[Kurzgesagt] Genetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever

[momoiro]

Assuming gene editing will be expensive, we'll see an even larger divide between upper middle/upper class and the lower class. Not to mention the western world contra the developing world.

Besides that we may end up in a society where those who do not get genetic treatment are frowned upon(as touched upon in the video), or the other way around at the onset of the technology. Some kind of modern day Luddites, perhaps.

[genpung]

I'm actually curious if this has any implication in radiation resistance especially in the context of prolonged space travel seeing how space is just filled with ionizing radiation.

[LoneWolf_Recon]

[QUOTE=genpung;50862911]I'm actually curious if this has any implication in radiation resistance especially in the context of prolonged space travel seeing how space is just filled with ionizing radiation.[/QUOTE]

Marginal radiation resistance can be gained from genetics. Increased melanin production would be the first step, then increase the number of antioxidants in the system to remove free radicals and somehow increase the rate of DNA repair.

[AxeI]

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;50863224]Marginal radiation resistance can be gained from genetics. Increased melanin production would be the first step, then increase the number of antioxidants in the system to remove free radicals and somehow increase the rate of DNA repair.[/QUOTE]
So future spacemen will be black as fuck?
Interesting.

[Paul-Simon]

[QUOTE=Trixil;50861507]i was gonna put "hey maybe we can make cute anime girls with this" but then i realized in real life that would look horrifying :disgust:[/QUOTE]

Finally giant squids will get competition when it comes to eyeball size

[Raidyr]

I am going to live forever as a human-lobster hybrid :dance:

[Sgt. Napalm]

I have a few existential questions about anti-aging. So... Are our brains even designed to last that long? Like, if we live for 100 years that's one thing, but 200? 300? A thousand? No matter what advances happen in genetics, our brains will still be a finite size, only able to hold a finite amount of information. Will we simply go crazy as our memories decay over time? Or will our old memories simply be pushed out by new memories? Will we even be the same person 1000 years later? Will it even matter if we live that long and carry no concept of self over that span a time?

What about overpopulation? We want to make new babies better than ourselves, but we also want to hang on in our flawed forms forever? How bad will the overpopulation get? Do we have the right to live forever, denying the next generation their existence? Or will we simply kill ourselves as our population reaches critical mass with new babies entering and nobody dying from old age?

[haloguy234]

When I think of the pros and cons of genetic modification I think back to those few Stargate episodes where those super chill human-like aliens went around to different post-industrial civilizations, promised them huge gains with completely eradicating disease, improving lifespans, making everything generally better for the entire population, all through genetic modification.

In reality they were just a bunch of really, really smart accountant farmers who intentionally modified the gene pool to slowly sterilize all the populations of the planets they conquered, eventually controlling populations to the point of a couple thousand all for slave work force labor.

[Patrick]

this is something that excites me greatly. the biggest aspect of this for me is the potential to give humans abilities they are normally not born with which allow them to explore space, and other places on earth such as the deepest parts of the ocean.

i have a friend who is excited for a future where people are infused with technology, opting to replace their natural limbs with robotic ones, however i think that genetically modifying or producing better working ones is a much more exciting prospect.

[Whomobile]

Out of Curiousity, would you choose to be a immortal Superhuman or an Immortal Cyborg/Android? (let's assume if you go the Android path that your body parts are slowly replaced mimicking the replacement of dead cells till your a full robot aka you don't just have your conscience dumped into a robot body)

[OvB]

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;50863770]I have a few existential questions about anti-aging. So... Are our brains even designed to last that long? Like, if we live for 100 years that's one thing, but 200? 300? A thousand? No matter what advances happen in genetics, our brains will still be a finite size, only able to hold a finite amount of information. Will we simply go crazy as our memories decay over time? Or will our old memories simply be pushed out by new memories? Will we even be the same person 1000 years later? Will it even matter if we live that long and carry no concept of self over that span a time?

What about overpopulation? We want to make new babies better than ourselves, but we also want to hang on in our flawed forms forever? How bad will the overpopulation get? Do we have the right to live forever, denying the next generation their existence? Or will we simply kill ourselves as our population reaches critical mass with new babies entering and nobody dying from old age?[/QUOTE]

Upload your brain into a computer. Replace your mortal flesh brain with a computer one. Swap flesh bodies for new ones or robots if you somehow die.

[editline]10th August 2016[/editline]

[QUOTE=Whomobile;50864352]Out of Curiousity, would you choose to be a immortal Superhuman or an Immortal Cyborg/Android? (let's assume if you go the Android path that your body parts are slowly replaced mimicking the replacement of dead cells till your a full robot aka you don't just have your conscience dumped into a robot body)[/QUOTE]

I would be fine with robot replacements as long as it still felt human and I could still enjoy human things like good tasting food, intoxication, sex, minor pain, the wind, etc. I'd want to still look human, toi. As far as limbs and organs go, replace them if needed. I already got metal hips, why stop there.

[slayer20]

Can this make me beautiful?

[Loopoo]

[QUOTE=OvB;50864354]I would be fine with robot replacements as long as it still felt human and I could still enjoy human things like good tasting food, intoxication, sex, minor pain, the wind, etc. I'd want to still look human, toi. As far as limbs and organs go, replace them if needed. I already got metal hips, why stop there.[/QUOTE]

those nights when your gf wants you to go deeper and you're giving it all you got and can't go deeper, so you take a quick time out to screw in your monster-dong prosthetic before the atom smashing begins

for real though having super advanced prosthetic legs that I could screw out or unplug and replace with fins to go deep sea diving would be rad

[ironman17]

[QUOTE=Whomobile;50864352]Out of Curiousity, would you choose to be a immortal Superhuman or an Immortal Cyborg/Android? (let's assume if you go the Android path that your body parts are slowly replaced mimicking the replacement of dead cells till your a full robot aka you don't just have your conscience dumped into a robot body)[/QUOTE]
I'd probably replace things if they didn't work right. Though ideally, one day we'll have a method that comprises the best of both worlds, with our bodies gradually being replaced by synthetic cells. As our organic cells die naturally, our synthetic cells would become more numerous and gradually become the dominant force in our bodies.

Over the course of several years, our original "meat" cells would become less and less prominent, until eventually every cell in the body is a "synth" cell, more durable, efficient and versatile than our mortal meat. And with the gradual progressive transformation from organic to synthorganic, you don't run into the stream-of-consciousness issue that comes from uploading your mind to a computer, or the jarring (and potentially scarring) transition that would come from falling asleep as your average meatbag and waking up as Inspector Gadget.

[Whomobile]

Yeah, to answer my own question, I would probably pick the cyborg/android path. I think it would be amazing to walk out in space without needing a bulky suit to stay alive, something I don't think any amount of genetic engineering could solve. Being an immortal human only able to live in certain environments sounds like it would get very boring.

Also I could change my appearance easier, I wouldn't turn down looking like Ironman if I could.

[ironman17]

Well I'm flattered, but just fyi I'm no George Clooney. I'm barely even Kevin Smith, to be honest. (if anything I look like a hipster lumberjack with a beer belly)

[Whomobile]

Haha I didn't see your post when I wrote mine :v:

But for real though I wonder how much genetic engineering can change in someone who is currently alive, say someone has gender dysphoria and want to change gender, could genetic engineering do that?

[Toro]

I wonder what effect anti-aging genes would have on the brain in terms of memory storage and how we perceive time. The 21st century is going to be so exciting.

I also wonder how major sports organizations like the IOC will deal with the inevitable wave of genetically modified athletes built to run faster, jump higher, swim faster, etc. Soon we may have separate competitions for GM and "purebred" humans.

[Loopoo]

[QUOTE=Whomobile;50864438]Haha I didn't see your post when I wrote mine :v:

But for real though I wonder how much genetic engineering can change in someone who is currently alive, say someone has gender dysphoria and want to change gender, could genetic engineering do that?[/QUOTE]

would genetic engineering give humans the ability to regrow limbs and other stuff? isn't that just an ability embryos would be given the chance of?

I figured genetic engineering in humans who are alive would just help make them immune to diseases etc but not actually give them new limbs or something that required a radical change in terms of organ makeup / whatever

[ironman17]

It probably could, if you were able to alter enough cells in the right places, though it'd probably still take a LONG time for such a fundamental transformation (internal and external) to be completed. And even then it'd probably still require a bit of the old "nip-and-tuck" to facilitate a perfect conversion.

Unless of course we take inspiration from caterpillars and butterflies in regards to hardcore physiological transformation. You see, when the caterpillar cocoons itself and begins its fundamental transformation, it actually liquefies most of its body and proceeds to rearrange itself into a different form, namely turning from a leaf-munching little grub into a winged beauty of the insect world. Perhaps one day, there would be such technology that would enable someone to hibernate inside a specialized pod, break down most of their body into a similar primordial gloop, and transform into an entirely different body based on their altered genetic code. It'd be a lot cleaner and a lot more contained than what happened to Seth Brundle.

[Loopoo]

knowing that, I don't think I'd ever change my appearance: not to be taller, wider, have different eye colour or any of that. same reason I don't change my name despite hating it - it's part of who I am and I'm named after my grandfather. I'd feel like I was disowning my mum and dad if I radically altered the way I looked, and after they'd passed on in life, not seeing bits of them when I look in the mirror would make me sad.

[Nafrayu]

[QUOTE=smfE;50860307]We've become gods now since the discoery of fire
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRNEy8mPjk[/media][/QUOTE]

holy shit, this gave me goosebumps - this guy should make movie trailers full time :v:

[Billy]

a bit late but if a child [I]was[/I] born with a tail, what would happen if they decided to chop it off? would they lose their balance or something? would we have enhanced balance with a tail? maybe the kid could take up gymnastics or something :v:

[MILKE]

16 minutes of pure goodness

[Loopoo]

[QUOTE=BillyOnWiiU;50864611]a bit late but if a child [I]was[/I] born with a tail, what would happen if they decided to chop it off? would they lose their balance or something? would we have enhanced balance with a tail? maybe the kid could take up gymnastics or something :v:[/QUOTE]

they wouldn't lose balance... it's like when a dog is born with a leg missing, it adapts to that and all it's ever known in life is 3 legs so it manages just fine. IIRC monkeys have tails to help grip tree branches and provide balance since they're teetering on branches pretty damn high. a human having a tail would be of little use if you think about it. when would having a tail help us in our day to day life, unless it was a massive muscular one like kangaroos have.

even then it'd be more annoying than useful

[Zyler]

[QUOTE=loopoo;50864461]would genetic engineering give humans the ability to regrow limbs and other stuff? isn't that just an ability embryos would be given the chance of?

I figured genetic engineering in humans who are alive would just help make them immune to diseases etc but not actually give them new limbs or something that required a radical change in terms of organ makeup / whatever[/QUOTE]

I think you regenerate and replace every cell in your body every 7 years or something. So theoretically you could make any change to your genetic code and within 7 years the new cells, hormones and proteins created would overwrite and replace the old ones based on the new genetic code.

Essentially you can rearrange anything that's already there.

You wouldn't be able to regrow limbs but you would be able to change your physical sex to match your perceived gender and presumably your sex chromosomes and genitalia would change because both men and women have the same sex cells and chromosomes just arranged differently.

[Cufflux]

Genetic engineering should honestly only be used for fixing genetic diseases and altering genes which affect resistance levels to transmitted ones.

Living in a world where you have to accept others are better than you- that it's natural, and that nobody can change it- in intelligence, physique, etc... is too humbling to ever give up. Yes I want wider shoulders, a faster metabolism, quicker reflexes, a more intelligent mind... that meaning will be lost where I won't have to work to get smarter or fitter.

On another note, intelligence won't make you happier; eating whatever you want will put a dent in your needed self-control; getting buff naturally will eliminate the discipline learned from the sweat and strain needed to get there. Some things you shouldn't get for free.

[Symwck]

We might be able to create creatures from fantasy with this technology

Dragons anyone?

[♠️♥️♦️♣️]

[QUOTE=Cufflux;50864787]Genetic engineering should honestly only be used for fixing genetic diseases and altering genes which affect resistance levels to transmitted ones.

Living in a world where you have to accept others are better than you- that it's natural, and that nobody can change it- in intelligence, physique, etc... is too humbling to ever give up. Yes I want wider shoulders, a faster metabolism, quicker reflexes, a more intelligent mind... that meaning will be lost where I won't have to work to get smarter or fitter.

On another note, intelligence won't make you happier; eating whatever you want will put a dent in your needed self-control; getting buff naturally will eliminate the discipline learned from the sweat and strain needed to get there. Some things you shouldn't get for free.[/QUOTE]

I wonder if the people traveling westward on the Oregon trail would have the same mentality about the lack of hard work we have to endure thanks to planes. I think if we could straight up make smarter people it'd only be for the better. What is this grand sacrifice? That people won't understand what it's like to be unequal? Or that they should have to work harder than someone else because they're not lucky enough to have god tier genetics?

[noh_mercy]

[QUOTE=Whomobile;50864420]Yeah, to answer my own question, I would probably pick the cyborg/android path. I think it would be amazing to walk out in space without needing a bulky suit to stay alive, something I don't think any amount of genetic engineering could solve. Being an immortal human only able to live in certain environments sounds like it would get very boring.

Also I could change my appearance easier, I wouldn't turn down looking like Ironman if I could.[/QUOTE]

but you can get hacked without ever realizing it. Imagine being programmed into thinking that everything you do is of your own choice while being a puppet for someone else, like robocop