This mindset is what lead to the rise of HIV. The fact people are not able to trace the epidemics of STI's and STD's to liberalized sexuality where people fucked each other raw is crazy. There is a reason the Swinging Sixties lead to the Sexual Seventies and then the Epidemic Eighties. HIV, HSV1 and HSV2, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Genital Warts, Syphilis, HPV, Bacterial Vaginosis and so many other diseases exploded for this reason. People went from having maybe 1 to a handful of sexual partners their whole lives to having dozens if not hundreds. Gonorrhea and Syphilis are way down, but Genital warts, Chlamydia have skyrocketed. Now so many have HPV or Herpes it is seen as 'normal'. Eliminating HIV will do more for the developing world than the first world though. Would save thousands of lives for people not able to manage it etc.
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CRISPR Eliminates HIV in Live Animals
- Thread starter adamy
- Start date
This mindset is what lead to the rise of HIV. The fact people are not able to trace the epidemics of STI's and STD's to liberalized sexuality where people fucked each other raw is crazy. There is a reason the Swinging Sixties lead to the Sexual Seventies and then the Epidemic Eighties. HIV, HSV1 and HSV2, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Genital Warts, Syphilis, HPV, Bacterial Vaginosis and so many other diseases exploded for this reason. People went from having maybe 1 to a handful of sexual partners their whole lives to having dozens if not hundreds. Gonorrhea and Syphilis are way down, but Genital warts, Chlamydia have skyrocketed. Now so many have HPV or Herpes it is seen as 'normal'. Eliminating HIV will do more for the developing world than the first world though. Would save thousands of lives for people not able to manage it etc.
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
I can't wait for this to slaughter muscular dystrophy
Banderdash
Member
I was at a lecture at uni talking about that... and why it'll never happen.
Essentially the guy said that cancer is a mutation. As we age our cells replicate, each replication mutates the cell just slightly... because there are no perfect replications. The more we age, the more we replicate, the greater the chances one of these mutations goes bad and turns cancerous. So... if we wanted to keep getting older, cancer is one of the risks of that.
Oh... you will, 20 years after the vaccine is created and people stop inoculating their children because a celebrity said it'll cause autism.
Za-Neen-Jya
Member
Why you gotta bring me down, man?
It'll be interesting to see if this technique is capable of overcoming HIV mutation when CRISPR gene editing is used:
https://www.nature.com/news/hiv-overcomes-crispr-gene-editing-attack-1.19712
https://www.nature.com/news/hiv-overcomes-crispr-gene-editing-attack-1.19712
Nobody said anything about throwing condoms to the wind. We were responding to someone who said he'd rather have HIV, which is blatantly absurd.
Excellent news! Here's the article abstract in PubMed. The PubMed link points out that this grant was funded by an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health. That's the same National Institutes of Health that Trump wanted to cut by around $6 billion dollars, or roughly 18% of their operating budget. Thankfully, the concept of funding science is generally bipartisan and the latest stopgap budget Congress passed increased NIH funding by $2 billion instead. Bullet dodged, at least briefly, but if you are in the US please keep an eye on what your representatives are doing come October when we get to have the whole budget fight all over again.
FnordChan
FnordChan
Not really, actually. HIV has probably been around in humans much longer than the past century. There were probably small incursions of SIV into humans in West Africa for hundreds of years, but due to isolation of small communities and limited travel, it didn't spread. It really began to spread out of the Congo when cities were built and prostitutes came, people came for work, traveled around, HIV spread around Africa and eventually made it's way around the world. The new affordability and accessibility air travel found in the seventies contributed greatly to it's spread out of Africa and further. There are three or four traceable instances of cross species transmission; the large majority of HIV cases are from a single one of these events, but there are measurable amounts of patients with the other strains of HIV, mostly confined to Africa. Surely, SIV didn't suddenly start cross species transmission in the 1920s, a few people here and there in West Africa have probably experienced HIV for hundreds of years despite now knowing so as they would have died of some opportunistic infection.
The bacterial STIs have been going down due to the efficacy of antibiotics but resistance has led to their resurgence, especially Chlamydia. Gonorrhea is going to become a big problem in the coming years as it is becoming resistant to the two last antibiotics that are used to treat it. Additionally, infection with these STIs is often asymptomatic so they can be easily spread without the infected person or their partner knowing they are at risk.
STIs have been around much longer than the past century... blaming sexuality seems crazy. The first outbreak of Syphilis in Europe was via French soldiers at the end of the 15th century. This stuff has been around for as long as humanity.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Thanks for the history.
Herpes, on the other hand, has to be one of the most effective viruses of all time. It's existed long before humans, and now we're plagued with upwards of seven or eight different strains. Everything has herpes. Horses. Fish. THE CORAL REEF. The coral reef has herpes, are you kidding me.
Nah, the other ones will all be immune to antibiotics soon.
ryutaro's mama
Member
You...have the right idea.
Oh you sweet, sweet, summer child.
Put down the Hollywood fiction and pick up a history book. I'd start with saloon culture 1880-1920.
No, things like HBV is way more important to have a cure and a cure for HIV could lead to that.
Well, we do have a vaccine for HPV now and prices in developing countries are a decent amount less than what we pay in the developed world (the US especially). Won't happen in the modern world but given that Small Pox has been eliminated globally via vaccination (and Polio, nearly but not quite) shows that they can have a huge impact.
GameAddict411
Member
You probably have it if you have ever had sex or kissed anyone on the lips. Hell, you might have gotten it from your family when you were a kid from an innocent kiss from a relative. Herpes is much more common than you think and it transmits on skin contact. If you have sex with anyone who is sexually active, you probably have it too. Herpes is not dangerous, and even though the symptoms for herpes are pretty brutal for some people, it's very rare for a person with live infection to have a third outbreak(the second one is also mild). And you don't have to take medication for it with no long term impact on health. HIV is much more serious than herpes, and the even though it's very treatable, the medications are pretty hard on your organs especially long term. Some people can't digest food when they are on medication. I think people should not downplay the significance of HIV in someones life, but at the same time they should not make the center of their lives.
A cure for HIV will be one of the biggest breakthroughs in modern medicine and will save millions of lives. People in developing countries still die from AIDS because of lack of health care. If they find an affordable cure it will make the world a better place! Cities and monuments should be build in the name of the scientists who ever crack the HIV cure.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
That's pretty fuckin' rad. I for one, welcome our new CRISPR overlords.
While true, terrible sexual practices are a major reason in the spread. I am not sure on the statistics in regards to if U.S populace started having more sexual partners than before being part of the reason that the guy you quoted is true or not though.
But, he isn't too wrong, he is just correcting the ideas of just because HIV/HPV are dealt with that it doesn't mean people can go around having unprotected sex all the time (even though the guy who said that, I am pretty sure was joking).
Netherscourge
Banned
Uh... I think you missed a few STDs...
AuthenticM
Member
If CRISPR can eliminate HIV, it can eliminate those other STDs. I don't think we have anything to worry about on that front.
Aaronrules380
Member
Cancer is indeed genetic in nature, caused when cells mutate in such a way that the replication control factors are disabled such that the cells start going out of control. That said we're not talking about making nobody get cancer. We're talking about curing existing cancer, which is technically already possible, though not always reliable, especially when cancer is caught late. CRISPR as a possible cure for cancer (or rather, cancers since cancer is just a type of disease, with many different subsets) is absolutely possible in theory, since CRISPR is a highly targeted gene therapy technique. Curing genetic diseases is one of the main hopes of this type of technology.
There are also ideas like trying to improve our immune cells to be better at fighting cancer, though I find these a bit more suspect since improving on nature in this type of regard is incredibly difficult
Shadowhelper
Banned
considering crispr can be built in your garage or less than 2 grand, and university students can learn to operate it, I hope people can start curing themselves of many diseases. I'm sure the medical and pharmaceutical company will slow this down, at least for other diseases, and find a way to monetize it.
HPV can be dangerous to pregnant women, but it dies by itself in 6 months. That's why the vaccine works, HPV is a very weak, but potentially destructive virus. There are plenty of viruses we should be able to kill with crispr. Who knows when it will be common place though.
Herpes actually kills people with severely depressed immune systems, like cancer patients. It's not just about being able to fuck without getting cold sores. Most people it won't ruin their lives, but for some it can.
HPV can be dangerous to pregnant women, but it dies by itself in 6 months. That's why the vaccine works, HPV is a very weak, but potentially destructive virus. There are plenty of viruses we should be able to kill with crispr. Who knows when it will be common place though.
Herpes actually kills people with severely depressed immune systems, like cancer patients. It's not just about being able to fuck without getting cold sores. Most people it won't ruin their lives, but for some it can.
theechrisfox
Member
It really sounds amazing, but it seems like the type of thing Shkreli and the like will make try to make utterly unobtainable.
Aaronrules380
Member
I mean, there's already a very noteworthy conflict between two universities over who gets patent rights to CRISPR because there's so much potential money involved in the technology
Sidewinder
Member
Cure - the ultimate holy grail for anybody fighting against an illness, but big pharma hates it even moreso if it's cheap and doesn't need treatment for the rest of your life, who's gonna win?? My money is on the big companies for at least a couple decades.
Patients, governments and health insurers should pool their ressources together and build their own big pharma, but that'd be a communist thing to do!!1
Patients, governments and health insurers should pool their ressources together and build their own big pharma, but that'd be a communist thing to do!!1
Marky Mark
Member
Isn't that one way you can get it? I don't know much about aids sorry.
Lmao theoretically, but the chances of getting HIV from oral are so extremely low.
But Chronic Hepatitis B still kills millions a year. It needs a cure or a medicine that can effectively manage the disese/virus long term.
RumblingRosco
Member
The paper can be read in-full here: http://www.cell.com/molecular-therapy-family/molecular-therapy/fulltext/S1525-0016(17)30110-7
It's important to note, this is not a complete elimination of HIV - it was "only" ~95% elimination. So, it's not quite perfect yet. "Completely shutdown" and "eliminated" as written in the news report are misleading if not outright incorrect. So, when people ask "why haven't we eliminated HIV in humans!?" in a year or two, it's probably because this technology isn't quite as developed as the misleading report here would state. The actual journal article itself is not misleading, however (see the link up top).
Just FYI, CRISPR/Cas9 works by cutting out chunks of the HIV genome. HIV is literally a virus that finds its way into humans and induces immunodeficiency. Muscular dystrophy, however, is induced by a human's own DNA, I believe. Therefore, the same approach used here to remove the genome of a foreign invader (HIV) isn't necessarily appropriate to use for "fixing" or removing native human genes. I definitely could see a future where CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to treat muscular dystrophy, but I think the approach used here against HIV is a far cry from any approach needed for muscular dystrophy treatment.
It's important to note, this is not a complete elimination of HIV - it was "only" ~95% elimination. So, it's not quite perfect yet. "Completely shutdown" and "eliminated" as written in the news report are misleading if not outright incorrect. So, when people ask "why haven't we eliminated HIV in humans!?" in a year or two, it's probably because this technology isn't quite as developed as the misleading report here would state. The actual journal article itself is not misleading, however (see the link up top).
Just FYI, CRISPR/Cas9 works by cutting out chunks of the HIV genome. HIV is literally a virus that finds its way into humans and induces immunodeficiency. Muscular dystrophy, however, is induced by a human's own DNA, I believe. Therefore, the same approach used here to remove the genome of a foreign invader (HIV) isn't necessarily appropriate to use for "fixing" or removing native human genes. I definitely could see a future where CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to treat muscular dystrophy, but I think the approach used here against HIV is a far cry from any approach needed for muscular dystrophy treatment.
tearsintherain
Member
A pretty good sci fi book about gene editing in the future, Change Agent, delves into CRISPR heavily, definitely an interesting look into what kind of potential CRISPR could have on the future. Basically $1k box that lets anyone do synthetic biology brings a lot of crazy possibilities into the world.
https://qz.com/952236/a-new-crispr-...g-terrifyingly-easy-for-anyone-to-understand/
The idea of creating synthetic genes that "print" anything you want (food, devices, etc) is pretty crazy / cool.
https://qz.com/952236/a-new-crispr-...g-terrifyingly-easy-for-anyone-to-understand/
The idea of creating synthetic genes that "print" anything you want (food, devices, etc) is pretty crazy / cool.
WeAreStarStuff
Member
AuthenticM
Member
So is CRISPR not patented?
BlazinSkatinAxel
Member
RumblingRosco
Member
Massive litigation is on-going regarding CRISPR/Cas9. However, people can still use the technology in the mean time, especially for non-profit-generating ventures (such as lab research). Not sure on the legal issues if, say, a new company was founded and they used CRISPR technology to develop and sell new medical treatments.
Shadowhelper
Banned
Yup. The technology was developed by many people and is out in the wild, a lot of people want a piece now.
Crispr was used almost two years ago now to cure leukemia in London, the first time apparently.
There is another similar systen Talon. They can cure all sorts of viruses and diseases with this. Curing HIV is a big deal since it hides in nerve clusters deep in your body in your brain and the tip of your spine, like other chronic viruses do. If you can get to HIV you can get to many previously thought incurable diseases.
The tech has been here for a while. I just doubt we'll see commercial use for a very long time. Certainly, the FDA can put the brakes on it, but perhaps not for HIV, but certainly for other diseases.
Off-Kilter
Banned
God bless
CRISPR is amazing to read about.
I remember reading an article just a few months ago where scientists were using it against the herpes virus, don't know if they were at the live animal stage or not. But I remember wondering to myself what else it could work for, like HIV. And here we are now.
So right now it seems a lot of research and study is going into using CRISPR against retroviruses. Hopefully it will lead to many breakthroughs and treatments, and possibly even though I hesitate to say it, cures.
I remember reading an article just a few months ago where scientists were using it against the herpes virus, don't know if they were at the live animal stage or not. But I remember wondering to myself what else it could work for, like HIV. And here we are now.
So right now it seems a lot of research and study is going into using CRISPR against retroviruses. Hopefully it will lead to many breakthroughs and treatments, and possibly even though I hesitate to say it, cures.
Can't you remove it?
Gotta say it's really weird that I have a microbiology degree and have never seen it abbreviated as HBV. I don't know how that happens. I thought you must've mistyped or something.
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
Yeah, it's a ways off still but this technique is a step towards the right direction towards future genome modification
Perhaps CRISPR HIV therapies could be used in conjunction with existing drug protocols?
Septimus Prime
Member
It doesn't just cut, but it can cut and replace, right? I can imagine it one day replacing the genes that cause various illnesses with versions of them that don't.
One of the primary use cases of CRISPR is targeting hereditary diseases. So yes, it can. It's just not perfected yet.
One Eyed Willy
Member
Awesome shit