Genetic Modification after birth?

Re: Genetic Modification after birth?


No. Viruses are too specific. You'll need a whole host of viruses. One's that target the nose lining, others that target the lungs, some that target this and others that target that. It would be a logistical nightmare.

And once you're through with that, you've got the problem of replacing the normal human DNA. Viruses don't do that. They implant their own DNA willy-willy, so it might not go where you want it to go. That also leads to the fact that you'll end up getting double copies of the gene.

That's what people have been doing when using viruses for gene therapies. Placing extra copies of a gene in. You can't get rid of genes with viral therapy.

There's also the problem of fitting a single gene into a virus, let alone a whole genome. I can't remember what the size of a viral genome is, but I know that a lot of our genes will not fit in a virus.



It is practically impossible. You will never be able to do it. Not in our lifetime, anyway.

I haven't even addressed the problem of epigenetics, ensuring that the new supergenes that are inserted are properly expressed. It's all well and good having a supergene inside of you, but if it's not being expressed, you might as well have stuck a piece of cheese in your genome.

i won't say that it's impossible, as viral gene therapy can be used to modify our dna. but... i don't think it possible to replace dna completely. there is also the problem of your immune system. it would attack any viral tools and very possibly the modified/replaced dna cells. it's likely that replacing or modifying the dna in cells would modify the antigens expressed by the cells which could trigger an immune response. you could wind up giving yourself an autoimmune disease which are extremely lethal.

Hmmm... why would there have to be separate viruses for different parts of the body? I thought that all cells have the same genes, but they just express different parts of the genome depending on location?

And as for fitting the genome inside a virus, recently macro-viruses have been discovered - this indicates that viruses don't have to be small.

And if the cells are only slightly different, will they still be attacked?

And I know that viruses don't replace DNA, but the cells would only reproduce super cells, and they would eventually replace the normal cells. And even if the super cells were few, if they were dominant in some way they would still eventually replace the normal cells.

That doesn't solve the other problems though. My hopes have been dashed against the rocks. I plan to be immortal - perhaps I shall have to find some other way.

Please explain to be further about epigenetics.

PS Thanks to the moderator who made this featured!

Viruses can only enter certain cells. Take HIV, for example, it can only enter cells with CCR5 receptors and I... hm, I forgot the name of the other one. This is because, as you said, cells only express certain parts of the genome, that includes cell surface receptors, which viruses can use to enter the cell.



You mean, mimivirus? These, only infect amoeba and have a diameter of 400nm. That's 0.4 micrometers. A typical mammalian nucleus is 11 to 12 micrometers. Doesn't come close. (Believe me, I've thought about modifying people's body with viruses before. Couldn't come up with a single good method).



Are you talking about the immune system? Probably, yes. Why, even having cells from a different human being will trigger an immune response.



Only, of course, if the super cells provide an evolutionary advantage. In our society, of course, there is no natural selection pressure for people being really strong or really intelligent. We have managed to get rid of a lot of selection pressures against us.



They wouldn't be, though. As I said before, there'd be no selection pressures. Not even within the body. The only way they'd be more dominant than normal cells (that I can think up of) is if they were cancerous. And you don't want cancerous cells in your body.



Basically, epigenetics refers to chromatin and DNA modification, things that regulate which genes are expressed. They remain more or less the same throughout a certain cell population, but can change depending on what genes need to be switched on at what time.



Frankly, I have no idea how the Featured thing works. Sometimes, if you don't get enough answers, it becomes featured. For no apparent reason.

Oh dear.

Selection pressures - immunity to viruses and the like?

Not just that.

In humans, the only things undergoing natural selection (that I'm aware of) are our cells. Specifically, healthy ones against unhealthy ones. You add an extra chromsome, you might end up dooming the cell. Doing it your way, you're going to add extra genes of pretty much everything. That's polyploidy, which is highly responsible for miscarriages. These people are going to be as good as sterile.

And let's not forget the polyploidy diseases.

You introduce a super gene copy of the X chromosome, you end up with cells that have more than two X chromosomes. That's Klinefelter's syndrome in males. In women, you'll end up with Triple X syndrome. Extra 21 chromsome? Down's Syndrome. Extra Y chromsome in a male? XYY Syndrome.

Pretty much all of them retard learning. If you want to create a super race, I think giving them learning difficulties would be a bad idea, don't you?

Even we if are successful in implanting some sort of foreign DNA into our genotype, would it be able to express itself phenotypically during the course of our life?

Well Wolf, it looks like I'm going to have to use cybernetics instead. Thanks for the help.

Cybernetics... eh? Now we go into another problem... the problem of rejection. That could be solved with immunosuppressive drugs, I suppose.

Can immunosuppressive drugs do that without making us more susceptable to other disease?