Human Progression: It's in our genes!

No weekly topic more has kept me more up to date with human progress than the recent revolutions bubbling within the biotechnology industry. These tools offer the promise of prolonging our lifespan, conquering threats to our health and mortality, and enhancing aesthetics and athletics [1].

[1] Improved understanding of genetic and epigenetic sequencing offers the promise of exceeding human limitations, yet also raises concerns about ethical violations.

Such developments are realizing the dreams of early futurist societies, like the Extropians, who have advocaded since the 80s for the maximization of human potential [2]. In a more real way, such forward thinkers have echoed the calls of ancient philosophers like Aristotle and post-Enlightenment thinkers like Nietzche to overcome our beastly nature. However, arguably no text has been more influential than Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology", which urges present humanity to "overcome the profound limitations of biological evolution" [3].

Such extreme humanism has now coalesced into Humanity+, a transhumanist organization headed by Nick Bostrum, also the cofounder for the Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies [4]. Transhumanism has become a popularized theme among filmakers, sculptuors, and musicians, and leading transhumanists are published artists themselves [5]. 

[6] "Primo PostHuman 3M+" is a depiction of the transhumanist vision for humankind, illustrated by Natasha Vita-More, author of the Transhumanist Manifesto in 1983 and Transhumanist Art Manifesto in 2003.

[7] This blog post has been inspired in part by the daring feat of Stelarc, who implanted an ear into his arm as a statement of the phantom technological bodies that are integrating their way into the biological body.

Dedicated to studying the promises and consequences of regenerative medicine, nootropics, smart prosthetics, etc, organizations like Humanity+ lend careful consideration to issues in bioengineering. Such an endeavor has become validated by the rise in genome-editing technologists at the turn of the millenium. Zinc-Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) are a group of engineered DNA-binding proteins that help edit targeted genomes by making double-strand breaks in DNA at locations chosen by the user [8]. Their high cost and specificity made way for a cheaper and more applicable method of DNA sequencing, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) [9]. In the past decade and a half, the introduction of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has caused the greatest sensation among bioengineers, administrators, and the general public as it more closely demonstrates the promise of altering genes in a way that observably modifies phenotypic expression [10].

[11] The above illustrations are diagrams that help to visualize how ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR function.

Bioengineering is opening up dialogue within political, economic, legal, scientific, and artistic spheres [12]. This field seems unlikely to reverse tracks or even decelerate, and I am appreciative that this spirit of progress and curiosity is in our genes!

[12] The above video is a popularized way in which artists are juxtaposing the ancient, cultural traditions of selective agriculture with the advanced, technological tradition of selective agriculture. By capturing their similarity, the artist here desires to lessen our fear surrounding the apparent distinctions in products made with and without gene-editing technologies.

[1] ScienceTime. “The Era of Genetically Modified Superhumans - Youtube.” YouTube, 19 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klo-rSlsju8.

[2] Regis, Ed. “Meet the Extropians.” Wired, Conde Nast, 1 Oct. 1994, https://www.wired.com/1994/10/extropians/.

[3] Kurzweil, Ray. “The Singularity Is near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil.” Goodreads, Penguin Group, 26 Sept. 2006, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83518.The_Singularity_is_Near.

[4] Bostrum, Nick. Nick Bostrom's Home Page, May 2022, https://nickbostrom.com/.

[5] Istvan, Zoltan. “Transhumanist Art Will Help Guide People to Becoming Masterpieces.” Interalia Magazine, The Interalia Centre, 27 Aug. 2015, https://www.interaliamag.org/articles/transhumanist-art-will-help-guide-people-to-becoming-masterpieces/.

[6] Shrub, Deku. “Transhumanist Art.” Transhumanism Wiki, Fandom, Jan. 2016, https://transhumanism.fandom.com/wiki/Natasha_Vita-More

[7] Lustig, Andreas. “Ear on Arm.” STELARC, 2022, http://www.stelarc.org/?catID=20242.

[8] Carroll, Dana. “Genome Engineering with Zinc-Finger Nucleases.” Genetics, Genetics Society of America, Aug. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176093/.

[9] Joung, J Keith, and Jeffry D Sander. “Talens: A Widely Applicable Technology for Targeted Genome Editing.” Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547402/.

[10] Uddin, Fathema, et al. “CRISPR Gene Therapy: Applications, Limitations, and Implications for the Future.” Frontiers in Oncology, Frontiers Media S.A., 7 Aug. 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7427626/.

[11] “What Is Genome Editing?” Facts, The Public Engagement Team at the Wellcome Genome Campus, 23 Aug. 2017, https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-genome-editing.

[12] Desiree Ho| August 25, 2020August 25, and Robert Sanders. “Crispaper: Understanding Gene-Editing through Art.” Berkeley News, UC Berkley, 25 Aug. 2020, https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/crispaper-understanding-gene-editing-through-art/.