Biomedicine Update – Cloning the Woolly Mammoth a Step Closer to Reality

Scientists from Russia and South Korea are hell-bent on recreating the Woolly Mammoth, an animal that has been extinct for more than 10,000 years.

The North-Eastern Federal University of the Sakha Republic in Russia and South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation are combining their research efforts to recreate the extinct animal using an Indian Elephant female as surrogate. This consortium of scientists are not the only ones in the race. Japanese scientists along with Americans and Russians have been in pursuit of a Mammoth clone and expect to see the creature reborn by 2016.

Woolly Mammoth remains have been pulled out of the Siberian permafrost for several years. The current challenge is to harvest viable genetic material from these remains. That means finding an undamaged nuclei from Mammoth remains and replacing the nucleus of a host somatic cell from an elephant.

The Woolly Mammoth roamed Siberia and North America throughout the Pleistocene only to go extinct 10,000 years ago. As permafrost melts because of a warming planet the remains of these creatures have led scientists to consider recreating the species.

With a culture of Mammoth somatic cells, researchers could then create embryos that could be implanted into the surrogate.

As I have reported in an earlier blog on the subject of cloning, South Korean scientists have created cloned animals including a dog, cat, cow, pig, coyote and wolf.

Does recreating the Woolly Mammoth mean we can restore the species? Potentially, but this foray into cloning an extinct animal may lead to attempts to recreate other lost species as long as there is viable DNA that can be recovered. Jurassic Park – are we there yet? Not likely. Finding viable dinosaur DNA even preserved in the gut of mosquitos trapped in amber is remotely possible to say the most.

Biomedicine – Part 10: Bioengineering the End to Aging

In our last blog we introduced telomeres, the genetic information that slowly vanishes from chromosomes each time cells divide. Researchers who study aging see a correlation between those vanishing telomeres and growing older. But I am getting ahead of myself. Before we can talk about the mechanism of stopping aging we really need to understand aging processes and current theories. Scientists have differing opinions on what causes us to age. One opinion states that our bodies have a biological built-in timeline that switches genes on and off, alters hormones over time and impacts our immune system making us less capable of fighting off disease. The second opinion asserts that we are victims of our environment and the damage it does to us over time. That damage includes genetic mutation in cells, accumulated proteins that impair cell function, and general wear and tear.

Our Biological Limits

In the latter part of the 18th century the average human lived 24 years. By the end of the 19th the average lifespan had doubled. In the second decade of the 21st century we are approaching a doubling again. Is there a biological limit?

We are the sum of our genetics. How long your parents lived may indicate how long you will live. But then again it may not.  We know that altering genes can alter the lifespan of animals and plants we study in laboratories. We have doubled the lifespan of mice by splicing genetic material into their chromosomes.

This picture shows two mice from a study done at the University of Washington. By suppressing a protein in a control study, the mouse on the left lived twice as long, was much healthier and demonstrated higher cognitive functions. Source: Technology Review, MIT

In an earlier blog we described the structure of DNA, genes, base pairs and chromosomes. It may be helpful to click on the link provided as a quick refresher before reading further.

We have two DNA repositories in every cell in our body (blood cells not included). That DNA is found in the nucleus and mitochondria within the cell. The DNA organizes itself as chromosomes. When cells replicate the chromosomes divide and copy themselves. This is called mitosis.

Telomeres are repeating DNA base pair sequences that sit at the end of each chromosome. They act as buffers to ensure that DNA replication during mitosis remains accurate. A ribonucleic protein enzyme, telomerase, maintains the telomeres.  As cells divide some telomere information does not replicate, usually between 25 and 200 base pairs. The average telomere can be as long as 15,000 base pairs so what is lost is not significant until the cells divide many times. The accumulation of lost base pairs starts adding up.

Why do we lose telomeres? This may be a reflection of our natural aging process, the unwinding of our biological clock so to speak. Or telomeres may shorten because of external forces such as exposure to toxins, disease or injury. Ultimately when chromosomes no longer have a telomere buffer cells they no longer can divide and we call this cellular state senescence. The Hayflick limit, named after the scientist (see the image below) who, in 1961, first discovered this phenomenon, is the natural limit of a cell’s life after multiple replication.

Dr. Leonard Hayflick, a gerontologist, first observed that a normal population of cells has a finite limit in which cell division occurs. Source: Technology Review, MIT

Do all cells have a Hayflick limit? Apparently not as scientists have observed in studying cancer. Tumor cells do not suffer from DNA strand shortening. They can infinitely replicate because in cancer cells telomerase remains active restoring telomere length. Other cells that don’t exhibit the shortening of telomeres include sperm and egg cells. Hormones may impact telomerase activity and telomere lengths. It is believed that estrogen plays a role and may explain why women live on average longer than men.

If we were to alter the behaviour of our normal cells by stimulating telomerase could we reverse the aging process, ending senescence? This is possible. Use of telomerase in laboratory settings has shown that it can confer “immortality” on several types of human cells. That same capability makes telomerase one of the key factors in cancerous tumor cell growth and is leading to research into telomerase inhibitors that would transform cancer cells by starving them of the protein and putting them into senescence.

Telomeres alone do not extend life. If they were the sole means by which we could stop aging we have the technology to produce on mass altered cells containing high levels of telomerase and bank these for use to cure incalculable diseases. Right now scientists believe that stopping telomere shortening may add 10 to 30 years to the average life span. That would mean a child born today could expect to easily achieve an average lifespan of a  century.

Other Factors to Consider that Impact Aging

If you are over 60, which I am, your risk dying doubles every 8 years. Research shows that shortening of telomeres only accounts for 4% of the difference. Chronological age and gender account for an additional 33%. The remaining 63% can be attributed to:

1. Oxidation
2. Glycation
3. Inflammation
4. Stress
5. Immune Response

Oxidation sounds like a strange contributor to aging. After all, we need oxygen to breathe and a byproduct of this basic life function is oxidants. Oxidants result from oxygen combining with sugar to produce energy and byproducts called free radicals. Not all free radicals are internally produced. They can also come from infections, inflammation, alcohol, smoking, excessive sun exposure, radiation from x-rays and environmental toxins. Free radicals can have a negative impact on individual cells, proteins and fatty tissue.   Free radicals over time can build up in the body and are associated with aging. In a  recent study the lifespan of worms was increased by 44% by neutralizing oxidants.

Glycation involves excess glucose binding with our DNA, proteins and fats. Excess glucose begins to interfere with normal body tissue functions. The older we get the more the glucose creates health problems contributing to aging let alone body mass. Research shows that restricting calorie intake and selecting foods low in sugar leads to reduced age-related disease and extended lifespans in mice to monkeys.

Inflammation is the body’s natural response against infections and injuries. It also contributes to tissue injury and ultimately to aging. Chronic or persistent inflammation without significant infection is evidence of an immune system that no longer recognizes host body tissue as its own. As we age autoimmune conditions including chronic inflammation become more prevalent. Chronic inflammation destroys normal cells and contributes to the aging of the cardiovascular and nervous system. Inflammation contributes to age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Stress  harms DNA and speeds the aging process. A study in 2004 showed that psychological stress shortens telomeres in immune cells.  Evidence shows that stress, the endocrine system response and the occurrence of disease define age more than chronological aging. Certain diseases occur when anabolic hormone levels start to decline and catabolic hormones start to increase. The latter, such as Cortisol, can contribute to the breakdown of body tissue. As proof of just how much stress contributes to aging and premature death, interviewers who spoke with centenarians found that they exhibited healthy coping strategies in dealing with illness describing their behaviours as accepting, non worrying and taking life one day at a time.

Immune Response refers to the specialized cells generated by our bodies to fight off disease. Researchers in Israel at the Technion studied the natural decline in the immune system as we age. This inability to fight off diseases when we are older is one of the reasons for the statistics about the risks to humans when they reach 60 and over. By suppressing B-lymphocyte immune cells in aging mice and using a drug commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, the mice were able to manufacture healthy replacements using bone marrow. Clinical trials have begun in human populations suffering from B-cell lymphoma.

Aging contributors include telomere shortening, oxidation, glycation, inflammation, stress and immune response. Source: University of Utah

What are the prospects for human immortality?

The SENS Foundation is dedicated to re-engineering our bodies to end aging through rejuvenation biotechnology.  These biotechnologies cover major research areas including cell loss, tissue atrophy, nuclear and mitochondrial mutations, immunotherapy, and targeted ablation. The goals are:

1. Apply enzymes to lysosomes in cells to destroy the junk that accumulates in them leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and macular degeneration
2. Reduce mutations in the mitochondria of non-dividing cells such  as neurons and muscle fibres through applied gene therapy
3. Eliminate the extracellular junk that makes artery walls become rigid leading to high blood pressure, or causes amyloidoses in Alzheimer’s sufferers using repair proteins or vaccines to stimulate the immune system
4. Remove senescent cells, immunosenescent cells, (white blood cells that no longer work) and visceral fat cells (the fat around our internal abdominal organs that contributes to adult-onset diabetes) cells that accumulate in the body during aging
5. Replace lost cells in vital tissues such as brain, heart and skeletal muscles using cell therapy
6. Make cancer mutations harmless by interfering with the natural machinery for renewing telomeres
7. Develop ways to introduce new ribonucleic proteins into the body and remove those present through transplantation, cell therapy, somatic gene and protein therapy and germ line gene therapy.

If we eliminate all of these physical processes inherent in aging and develop appropriate delivery systems for restoration and repair some scientists project that we can live 1,000 years. Will someone born in the 21st century be the first millenarian?

Biomedicine – Part 9: Cloning

“Hello Dolly,” not the musical but the sheep. Seen below, Dolly was the first adult mammal cloning success using sheep.

Born in July 1996, Dolly was the first mammal known to be cloned from an adult of the same species. Source: Farmers Guardian

Her journey from the petri dish to birth began as a cell taken from a mammary gland of a 6-year old female donor. The technique included putting the cell into a suspended state to extract its DNA. A host egg cell came from another female donor. With the egg cell nucleus removed the DNA from the mammary cell was inserted. Then an electric current was applied to simulate the energy accompanying fertilization and embryonic development. After 148 days, Dolly was born.

It wasn’t all that simple a task. The researchers tried this with 277 fused eggs. Only 29 embryos survived and of these 13 were successfully implanted, but only one, Dolly, was born.

Cloning is not new to nature, just new to humanity. Many creatures practice asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, producing exact copies of themselves. Many plants reproduce themselves by sending out roots laterally and sprouting exact DNA copies of themselves. Researchers studying Aspen trees in British Columbia, however, report that this form of cloning leads to an increasing likelihood of creating some bad genetic material. We call altered genes mutations. The scientists studying Aspens counted the accumulated mutations of 20 different male Aspen trees and noted that cloned trees were less hardy than their parents. The same can be said about Dolly. She aged prematurely and passed away after 6 years.

Dolly wasn’t the first vertebrate to be cloned. That honour belongs to a carp, cloned in 1963.

The first cloned mouse, named Cumulina, was created in 1997 and died in 1999.

Mira the goat, born in 1998, was actually 3 goats, all identical. Their DNA was modified so that their milk produced recombinant human antithrombin (rhAT), a protein that prevents blood from clotting.

Cow clones, made in Japan, appeared in 1998. Recently, a newspaper in the United Kingdom described some of the challenges related to cloned farm cows with reports of pain, ill-health, organ defects and gigantism.

The first cloned guar (an Indian bison) named Noah was born in 2000 and died 48 hours after birth.

Pig clones have popped up in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other locations, the first appearing in 2000. In 2001 scientists produced the first pig clones genetically modified to grow organs suitable for human transplantation. This feat was accomplished by knocking out a pig gene that produces the coating on organs containing sugar molecules that trigger acute rejection when transplanted.

Talk about copycat, scientists in Texas successfully cloned a cat born in December 2001.

Joining all the above we have cloned dogs, rats, mules, horses, water buffalo, camel and a Pyrenean Ibex, a species of antelope that was declared extinct in 2000. Unfortunately in the case of the latter, it died shortly after birth and remains extinct.

Why Do We Want to Clone? – 10 Reasons. theWhy and the Why Not

Cloning has great biomedical potential to help humanity tackle and cure diseases. In cloning animals we may yield enormous medical and agricultural benefits. But cloning also presents ethical challenges. The following lists the most commonly expressed reasons for cloning:

1. For medical research to create transgenic animals bred with genetic mutations that cause specific human diseases to study and find cures.

In 2009 a team at Seoul National University created the world’s first transgenic dog to model human diseases. The researchers cloned a red flourescent gene produced by sea anemones and inserted it into the dog genome producing Ruppy, a beagle pup who glowed red in ultraviolet light. A virus was used as the gene transport mechanism to introduce it into a cell nucleus. That nucleus was then removed and then inserted as a replacement nucleus in a dog egg cell. A few hours later the egg divided to become an embryo which was then implanted into a surrogate mother. The red flourescent gene serves no medical purpose other than a validation that this technology works. But currently the failure rate is better than 98% in taking altered egg cells and successfully producing cloned offspring that survive through pregnancy and birth.

2. For creating human stem cells, a perfect match from donors, banked and withdrawn when needed to insert into and repair damaged or diseased organs and tissue.

In October 2011, scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation Laboratory announced the first successful cloning of human stem cells to treat conditions such as diabetes and spinal cord injury. Researchers used a method similar to the one that created Dolly. The adult somatic cell source used came from skin. This field of study shows great promise.

3. Therapeutic generation of matched tissues and organs for transplant back into the donor.

Therapeutic cloning remains in the laboratory using animal studies with early successes treating neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, generating blood vessels and skin to deal with severe burns, producing endocrine cells to generate glucagon and insulin within a pancreas to cure diabetes, corticospinal axon regeneration to repair severed spinal cords, and photoreceptor regeneration to treat blindness.

4. For genetically engineering animals to generate life-saving drugs or proteins for use in humans.

In this area of research we are already seeing significant results. See my earlier comments about Mira the goat.

5. To create domestic animals with superior genetics by copying livestock with desirable traits.

Regarding genetically superior domestic breeding using clones, we have yet to prove we have mastery in this field. Today the success rate in cloning of less than 2% is very low. Cloned animals that make it to term tend to be larger than average. Called Large Offspring Syndrome or LOS, cloned animals with this condition have abnormal organs. Many have breathing and blood flow problems. Even normal-sized clones may experience kidney, brain and immune system health issues. Our early experience with adult cell nuclear transfer may be the reason why clones on average don’t live as long as normally bred animals because the nuclear material being used comes from an older donor cell. Our research shows that when normal human cells continually divide, the DNA sequences at the end of each chromosome shorten. The older the animal, the shorter the chromosome. We call these chromosome ends telomeres. Are the shorter telomeres affecting the lifespan of clones? Researchers continue to study the phenomenon because we have yet to see consistent outcomes in the DNA of cloned animals.

6.  To recreate extinct or copy endangered animals to restore biodiversity.

We may be closer to resurrecting an extinct species after some of the pioneering work done in the last decade. In 2008, researchers cloned a mouse from one that had been frozen for 16 years. Although the cloned Pyrenean Ibex died from defective lungs, the Spanish scientists who carried out this resurrection attempt showed us the potential for bringing back an animal from extinction.

From this pile of Woolly Mammoth hair and from marrow extracted from bones, scientists have reconstructed the DNA of this extinct Ice Age creature.

In Russia, scientists at the Siberian Mammoth Museum, in association with Japan’s Kinki University, have extracted marrow cells from a woolly mammoth and are planning to use an elephant egg cell as a host for cloning an animal that disappeared well over 10,000 years ago. Considering the failure rate in successful clone births the opportunity to recreate the mammoth will require a large enough sample to produce a successful baby and that is without consideration for other conditions such as the size of the animal in utero and the potential for birth complications for the surrogate mother elephant.

7. To duplicate a favourite pet.

If I told you TLC, the cable television channel, launched a reality TV program called “I Cloned My Pet,” would you believe me? It’s true. Just launched on January 11, 2012, each episode features a pet owner reminiscing about their animal friend who has passed on. The pet owner has saved locks of hair, or harvested cells and has sent them to a Korean laboratory offering pet cloning services. Scientists in South Korea have cloned dogs since 2005, not just for bereaved pet owners, but also to recreate highly prized working dogs. View the link to read about cloned airport security and drug detection dogs. This is big business in Korea.

8. To duplicate a dead child.

Although a positively Frankensteinian idea, in an article published in 2009, a fertility doctor claimed he had created 11 cloned human embryos made from adult skin cells and placed them in the wombs of four of his patients. In the same article the doctor claimed he created clone embryos of dead people, one of them a 10-year old girl. The attempt to reproduce the girl involved a sample of her blood. The doctor at the time claimed it was not his intention to actually bring the dead girl back to life.

Attempts at the United Nations in 2005 to create a worldwide ban on human cloning of this kind failed. Instead a resolution passed which stated “all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life” should be condemned.

But if we can bring back an extinct animal then what is to stop someone, somewhere, from cloning a lost loved one?

9. To create a child for infertile couples and not use adoption or a surrogate.

If we can clone other animals then theoretically we can clone humans. In 2001, at the Human Therapeutic Cloning Conference in Rome, a consortium of doctors proclaimed they were in agreement on the question of human cloning as a medical treatment for infertile couples.  The agreement recognized that sterile men could pass along their genetic attributes to offspring only this way and should be given the opportunity. The scientists at this conference recognized that “the genie had already been let out of the bottle,” and better that they were the ones to do this then some “quack.”

10. To create a duplicate of an individual as an alternative to a surrogate for those who are not married but want an heir who is an exact match.

I recently visited a website called Clonaid. At first I thought this has to be a hoax. But Clonaid is real and claims its first human clone baby, named Eve, was born on December 26th, 2002. The juxtaposition of the date so close to Christmas made me even more skeptical.

Since 2002, Clonaid has made unverified claims that include four other clones including a second birth to a Dutch woman, and a third to a Japanese family who had their lost son cloned. Clonaid may be perpetrating a fraud but they are not alone in pursuing human clones. China’s Xiangya Medical College, in Changsha, is one of three research centres studying human cloning. In one Clonaid case the company described the desire of a homosexual couple who wanted to have sons, duplicates of themselves and that Clonaid was capable of fulfilling their wishes.

Indeed it seems that with Dolly the genie has been let out of the bottle and we are, at this point in the 21st century, wrestling with the demons that may follow.

Biomedicine – Part 2: The Evolution of Computational Biology

By mapping the human genome in its entirety we are entering a new biomedical world using computational biology.  To understand the complexity associated with this new world we need to understand DNA.

DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Since the mid-19th century we have known that within our cells contained the building block of life. We didn’t know what that building block looked like until the mid-20th century when it was first described.

DNA - The Double Helix that is the basic building block of life on Earth

DNA is a molecule found in almost every cell of every animal and plant on this planet. There are a few exceptions – those cells that do not contain a nucleus such as red blood cells. DNA is also found in mitochondria and chloroplasts, organelles found within animal and plant cells that are energy factories.

In the diagram above we note 4 different colour-labelled segments attached to the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule. These are labelled A, T, C and G and represent four chemical bases. These nitrogen-based chemicals are organic molecules that when combined together turn chemical soup into living things.

A stands for adenine

T for thymine

C for cytosine

G for guanine

Note how these bases connect the double helix in a particular way, adenine always connects to thymine and cytosine always to guanine. These are called base pairs. The helical spiral material consists of sugar and phosphate molecules. In our diagram they appear as the blue and orange spiral staircase banister with the base pairs acting as the steps. The combination of  one of the nitrogen-based chemicals, a phosphate and sugar molecule together is called a nucleotide.

Human DNA consists of approximately 3 billion base pairs with accompanying sugar and phosphate molecules. It is both simple and complex. The quantity of base pairs within a DNA molecule determines whether we are human, or fruit flies. If the number of base pairs approximates 3 billion then it is the shuffling in  the order that determines whether we as humans have  brown or blue eyes. We call this shuffling in the order of base pairs, sequencing.

A sequence of DNA in the form of a number of nucleotide base pairs forms a gene. Genes can contain as few as 1,000 base pairs or as many as a million. Every human has approximately 20,000 genes. Our genes reside on 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs, all contained in the nucleus of our cells.

DNA – a Biological Programming Tool

Human DNA is an instruction manual containing the information necessary to make one of us. In every cell we have complexes of molecules called amino acids. Amino acids contain an amino group (NH2) and a carboxyl group (COOH). These are nitrogen and carbon-based molecules, the stuff of planets and stars. Amino acids are the  chemicals that  make up enzymes and proteins. DNA instructs both in a process described below:

1. There are all kinds of enzymes within a cell and each has a different task. Some read the information contained in the DNA molecule.
2. That information is then  transcribed to another complex molecule, RNA, Ribonucleic acid. The RNA acts as a messenger and hence is called Messenger RNA or mRNA for short. There are other forms of RNA but they are not part of this process.
3. The mRNA then delivers the original message from the DNA into a language that other enzymes read to create proteins.

DNA has one other remarkable characteristic. It can replicate by unlocking the bonds between nucleotides and joining up with other nucleotides. DNA does this with the help of another cell enzyme called DNA polymerase. This enzyme along with several other helper enzymes goes alongside the DNA strand and breaks the nucleotide bonds and replicates it into two DNA strands. The end product is two separate DNA molecules, virtually identical. The final act in this process leads to the cell dividing with each new cell containing its own DNA.

Genome Sequencing – a Prelude to Programming Ourselves

The full sequencing of the human genome is a very recent event. As of 2009 we now have the capability of describing ourselves completely. The cost of doing this has rapidly declined making it possible for almost anyone with $100 in their pocket to find out of what they are made.

What does this mean? For the first time medical professionals will have a tool that is predictive, personal and preventive in its use. How so?

Predictive – Because physicians will be able to study the genome doctors and detect all genetic variances that indicate a higher than normal likelihood of a patient getting a disease.

Personalized – Because individuals will receive treatment specific to what their genome indicates. For certain cancers where the genome indicates high certainty this means earlier intervention and better outcomes.

Preventive – Because doctors will be able to intervene before a disease starts making it possible to avoid its onset altogether.

Genome sequencing of every baby born will make it possible to develop a life plan heading off tendencies predicted in the reading of the child’s DNA.  The downside to this is obvious. Not all diseases are visible by reading DNA. Malaria, HIV, drug overdose, being hit by a car, dying in war, are not predictable in reading a person’s genome.

For parents who only want the best for their children, genome sequencing has the potential of offering a means to offset deficits visible in a child’s makeup. Can reading the genome predict OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Schizophrenia and other psycho-behavioral disorders? Could preventive intervention before the symptoms show potentially do more harm than good?

Programming the Genome

Eugenics is the practice of improving humanity through selective breeding. As  practiced in the 20th century eugenic policies were enacted to cull “undesirables.” Probably the best examples were the racial practices of Nazi Germany in the euthanizing and murder of undesirables, gypsies, homosexuals, Jews, and lesser “races,” or the sterilization programs conducted in many Western countries against adults with Down’s Syndrome and mental disorders. War and saner, more humane leadership led to the end of these practices.

The new eugenics takes a very different approach. Instead of removing “undesirables” after birth, the idea is to engineer out the undesirable genetic factors before birth, even before conception. Enhancing existing in vitro fertilization techniques will make it entirely possible to introduce genetic improvements, the advent of designer babies.

Recently I read about a high-level programming language called Qath. Qath is software designed to build genomes. Like other programming languages, Qath generates source code to create new sequences. We are at the beginning of a new era, creating synthetic life.

The author of Qath is Zoltan Barczikay, a software developer with, as he describes it, “an avid interest in synthetic biology.” He has made Qath an open source tool available for free for anyone to download. The goal of Qath is to engineer human genomes “to create reprogrammed cells for therapeutic purposes” or perhaps to improve humanity.

 

Biomedicine – Part 1: The Promise of Medical Technology in the 21st Century

Humanity is closer today to immortality than it has ever been. We have surpassed Darwinian survival of the fittest to reach a new stage in evolution, creating humans reshaped by advances in biology combined with technology. In the 21st century one of our human challenges will be – do we really want to go there? Is immortality what we seek? What are the consequences of intervening in natural processes, of manipulating the human genome, of ending aging?

In unlocking the mysteries of  the human genome we are learning to master the very essence of what makes us human, that orders and sequences our anatomy and operates our physiology, that explains why some of us are more susceptible to particular diseases than others, that tells us who is likely to get cancer,  develop early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, or pass a congenital illness to our descendants.

DNA is the programming language of life. It has been in existence on Earth for almost 4 billion years. In the last decade of the 20th century and the first of the 21st we have mapped our genome in its entirety. We in effect are in a position to replicate the genome and even make improved copies of ourselves. The science we have practiced in agriculture  we are starting to apply to ourselves.

Today genetic sequencing is the fastest growing biomedical industry on the planet. Biology has become biotechnology with ever more powerful computers central to us building new proteins, medicines, and biology. We are writing  genetic code just as if it were a programming language.  Instead of writing software we now are writing life. We have synthesized viruses and bacteria. When will we be capable of “creating” multicellular life? We are not far way. For those who profess religious faith they would say we are playing at being God.

The truth is we still do not know how life got started on Earth. So we don’t know how nature made us but we have discovered the tool kit nature uses. We have also looked into ourselves and made other discoveries. We are not a single entity.  We are in fact a combination of 10 trillion cells and a host for 100 trillion bacteria and viruses that help us thrive. In knowing our genome we have the means to engineer the 10 trillion cells. But we can also alter ourselves bacterially to improve our health and prolong life.

In 1900 we were humanity 1.0. Understanding our biology remained in its infancy. Insulin for treating diabetes was only discovered in 1921. The first natural antibiotic, penicillin, was identified in 1928. These two medical discoveries can be linked to the development of  humanity 1.1, a species interdependent with the medical support system that evolved in the 20th century.

In our mastery of the DNA toolkit what will humanity 2.0 be in 2050, and what will 3.0 be in 2100?

Here are some of the issues and technology trends that will drive biomedical innovation in the 21st century:

1. The evolution of computational biology and the coding of organisms. Today biologists are expressing biology using mathematics and computer programs. Like their physicist brethren mathematical concepts are being used to describe biology at its most basic constructive level – cellular, molecular and genetic. What will be the outcome of this pursuit?
2. The use of digital imaging, virtual imaging and simulation to understand human physiology better.  Creating simulation of human movement and virtual human models on computer systems will lead to better  treatment of athletes, dancers, and other humans in physically demanding occupations.
3. Biomedical engineering of organs, skin, muscle, blood vessels, blood and bone using stem cell technologies and other bio-construction materials. This will include advances leading to the ability of the body to regenerate lost limbs.
4. The development of human-machine interfaces leading to the creation of artificial organs and smart prostheses fully integrated to work with the natural body seamlessly. We will witness everything from implantable heart valves in infants that grow with the child, to artificial ears, eyes and limbs as the 21st century unfolds.
5. Synthesizing of pharmaceuticals to develop one-to-one disease management. This will be particularly effective in dealing with diseases like cancer where drugs will be closely matched to the biochemistry of specific tumors.
6. Advances in nanotechnology leading to implantable life monitors and directed treatment at disease sites within the body. Nanotechnology will make it possible to do both diagnosis and repair on an entirely new scale. With nanobots it will be possible to do on site repair of internal injuries, to deliver personalized medication to a cancerous tumor site, to remove arterial plaque, and provide mapping and imaging of internal systems at a level of detail previously unavailable.
7. Life mapping using predictive technologies.  Today we test newborns to discover whether they carry inherited diseases. As we progress through the 21st century genomic profiling will give us the means to intervene with newborns providing  prescriptive remedies to potential futures, enhancing the human experience from in utero to end of life.
8. Computer-aided surgery using remotely controlled robotic devices. Today we have developed less invasive procedures to replace heart valves and implant devices in the body. Robotic surgery will become routine using even more advanced imaging and data collection technologies than what we currently have on hand.
9. Ever since a sheep named Dolly was successfully cloned, the potential to clone humans has existed. Self-duplicating humans is the stuff of science fiction and raises many ethics questions. Stem cells from cloning may prove an effective way to produce a custom human repair kit to grow replacement body parts from skin to neurons to major body organs.
10. If we are to believe futurists such as Ray Kurzweil we will have biotechnology in place in this century to defeat aging. The implications of extended longevity for humanity are numerous.

To learn more about each of these topics revisit this blog in coming weeks as we tackle each individually. As always, questions and comments are highly welcome.