TED Talks

Can we cure genetic diseases by rewriting DNA? | David R. Liu

In a story of scientific discovery, chemical biologist David R. Liu shares a breakthrough: his lab’s development of base editors that can rewrite DNA. This crucial step in genome editing takes the promise of CRISPR to the next level: if CRISPR proteins are molecular scissors, programmed to cut specific DNA sequences, then base editors are…

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In a story of scientific discovery, chemical biologist David R. Liu shares a breakthrough: his lab’s development of base editors that can rewrite DNA. This crucial step in genome editing takes the promise of CRISPR to the next level: if CRISPR proteins are molecular scissors, programmed to cut specific DNA sequences, then base editors are pencils, capable of directly rewriting one DNA letter into another. Learn more about how these molecular machines work — and their potential to treat or even cure genetic diseases.

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52 Comments

  1. Broseph Raider

    May 22, 2019 at 4:32 am

    How much the world is grossly overpopulated, impoverished and helpless? I think by the time our most ambitious medical and technological advancements are put into everyday practice, this might be the last place you want to be any longer than you have to.

  2. Syed Hassan

    May 22, 2019 at 4:46 am

    I’m so happy to learn how far we have come within this past few decades. I imagine if the appropriate measures are taken, with an aid of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, it can simultaneously progress to curing more complex diseases. Of course it would not be the entirety of these cures, but at least the fundamentals to defend these innovative research of Crispr DNA editing. My only hope is that my mother, who suffers from heart disease and type 2 diabetes, injects insulin twice daily, and was required to have her foot amputated, will someday be cured and no longer have to suffer and fight for survival.

  3. X1rerunpun

    May 22, 2019 at 5:15 am

    Wow

  4. blabla62871

    May 22, 2019 at 6:29 am

    the biggiest question is… what are we waiting for???

    • Subtle Ink

      May 23, 2019 at 2:04 pm

      We are waiting for unseen problems to reveal themselves. History shows that being overly ambitious can be detrimental to health. Ex: thalidomide

  5. Sonne Schein

    May 22, 2019 at 6:48 am

    Humanity doesn’t need to save what evolution is throwing away nomater the emotional or human cost ! We dont need GMO Humans !

    • Parker Hilliker

      May 22, 2019 at 7:41 am

      GMing normal humans into superhumans will not happen in our lifetimes or our children. They are using this for ethical good not bad. This could be used to GM agriculture to make super crops that can withstand extreme conditions, that can yield more produce for a fraction of the time, cost and maintenance.

    • Sonne Schein

      May 23, 2019 at 4:28 am

      +Parker Hilliker Over 7000 GMH already walk among us. Since 2006 GMH are legal in 21 countries! US being one of them. Have you not seen the moral degradation that is in our society and your still that naiv? By the time you will wake up will be to late . Sadly lots of ignorants to the reality walk among us 🙂

  6. 韩淑君

    May 22, 2019 at 7:13 am

    Genetic scientists are terrific. I think in the near future more and more patients who suffer from various gene-related diseases can become healthy. It’s really an awesome presentation to make people know what gene engineering is likely to do. Thank you very much.

  7. Ggcvh Yhhg

    May 22, 2019 at 7:33 am

    Mr. HE makes me feel that Chinese scientists are immoral. I feel doubted to see his surname and the theme at the first glance.

    • George Aydin

      May 22, 2019 at 9:34 pm

      Isn’t that just ignorance..?

  8. Pentode7591

    May 22, 2019 at 8:13 am

    Genetic engineering is a very promising field but I, for one, am gravely concerned about its long term effects for the very simple reason that we don’t what they are. This area, in the overall scheme of things, simply hasn’t existed long enough to document the effects over several generations of the descendants of genetically engineered individuals. I think one of humanity’s weaknesses is that we tend to use new discoveries and inventions before having had time to evaluate their long-term consequences; the liberal use and application of radium, DDT and nuclear power are what initially come to mind. A few other individuals who expounded upon this topic at great length seem to imply that genetic modifications are as easy and inconsequential as deciding whether to drink tea with a cup and saucer or a mug. Taking such a cavalier and dismissive attitude toward something as vital as the human species is extremely ill-advised.

  9. Maria Makinen

    May 22, 2019 at 9:03 am

    On second thoughts, hopefully not….

  10. Tom Renegade

    May 22, 2019 at 10:40 am

    Step 1: begin human trials
    Step 2: implement into real treatments
    Step 3: win nobel prize
    Step 4: ???
    Step 5: profit

    • Loath

      May 23, 2019 at 7:41 am

      a woman falsely accuses you of rape and then you lose everything

  11. Hayley Âû

    May 22, 2019 at 11:11 am

    Brilliant, only problem is that it happened too fast! I want in on this, by the time I’ve graduated there will be nothing left to work on

    • LadyLia2013

      May 24, 2019 at 12:16 am

      Hayley Âû science is not as fast as we think it is… you def have time to work on it

    • L

      May 24, 2019 at 4:14 pm

      Some scientists were saying the same at the end of the 19th century… guess what came right after? Quantum and general relativity :p

  12. Jimmy Corkhill

    May 22, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    All will be well then! No more homelessness, no more wars, no nuclear Armageddon, no continual increase in cancer rates despite trillions spent, no more suicides or overdoses from the prescribed painkillers or CIA backed drug running…no more massive egos possessed by scientists. Best wishes.

  13. Sam Chen

    May 22, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    Now call me cynical but… what if someone made a base editor that gave people MD or something worse, then put it into an airborne virus like the flu. And then airdropped the virus over a country

    • Osxkarallmyfriendsaredead

      May 22, 2019 at 9:01 pm

      Bro you smart

  14. Stephen Goodfellow

    May 22, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    Posted at:
    This video was posted on the CRISPR Facebook Forum: Articles, Papers, Video, Podcasts, Discussion – 5,084 Members

  15. Lacey Steele

    May 22, 2019 at 4:08 pm

    Could help billions!❣️

  16. Paul Djerassi

    May 22, 2019 at 6:40 pm

    David R Liu,may God continue to bless your developing mind, may you never give up and may the funding you seek always arrive in abundance .PD

  17. groverkartikey

    May 22, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    keep up the great work!

  18. Martyr4JesusTheChrist

    May 22, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    People should look up these two long terms in duckduckgo;

    “Controversial study that claimed Crispr gene editing is dangerous is retracted after scientists admit they CAN’T replicate their results”

    “Abnormal RNA splicing and genomic instability after induction of DNMT3A mutations by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing”

    When you read through you will see that CRISPR, is more an acronym for accelerated dishonest money-making and part self-destruction than anything else.

    • radcow

      May 23, 2019 at 1:58 am

      What about hiv resistant babies in China

    • Martyr4JesusTheChrist

      May 23, 2019 at 4:19 am

      +radcow Proof?

  19. Brian S

    May 22, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    Let’s get busy with launching this to the public Dave.

  20. يوسف العمري

    May 23, 2019 at 4:02 am

    A huge thanks to all of the scientists who are struggling to make our lives, community, and the world a better place to live in

  21. Rafay Qureshi

    May 23, 2019 at 4:13 am

    Came here after my Biology exam.

  22. Alexandr Padalka

    May 23, 2019 at 4:55 am

    ?

  23. Love Tarot

    May 23, 2019 at 11:56 am

    I’m happy special cos of children. They got illness cancer so much .

  24. Aykut

    May 23, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    Our spectrum as mankind is very big. A human can produce work that is either the highest of the highs or the lowest of the lows, this man is another hero in the field imo. This was groundbreaking stuff

    • Mark Caseon

      May 26, 2019 at 7:00 am

      I wanna edit my self with crispr.

  25. Ethnic Empress

    May 23, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    I am sure genetic is like playing a cooking game of “Let’s throw everything in and then see what comes out”
    We can’t say it will be good until…..

  26. Karla Bautista

    May 23, 2019 at 6:39 pm

    Boy that was insane!

  27. Pivasik

    May 23, 2019 at 7:00 pm

    So, one question, how many cells should be repaired to treat the disease?

    • Dudley Fagan

      May 25, 2019 at 12:47 pm

      You would focus on human stem cells for most illnesses. Our cells get replaced by these over time. To stop offspring from getting it you would edit germ line cells.. Sperm and egg of carrying parent.

  28. BoBo Mill Tv

    May 23, 2019 at 10:32 pm

    We can`t play with the keys of God! and we may not. Humanity is still on the low lever of knowledge, we`re very young children of the Universe. Do not play with DNA.
    -or shall we treat this subject as a philosophical problem..?

  29. Vasaf Easdas

    May 24, 2019 at 1:26 am

    2:05 – Kid on the left, had presented a lecture here on TED with an important message, check this out if you have a brief moment –

  30. Leon Sutton

    May 24, 2019 at 2:30 am

    This guy and his team (of STUDENTS!) should win the Nobel Prize for their efforts if they do, indeed, prove fruitful. If they don’t, that would be a tragedy, indeed. Having said that, my hat is off to those brave individuals who continued to work through this obstacle despite mountainous odds.

  31. Bazkiat Beats

    May 24, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    I hate humanity, because we are dumb and let us fool by governments and industries. We could easily manipulate our dna with CRISPR and modify upcoming generations in a positive way, we can make them immune to cancer, aids and other deadly illnesses, we could make them way more intelligent, which would upgrade the human race, we could step up in so many ways and become advanced in a way you couldnt even imagine. But instead we get fucked by retarded politicans which IQ isnt over 100…. sad life, sad world end is going to be soon.

  32. mracoris

    May 25, 2019 at 8:07 am

    Im interested if People are still primal enough to try to conquer the world. (Super soldiers…)

  33. Leonidas666

    May 25, 2019 at 9:55 pm

    So, human genetic manipulation IS comming… Pause for thought.

  34. MBV

    May 26, 2019 at 11:04 am

    Does this apply to cystic fibrosis?

  35. Reference Studio Productions

    May 26, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    This removes suffering and hardship from the world, whether it’s improving food or healing humans with genetic diseases. Even modifying is so that we live longer, are more intelligent, stronger etc. Ethically speaking, if everyone has access to this treatment, and I think they will due to the massive savings on the health industry, this is a win win. Better humans means less suffering, more happiness, and success for our species. I’m ready

  36. David Fischer, NMT

    May 26, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    This guy is a charlatan. Just more bad advertising to get your money. He doesn’t understand his own body, gravity or the Unified Field Theory. He split the body up into pieces instead of a whole.

    The problem is multi-generational malnutrition. GMO grains inhibit the body’s ability to produce glutathion. An amino acid that gets rid of heavy metals. Throw a handful of aluminum filings in your fuse box and see what happens. Aluminum phospheen is put into grain silos to kill vermin and they don’t wash the grain before you eat it. Consequences. Educate yourself and stop listening and praising snake oil salesmen.

  37. Samin Chowdhury

    May 26, 2019 at 5:25 pm

    I wonder what point mutation genetic disease the people who disliked this video has.

  38. TopGunForPeace

    May 26, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    Rewrite my bipolar ?

  39. dj Curiosity

    May 27, 2019 at 10:31 am

    Awesome the new improve 21 century Frankensteins of today unbelievable work…

  40. ケチャップソーセージ

    May 28, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    I’m just learning this field in high school now.

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