Big Picture Science for Monday March 21, 2016 - Gene-y in a Bottle

Big Picture Science - Gene-y in a Bottle

You can’t pick your parents.  But soon you may be able to change the DNA they gave you.  CRISPR technology is poised to take DNA editing to new levels of precision and speed.  Imagine deleting genes from your body that you don’t like and inserting the ones you want.  The swap might not even require a fancy lab.  Biohackers are already tinkering with genes in their homes.

Find out how CRISPR technology might change everything when the genetic lottery is no longer destiny.

Plus, a cardiologist identifies the troublesome genes that once gave us evolutionary advantages but today are fueling obesity, depression and other modern illness.

Guests:

• Lee Goldman – Cardiologist, dean of Columbia University Medical Center, author of “Too Much of a Good Thing; How Four Key Survival Traits Are Now Killing Us”
• Jacob Corn – Scientific director, Innovative Genomics Initiative, University of California, Berkeley
• Katelynn Kazane – Research assistant, Innovative Genomics Initiative,  University of California, Berkeley
• Josiah Zayner - Biohacker, former NASA synthetic biologist.  His biohacking store.

Download podcast at: http://bigpicturescience.org/Gene-y_in_a_Bottle

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.