inversionnormal splicing of CEP290 pre-mRNA was restoredMaeder et al. Noonan syndromeleucine zipper like post translational regulator 1 gene (LZTR1)intron 16 of LZTR1 was targetedthe gene editing process could overcomethe disease phenotypeassociated with Noonan syndrome-associated cardiomyopathy in iPSC-derivedcardiomyocytes in vitroHanses et al. Angelman syndromeUBE3A-ATS Inc. RNAUBE3A-ATS Inc. RNA was targetedin cultured human neurons andin a mouse model of the diseasetargeting of UBE3A-ATSablated its function, leading to expressionof the paternal UBE3A gene and rescuing the diseasephenotypeWolter et al.congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A)laminin subunit alpha 1 gene (LAMA1)CRISPR activator mediated gene upregulation3.6-foldupregulation of LAMA1 was observedKemaladevi et al.genetic deafnesstransmembrane channel like 1gene (TMC1)non-homologous end joining(NHEJ)-mediated mutant Tmc alleledisruptiondeafness was prevented in mouse models upto one year postinjectionGyörgy et al.
This episode was filmed at the 2026 Abundance360 Summit.
This interview explores the groundbreaking work of Colossal in synthetic biology, de-extinction, and AI integration. Colossal CEO Ben Lamm explains how the company is revolutionizing biodiversity preservation, tackling plastic pollution, and creating living products with immense potential.
Get access to metatrends 10+ years before anyone else — https://qr.diamandis.com/metatrends.
Ben Lamm is Co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences
Peter H. Diamandis, MD, is the Founder of XPRIZE, Singularity University, ZeroG, and A360.
Chapters:
A research team has discovered an enhanced CRISPR gene-editing system that could enable targeted delivery inside the human body—a key step toward broader clinical use. Researchers identified a naturally occurring enzyme, Al3Cas12f, that is small enough to fit into adeno-associated virus vectors, a leading targeted delivery method for gene therapies. They then engineered an enhanced version that dramatically improved gene-editing performance in human cells.
The advance addresses a major limitation in CRISPR technology. Commonly used gene-editing proteins are too large for targeted delivery systems, restricting clinical applications to cells modified outside the body, such as blood and bone marrow.
“Smart delivery of gene editing systems is a powerful notion with broad clinical implications, and this basic science finding takes us a significant step toward that future,” said Erica Brown, Ph.D., acting director of NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
【】 Full article: (Authored by Yu Bai and Fei Meng, from University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, China.)
Engineering load signals support durability analysis because they reflect real service conditions. Long-duration load histories are essential for fatigue-life prediction and reliability assessment. However, long-term field measurements are often costly and difficult to obtain. Therefore, extending short measurements into representative long histories is practically important. This study proposes a frequency-consistent diffusion_model (FCDM) for long-horizon extrapolation of non-stationary bearing load signals under turning conditions. load_extrapolation.
This study proposes a frequency-consistent diffusion model (FCDM) for long-horizon extrapolation of non-stationary bearing load signals. Condition tokens and spectral-consistency constraints are introduced to preserve spectral and fatigue-related characteristics during tenfold extrapolation. The generated signals are evaluated using PSD, band-energy proportion, Range-Mean distribution, and unit pseudo-damage. Compared with DDPM, FCDM better preserves dominant frequencies, harmonic structure, and band-energy allocation. The dominant frequency error is 1.02%, and the mean harmonic error is 0.52%. FCDM also shows smaller band-energy allocation errors across all frequency bands. In addition, it reproduces the bimodal clustering pattern in the Range-Mean distribution more accurately. The unit pseudo-damage is 1.0978 for FCDM and 1.1280 for DDPM. These results indicate that FCDM improves spectral fidelity and fatigue-related consistency in long-sequence load extrapolation.
Engineered cells are a high-value genetic asset that is key to many fields, including biotechnology, medicine, aging, and stem cell research, with the global market projected to reach $8.0 trillion USD by 2035. Yet the only ways to keep the cells safe are strong locks and watchful guards.
In Science Advances, a team of U.S. researchers present a new approach to genetically securing precious biological material. They created a genetic combination lock in which the locking or encryption process scrambled the DNA of a cell so that its important instructions were non-functional and couldn’t be easily read or used.
The unlocking, or decryption, process involves adding a series of chemicals in a precise order over time—like entering a password—to activate recombinases, which then unscramble the DNA to their original, functional form.
Researchers at Oregon State University have pioneered a transformative approach for simultaneously targeting lung cancer and the debilitating muscle-wasting syndrome known as cachexia—a condition that plagues many lung cancer patients. Their groundbreaking work employs lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) as a delivery vehicle for messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics, addressing critical challenges in precision drug delivery for aggressive tumors deep within the lung tissue.
Lipid nanoparticles, microscopic carriers composed of fatty compounds like lipids, have revolutionized drug delivery with their ability to ferry genetic material directly into cells. In this study, the OSU team engineered LNPs comprised of DC-cholesterol and a specialized ionizable lipid, 113-O12B, which exhibited a remarkable ability to bind a blood serum protein called vitronectin. This binding triggers the formation of a protein corona on the nanoparticles, a dynamic interface that actively guides the LNPs to lung tissue, and more importantly, lung tumor microenvironments.
Vitronectin’s recruitment is no coincidence. It interacts with integrin receptors—cellular docking proteins highly expressed on lung cancer cells. These integrins act as biological gateways, facilitating enhanced uptake of the therapeutic nanoparticles by tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. This receptor-mediated targeting marks a significant advance over conventional LNPs, which commonly accumulate in the liver, limiting their therapeutic index against lung malignancies.
Frank Herbert’s Dune saga which has six books in its expanse is no doubt one of the most popular and most influential books in Science fiction. Dune is really about how putting all your hope into a hero or a “chosen one” and then to a set of beliefs can go awry wrong in a big terrifying way. The story shows how easily large groups of people can be influenced by ideas, especially when religion and politics get mixed together, it shows the great game of power on a galactic scale. It showcases how humanity would evolve and transform in the future, some which are familiar while others totally alien in appearance. Then the overall idea of a long “Golden Path” that is meant to ensure the survival of humanity becomes the overarching theme of the saga and along the way, different human types emerge in the storyline, some enhanced by genetic engineering, others by cloning and selective breeding. So, here in this video we will take a look at 10 of these enhanced or superhuman types in the canon Dune works.
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