In “Our Neural Chernobyl” Bruce Sterling suggested that HIV would prove exceptionally useful, once we broke it on the wheel; it could be used to deliver gene therapies efficiently, quickly, and while bypassing the cell’s normal defenses. According to the BBC, we’re now using it to do just that: “US scientists say they used HIV to make a gene therapy that cured eight infants of severe combined immunodeficiency, or “bubble boy” disease.” The scientists in question are a bit more oblique about it:
Continue reading Early days yet, but most common form of ‘Bubble boy’ disease appears… cured.Tag: our neural chernobyl
Our Neural Chernobyl, Revisited.
I was reminded of this story (found in Bruce Sterling’s short story collection Globalhead
Big species are not the problem. Sure, in popular science fiction movies T.Rex or a Raptor rips apart a bunch of people. But big species make big targets for rifles and fishing harpoons. Plus, lots of guys would love to hunt down the genetically engineered dino that is terrorizing suburbs. It is the littler ones that are too numerous to easily control that pose the bigger threat. Genetically engineered species could really upend whole ecosystems by being very effective at outcompeting other species.
Scientists have discovered some of the genetic variations that make influenza strains more lethal and will in time identify genetic variations that make other pathogens more or less dangerous. Therefore another future threat comes in the form of a genetically engineered massive killer pandemic for humans. The same sort of threat exists for other species. Imagine a flu that would kill most sheep or cows or pigs. Or imagine some genetically engineered pathogen that would wipe out assorted wild species. This will probably become technically doable.
Probably, but it’s not what I worry about. Continue reading Our Neural Chernobyl, Revisited.