Science Gene editing to end autism - Or how I learned to stop worrying and love CRISPR

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science...nificantly-reduced-breakthrough-gene-editing/

Autism traits may be “edited” out using new genetic techniques, scientists have said, following a successful trial.

Researchers are hailing a breakthrough after they used cutting-edge gene editing to to significantly reduce repetitive behaviour associated with the disorder.

The technique, which was performed on mice, could also be developed to treat conditions ranging from opioid addiction and neuropathic pain to schizophrenia and epileptic seizures.

Scientists injected gold nanoparticles covered in a “forest” of DNA chains to alter the the genetic code of mouse models with a form of autism called fragile X syndrome (FXS).

The technique, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, resulted in in a 30 per cent drop in repetitive digging, and a 70 reduction in leaping, both indicative of autistic behaviour.

Because the editing DNA was introduced attached to gold particles, the team were able to control how much of the crucial Cas9 protein was delivered, in contrast to previous failed attempts using viruses.

"There are no treatments or cures for autism yet, and many of the clinical trials of small-molecule treatments targeting proteins that cause autism have failed," said study leader Hye Young Lee, an assistant professor of cellular and integrative physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.


"This is the first case where we were able to edit a causal gene for autism in the brain and show rescue of the behavioral symptoms."


Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disorder, with a strong genetic component, which manifests during childhood.

It is characterised by deficits in the domain of social interaction and communication, stereotyped behaviour, delayed speech and language and can also be associated with intellectual disability.

There are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK - more than one in 100 - and when including families, it is a part of daily life for 2.8 million people.

The results are published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
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How long before self diagnosed autists on Tumblr start screeching about this being genocide?

If this works then it's great. Les stress on parents and the kids can have a better life.
 
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Bullshit. Even if we did have a handle on which genes cause autism--which we don't--there's no guarantee fiddling with them would produce any benefit. You can't compare something that complex to Fragile X. Using Fragile X as a mouse model for autism is absurd. Besides, CRISPR is still years away from being ready for human use, and years more from useable on the brain.
 
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Dysnomia said:
How long before self diagnosed autists on Tumblr start screeching about this being genocide?

If this works then it's great. Les stress on parents and the kids can have a better life.
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The National Autistic Society will fucking lose their shit at this, the Autistic Community is getting bigger and more funding as more people get diagnosed as "autistic" (even through I guess some are wrong and probably are schizoid or have a personality disorder)
 
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Okay, in short, CRISPR works like this.

In bacteria, there's a emergency failsafe, where, if a bacteria is attacked by a phage and survives, a protein called CAS-9 breaks off a part of the virus' DNA and keeps it in itself in CRISPR. The next time the bacteria is attacked, CAS-9 scans the bacteria's DNA, finds the virus and cuts it out. It's basically a combination of Google and the US Air Force.

Now, that may not sound very useful, but here's the thing, it's programmable. You can put anything into it, and it'll scan for it, not just a virus, which leads to CRISPR1. Now, CRISPR1 was a pretty effective tool, but lab rats are a lot larger than bacteria, so it's not as fast, with experimental lab rats infected 100% by HIV having 52% of it removed after a week after the protein was injected into them.

So, at the moment, scientists are working on CRISPR2, which is to be dramatically faster and more powerful. There's been some problems though, with CRISPR2 being... too accurate and cutting out too much of the DNA, so they're having to try to tune it down.

It's still years from being rolled out, but's basically the medical magic bullet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjPd4uNFY Have a Kurzgesagt video on it.
 
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Tranhuviya said:
I hope this doesn't get the same reaction hearing aids and cochlear implants get from deaf people.
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Oh, it will. There is nothing the "autistic community" hates more than cures for autism. They routinely sperg out and send death threats to people like a 70-year old autistic man and parents of autistic children who can barely do anything but have tard rage fits who have done nothing but advocate for a cure for autism.
 
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Wait, it's called CRISR, and its purpose is to end all autistic people? Where have I heard that before?
Chris_r.jpg
 
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LegoTugboat said:
Okay, in short, CRISPR works like this.

In bacteria, there's a emergency failsafe, where, if a bacteria is attacked by a phage and survives, a protein called CAS-9 breaks off a part of the virus' DNA and keeps it in itself in CRISPR. The next time the bacteria is attacked, CAS-9 scans the bacteria's DNA, finds the virus and cuts it out. It's basically a combination of Google and the US Air Force.

Now, that may not sound very useful, but here's the thing, it's programmable. You can put anything into it, and it'll scan for it, not just a virus, which leads to CRISPR1. Now, CRISPR1 was a pretty effective tool, but lab rats are a lot larger than bacteria, so it's not as fast, with experimental lab rats infected 100% by HIV having 52% of it removed after a week after the protein was injected into them.

So, at the moment, scientists are working on CRISPR2, which is to be dramatically faster and more powerful. There's been some problems though, with CRISPR2 being... too accurate and cutting out too much of the DNA, so they're having to try to tune it down.

It's still years from being rolled out, but's basically the medical magic bullet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjPd4uNFY Have a Kurzgesagt video on it.
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The problem is getting the magic bullet into the correct tissues to do it’s job, and knowing what to aim at. For a disease with one faulty gene, like cystic fibrosis, there’s potential. But there are thousands of genes involved in neurogenesis, and we don’t have a good understanding of how they work. CRISPR is a powerful tool, certainly. It still needs a framework around it to reach its potential.
 
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