DNA + Gene Therapy = Coming Gattaca

*Please note that this is not written by a qualified physician. Please see your doctor before trying anything suggested here.*

Back to high school bio: What is DNA? And why is it so important now for your future health?

To understand DNA, let's first consider an analogy. Think of your body as a computer. Software is composed of 1's and 0's that tells the computer what to do (such as open an awesome blog). The computer reads the software and the hardware executes the encoded actions.

Similarly, DNA is composed of four letters (A, T, C, G) that tells your cells what to do. DNA is the software for building and maintaining your brain and body. Your cells are mini computer chips that carry out the DNA's instructions.

Certain DNA instructions are grouped together. These groups are called genes, and they are responsible for certain traits. These genes have largely influenced your height, eye color, skin complexion, and even attractiveness level.

Now imagine you could change or rewrite your DNA or genes. Yes, you could cure diseases like diabetes, but you could also create designer babies or the smartest race on Earth.

When it comes to DNA, there are two main steps. First, you need to read or sequence the letters. Next, you need to write, or synthesize the new DNA that you want to insert.

Image Credit: Singularity Hub

You can see from this graph that both of these costs are exponentially falling. Right now, we are racing towards the $1000 genome. In other words: paying $1000 to read all of your genes.

Why is this such a big deal? First, you could figure out all the "health genes" by sequencing 100 of the oldest, healthiest people on the planet.

But reading is just the beginning. We are working on gene therapy which promises the ability to change our genes. Doctors could replace our genes with these "health genes" to provide a longer, healthier life. Furthermore, gene therapy could be used to treat a range of diseases such as AIDS, obesity, Alzheimer's, and cancer.

Gene therapy also poses many ethical questions. What if we went beyond disease? We could change our skin color, athletic ability, attractiveness, and even our own intelligence. We may not do this ourselves, but our neighbors are bound to do it to their children to get the competitive advantage.

Here are some of my thoughts on how gene therapy could affect different careers:

1. Politician -- Social Intelligence genes
2. Pro Pianist -- Perfect Pitch genes, fine-muscle coordination genes. 
3. Pro Football -- Eyesight enhancing genes, muscle enhancer genes. 
4. NSA & CIA -- Intelligence genes
5. Translators -- Language (Broca's Area) genes

© Nicholas Shah and Learning More Than Living, 2013. Please note that the material included this was not written by a licensed medical professional. Therefore, please consult your physician before trying anything suggested in this article. Please note that there was an image used from Singularity Hub. This blog does not claim ownership of that image. Nicholas Shah does not claim ownership to the ideas put forth in this article. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas Shah and Learning More Than Living with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Thank You.