Thread by @elleprovocateur

"The promise & peril of the Bio Revolution"

"...the world cheered [] that 3 #gene-based COVID19 #vaccines – 1 developed by German #biotech co. BioNTech in collab. w/ Pfizer, another by [] biotech firm Moderna, & a 3rd by [] AstraZeneca – had proved effective in clinical trials."

"But in October, researchers revealed that off-target effects of the #CRISPR-Cas9 #gene-editing tool used to repair a blindness-causing gene in the early stages of human #embryo development often eliminated an entire #chromosome or a large part of it."

#BioengineeringEconomy

"Our deepening knowledge of #biology – #genes, #microbiomes, & neural signals – is making it increasingly possible to "engineer life."... #gene drives applied to infectious-disease vectors [] could save many lives, but we may not be able to control them."

#4IR #Biotech

"The next generation of #genetically-edited mosquitoes in one field experiment in Brazil were supposed to die, but are still breeding five years later."

#4IR #Biotech

"the cornerstone of biological advances is #data #mined from our bodies & brains...

of only 1.28 million DTC #genetic tests, it was possible to access material from open databases & identify about 60% [] w/ European ancestry from a #DNA sample..."

mckinsey.com/industries/pha…

Applications include anti-aging that extend life span.

"the bio-revolution could entrench #inequality, at least while applications such as breakthrough therapies, performance enhancements, & #reproductive selection remain expensive & thus accessible only to the well-off."

Aug 2, 2021, TIME:

"Last month, researchers used #mRNA to deliver #CRISPR gene-editing technology..."

#4IR #Biotech #Experiment

time.com/6080127/crispr…

"To imagine using [#CRISPR] as a therapy for people, you need to figure out how to get these editing tools into the cells you’re trying to fix. That’s where messenger RNA comes in,"

#mRNA #Moderna #FDA

"mRNA is a way to make CRISPR gene editing come alive. #CRISPR is the workhorse; #mRNA encodes it."

#WHO, Dec 14, 2018: "Expert Advisory Committee on Developing Global Standards for Governance & Oversight of Human #GenomeEditing":

who.int/groups/expert-…