Do it yourself (DIY) and Genetics is a branch of biology that studies genes, genetic diversity, and heredity in living things. Genetics has an impact on how these inherited traits vary from person to person. The genetic code, sometimes known as the “genome,” is the name given to your genetic information. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule that makes up your genome and is stored in practically every cell in your body.

Genome editing refers to a set of technologies that allow scientists to alter an organism’s DNA. These technologies allow for the addition, removal, or modification of genetic material at specific points in the genome. There have been several ways of genome editing developed. CRISPR-Cas9, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9. CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding, or altering sections of the DNA sequence with the help of an enzyme(Cs9) that acts like a pair of molecular scissors, capable of cutting strands of DNA. As it is faster, cheaper, more accurate, more efficient than other genome editing technologies, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has sparked a lot of interest in the scientific community.

In the prevention and treatment of human diseases, genome editing is of tremendous interest. The majority of genome editing research is now conducted utilizing cells and animal models to better understand illnesses. Scientists are still trying to figure out if genome editing is safe and successful in humans. It’s being studied for several ailments, including single-gene disorders including cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and sickle cell anemia. It also has the potential to treat and prevent more complex ailments like cancer, heart disease, mental illness, and HIV infection.

Gene Editing Technologies

Restriction Enzymes: The Original Gene Editor

Gene editing became possible with Restriction Enzymes from the 1970s. Restriction Enzymes recognize specific patterns of nucleotide sequences and cut at that site, presenting an opportunity to insert new DNA material at that location. Restriction enzymes are being widely used in molecular cloning. They also play key roles in DNA mapping, epigenome mapping, and constructing DNA libraries.

Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs): Increased Recognition Potential

The method was founded in the 1980s. The zinc-finger DNA-binding domain recognizes a 3-base pair site on DNA and can be combined to recognize longer sequences. Scientists used ZFN to disable CCR5 on human T-cells, a major receptor for HIV. Also, ZFNs have been used to edit tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as a treatment strategy for metastatic melanoma.

TALENs Gene Editing: Single Nucleotide Resolution

TALENs is an improved version of ZFNs, developed in 2011. TALENs uses the Fokl nuclease to cut DNA and require dimerization to function just like ZFNs but, the only difference is in the DNA binding domain. TALENs have been used in the field of medicine, as well as agriculture. In agriculture, scientists found a way to create pathogen-resistant rice using TALENs. Also, scientists used TALENs to correct COLA7A1 dysfunction in epidermolysis bullosa, a disease characterized by loss of skin integrity leading to potentially fatal skin blisters and increased risk for skin cancer.

CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing

In 2012, Scientists discovered a new method of genome editing derived from CRISPR-Cas9, a system that has long existed in bacteria to help them fight off invading viruses. With CRISPR, scientists can customize their guide RNAs, and algorithms have been developed to assess the chances of off-target effects. CRISPR is much more customizable and cost-effective. CRISPR has completely revolutionized what genome editing can mean for our future by increasing the speed and breadth of science.

Scope of curing dangerous diseases using DIY genetics

In October 2017, Josiah Zayner became an online sensation after injecting the gene-editing tool CRISPR into his forearm at a synthetic biology conference in San Francisco. In his experiment, Zayner used CRISPR to cut the gene myostatin, to promote muscle growth in his body.

Zayner says “The technology is so powerful, and there are literally millions of people dying that could use this technology, and yet nobody is giving these people access”. After recognizing the life-changing potential of CRISPR, and the snail’s pace at which the scientific community was working to utilize it, Zayner decided to take the opportunity and generated the do-it-yourself CRISPR kit. The kit gives access to the people to explore the biology and self experimenting of gene editing at home. The freedom to explore biology and the right to self-experimentation are concepts rooted in the ideology of biohacking. Through clinical investigation, fanatics searching to benefit deeper know-how of human biology and, in turn, hack the machine with self-development insight. Self-experimentation isn’t explicitly unlawful and has records within the area of clinical research. Zayner’s wish is to democratize CRISPR, making it handy to everyone, in place of restriction it gets admission to the wealthy and powerful.

Zayner’s wish is to democratize CRISPR, making it available to everyone, in preference to restrict its get admission to the wealthy and powerful. He believes that commencing up get admission to this era can extrude the assemble of society and the stability of power. He believes that we can not permit this groundbreaking era to be left unactualized for worry of it being misused. CRISPR kits may be used to get rid of malaria from mosquitoes, grow disease-resistant crops, and edit human DNA to get rid of cancer, so Zayner believes that worry-crammed concerns, even as now no longer unfounded, are miss prioritized.

DIY Genetics Dangers and Concerns

In terms of scientific merit, drawing inferences from a single person’s data is challenging, arguably undercutting any results, and self-experimentation is also prone to prejudice. Furthermore, any medication must be approved before it can be prescribed, which means that for a treatment to reach patients, it must follow the drug development process and its associated feasibility and safety studies. Furthermore, live-streaming such studies on social media, as well as the ensuing exaggerated publicity, can obstruct public understanding. This jeopardizes the delicate relationship between normal individuals and scientists, a relationship that the research enterprise has paradoxically been attempting to establish through public involvement. Finally, presenting false hope and wrong information can mask the risks associated with DIY gene therapy, putting people’s safety at risk.

Self-experimenting with unproven gene therapies should not be taken lightly, as indicated by the deadly consequences of previous clinical studies, an important lesson at a time when such therapies are widely available. Even though The ODIN’s DIY gene therapy goods and kits necessitate a certain level of competence and access to facilities that the majority of people lack, they are nonetheless easily available online. Furthermore, Ascendendance Biomedical makes gene therapy research substances available to everyone who registers up for an account online, with no limits. Regulatory agencies have been put in a difficult position by things labeled “not for human consumption” and “non-pathogenic,” and it remains unclear if self-experimenting with unapproved remedies is punished by law. Despite this, the FDA has issued a warning that selling DIY gene therapy products and kits are illegal, expressing concerns about the safety hazards involved.

Conclusion

While the current social media stunts carry the ability risks of DIY gene remedy to the forefront, it’s miles vital to take into account that those risks aren’t always shared in the course of the good-sized area of biohacking. Biohacking does now no longer equate to taking life-threatening risks, with the project of ‘organizing a vibrant, efficient and secure community’ mendacity at its middle. This is pondered withinside the current improvement of a draft code of ethics, devised to behave as a framework to assist manual DIY biologists and destiny studies. However, the DIY gene remedy highlights the brand new moral and prison questions that biohacking can also additionally raise because the motion looking to democratize studies is best simply starting to grow.