Genetic race with Pursuit

Living in the era of Bioeconomics

Literary newspaper No. 27-2012

"War and pestilence are waiting for our country if we fall behind in the genetic race," says Konstantin Scriabin, a well–known Russian scientist, specialist in genetic engineering and biotechnology, Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RAS, director of the Bioengineering Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

GENOME PER DAY– Konstantin Georgievich, with your light hand, Russian society has started talking about a new world revolution – this time a genetic one.

Humanity has already faced similar cultural shifts and has not easily survived some of them. What awaits us now?

– The XXI century began with the fact that the US President and the British Prime Minister announced that the first structure of the human genome had been deciphered. This work took about 10 years. And about $6 billion. Another type of project has appeared, similar in cost and importance to research related to atomic energy or space. This means that there is another way to divide countries: into those who can decipher genetic information, and those who cannot.

But it became clear that 10 years and 6 billion per genome is completely unrealistic for ordinary healthcare. The scientists were tasked with making these studies accessible. And then there was a sharp jump.

Today, reading the human genome costs about 20 thousand dollars. And it takes a week. I think that at the end of this year or the beginning of next year we will reach a situation where the human genome will cost a thousand dollars and take one day.

– What does this knowledge give us?

– And here everything is not so obvious. Before reading the first genome, humanity was confident that it would understand almost everything about itself. But, alas. Of course, we learned something new about ourselves, but, in general, it was not a revolutionary breakthrough.

As you know, the genetic code of any of us consists of six billion "letters". Is it a lot or a little? I will give one example. "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy is two and a half million letters. And this is the genome of a microbe. Our genome is the library of Yasnaya Polyana.

It is known that many diseases are caused by changes in genes. At the same time, it is important to understand that genetic analysis is not a verdict. The presence of one or another combination of "letters" means only that he has a predisposition to some ailments. But informed means warned: a person begins to take better care of himself, lead an appropriate lifestyle, go to doctors more often. For example, there are several mutations that are associated with breast cancer in women. As a result of the research, data were obtained that in the group of those participants who were informed about their predisposition, mortality from this terrible disease was significantly less than in those who were not warned about it.

Monogenic diseases are also known – when the disease is associated with a single gene, in our analogy – with a single "word". Just replace the letter in the name "War and Peace", and it will be a completely different story – "War and Pestilence". A similar change was, for example, in Tsarevich Alexei, and he suffered from hemophilia, having inherited it from his mother.

Even if they remain quite healthy people, parents can be carriers of such mutations. And if suddenly dad and mom (although the probability of this is not very high) at the same time will be the owners of such a spoiled gene, then their child will have a very high chance of getting sick. Undoubtedly, parents should know whether they carry such hereditary information. And today, such studies – within the framework of family planning activities – are a routine thing. Just by taking a blood test from a mother, we can determine the genetic information of the child she is carrying. This is the solution to a huge number of problems. And even tragedies. Think, for example, about such a genetic pathology as the appearance of an extra chromosome, leading to the birth of children with Down syndrome.

– In other words, knowing a person's genome, it is possible to predict his diseases or predispositions. Is it possible to prevent them?

– Not yet. I foresee a reasonable question: why do we need to know if we can't fix anything anyway. That's right, the only thing we can do now, having discovered some serious genetic pathology, is to recommend an abortion. And this child simply will not be born. This, as you understand, is a tragic situation. But very soon, apparently, we will also be able to choose a healthy embryo if there are several. Because in such cases, one embryo, as a rule, is sick, another is a carrier of the mutation, and the third is completely normal. Parents will be able to choose the latter, and their child will be born healthy.

– And then in the next generations, this mutation will simply not exist and eventually disappear altogether?

- of course. In fact, this is our future. One of the possibilities offered to humanity by genetics is precisely that, having complete genetic information about a person, we will be able to improve the health of billions of people.

– But by experimenting with mutations or introducing extra genes, nature may be trying to change the human being. We perceive it as a disease, but maybe in addition to it, people acquire something else that we don't know yet. And this is actually some kind of next stage of evolution. And we cut it off…

– No, we are talking about diseases right now. Often fatal. Or leading to the appearance of noticeable defects. Let's postpone evolution for now, but let's talk about what medicine of the near future could be.

Medical research is generally a very expensive thing. Even before, only large pharmaceutical corporations could deal with them. But today even they can't do it. Today's genetic research is carried out by the efforts of the scientific community around the world. Huge international consortia are being created that examine tens of thousands of people, healthy and sick, collect all the information about them, make a complete genome, compare and analyze this data. With one goal: to find out how the genetic information of patients differs from the genetic information of healthy people.

As far as I know, such studies are conducted in Russia in relation to stroke, Alzheimer's disease, bronchial asthma, and some cardiovascular diseases. More recently, we at the Kurchatov Institute, in collaboration with scientists from France, Great Britain and several other European countries, carried out such work in relation to a large group of patients suffering from kidney cancer. And we have already found one or two characteristic modifications. This means that people who have the same sites in their genome are also predisposed to kidney cancer.

Moreover, a separate area of science is the study of the genome of a cancer cell. And we are also doing this work at the Kurchatov Institute to establish the structure of the genome of cells that have degenerated into cancer cells.

– And how justified are the hypotheses about a genetic predisposition to criminal behavior? If it has already been proven that there is an aggressiveness gene, it is logical to assume that there may be a theft gene, a lie gene… It is possible that there will be a "special" gene for any of the seven deadly sins.

– Scientists are becoming more and more interested in this issue – the genetic characteristics of human behavior. Now such material is accumulating. And surprisingly fast. There are projects that involve thousands of genomes already. I hope that soon we will be able to clearly correlate our knowledge about their health and behavior with specific genetic information.

Here, however, there is another problem – where to store such a huge amount of information. After all, just imagine: all the books, paintings, drawings, scores – in a word, everything created by mankind in its entire history, translated into numbers, is equivalent in volume to only 30-40 thousand genomes. And there are seven billion of us on the planet… Therefore, the main problems facing genetics now are, on the one hand, to learn how to read genomes as quickly and cheaply as possible, and on the other hand, to find a way to store, compare, analyze and draw conclusions.

MIRACLES ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE– Like any revolution, the genetic one, too, will undoubtedly entail certain social transformations and transformations – from small household to global state and deeply personal: in consciousness, mentality, ethics.

What should we prepare for in advance?

– The consequences will be enormous. We are not aware of this much, but in fact, real miracles are happening now. Even 10-15 years ago, it was hard to imagine that, while in China, it would be possible to easily call on a mobile phone to the other side of the world. The appearance of I-Pad, tablets, phones has already changed our world a lot. And the information and genetic revolutions together will make our lives… Well, just generally different.

Here I predict to you that in a few years you will have a plastic card with a chip containing your personal genetic code, your genome. And when you come to the doctor's appointment, he will insert this card into a special device on his desk, and all the information about you will appear on the screen.

What will it give you? I will give such an example. All people who undergo some kind of surgery, including on the heart, immediately after surgery begin to take blood thinning pills. Today we know for sure that there are six genetic features, "letters" that determine the effective dose of such a drug. And if you have not done a genetic analysis before surgery, then there is a very high risk that you will have a blood clot if you are prescribed just a standard dose. When the doctor has your genetic chart, he will be able to prescribe you a personal treatment, based not only on your medical history, age, weight, but also on what mutations are present in your genome.

– In other words, the first consequence of the genetic revolution is the emergence of personal medicine.

– Yes, but not only. The paradigm of medicine in general will fundamentally change. If we used to treat a person, then having his genetic information, we will be able to keep him healthy all the time, trying to anticipate the development of the disease. These are completely different things. In one case, the doctor receives money for the fact that he cured the disease, and in the other – for the fact that his patient is healthy all the time. And today we are gradually moving to such medicine.

– Us or the world?

"That's the point… This happened with us with cybernetics, with computers – we fell behind. Do you know how young people behave in America and in Russia, using, for example, an iPhone? Fundamentally different. For young people in the West, it's just part of everyday life. There are servers in the houses that hold all the information. When a person enters the room, one machine instantly communicates with another, and all the necessary devices are turned on. Or, for example, you put your advanced mobile phone to your chest once an hour, press a button, and your cardiologist instantly receives your cardiogram. In the civilized world, life is really arranged just like that.

I have repeatedly said that if we lag behind in the genetic race, the consequences will be heavier than if we lag behind in the nuclear or space field. Because all those miracles that we have just mentioned will happen only in those countries where there is a full range of technologies necessary for reading and analyzing genomes. And it may happen that in a few years we simply will not understand what doctors say in developed countries. Here you come, say, to Europe, come to the doctor, and he says: "Please, your genome." And you don't have one. Or you are not connected to that huge analytical center with thousands of genomes, millions of mutations and their correlations with diseases.

Everyone is talking about the golden billion people – in terms of food, comfort… It is very important that the latest technologies can be used by everyone on the globe. This is a big problem that concerns us as well. We have to keep up with other developed countries in genetic terms.

– Otherwise, after a while, the whole civilized world will be healthy and happy, and at best we will remain at the same level at which we are now?

– Well, yes. Perhaps this is too pessimistic, but, in fact, it is. Indeed, it will be a disaster. And the horror is that we don't even understand what's going on. And that we are actually discussing the issue of national security right now.

You know, when in 2009 we made the first human genome in Russia, many people said: well, big deal, the eighth in the world… But this is the same as launching a rocket. It was necessary to create infrastructure, train people. The country that has all this is already, as it were, "in the club." Space Club. The Atomic Club... having deciphered the genome, we entered the genomic club of humanity. From my point of view, this was our main achievement. This means that they began to talk to us, exchange information – they began to reckon with us.

But then, in 2009, only physicists understood this. For some reason, they have this quality – a sense of national security. They have clearly grasped what is happening and how important it is for Russia. It was physicists who found the money to buy instruments and conduct research. And the first human genome in Russia was made at the Kurchatov Institute.

THERE IS A LOT OF SADNESS IN A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE– What about the secrecy of personal information and the right to privacy?

After all, the information about a person contained on a plastic card can be easily stolen and used to his detriment.

– Do you have at least one credit card?

– Yes, of course.

– So almost everything is already known about you. As soon as you insert the card into an ATM or go into a store and buy tights, the information is automatically sent to the center of its release: time, place, product name. This already allows you to track where you are at the moment, all your movements, purchases, even habits, because it is known what kind of food you eat, what movies you watch, what books you buy.

Very soon (it's a matter of several years) it will also be possible to enter your genetic information there. And that's all – full control.

– There is something ominous in this forecast.

– I say again, we are not making a diagnosis. We give information. And who and how will dispose of this information is a big question. Connected, in general, really with the freedom of the individual.

Is it good or bad? Don't know. I can only guess what's next. And then you want to buy a house. You go to the bank and ask for a loan. A bank employee looks at your genetic map and discovers that, let's say, you have a high risk of heart attack. What do they answer you? The loan was refused.

Or come for an interview. A beautiful educated woman, resume, experience, everything is fine – you are hired. And if you give your genetic map and it turns out that you have a predisposition, well, let's say, to aggression, then the employer will still think, maybe it's better to take a less beautiful one, but without aggression.

– From the point of view of society, an extremely useful opportunity. After all, there are more responsible professions, and more terrible inclinations. For example, a predisposition to sadism. It is clearly not worth taking such a person to the police. And it's better to discover it in advance.

- of course. Or, God forbid, pedophilia and school work… There are many different predispositions: to alcoholism, to drug addiction… The more genomes we receive, the more associative connections we trace, the more confident we will be able to say that some behavior is due to this particular structure of the genome.

– But if you look at it from the point of view of a particular person? Predisposition is one thing, real life is another. A person who is genetically prone to alcoholism may never become an alcoholic. And they won't hire him anyway because of this, they won't give him a loan… What is more valuable: society as a whole or the fate of an individual?

– There are even more difficult questions. For example, one of the small Scandinavian countries recently ordered a study of several thousand of its inhabitants in China. And very soon they will know exactly how to eat, how to be treated, how to behave, how to build the social structure of society. And another country – nearby – will not know anything about itself.

Or such a question: what is happening to young people in Europe? Where does this aggression come from? There is undoubtedly a genetic component.

When we talk about the humanitarian shifts following the genetic revolution, I mean exactly this – the ability to manage social groups based on their genetic predisposition to a particular behavior.

– Is the so–called genetic map of the world a question of the same order?

- Yes. In part, this is what we are doing now at the Kurchatov Institute – we are making a genetic map of Russia. Based on the analysis and comparison of genomes, we distribute the population into groups. Our country is inhabited by approximately 190 ethnic groups, and today we already know exactly where the genome of the Buryat, where – Yakut, where – Russian, and so on.

The next step is to answer the question, do ethnic groups have any predispositions? For example, Pomors and Icelanders have a mutation in their genome that makes them more resistant to HIV. Some medications only work on Asians, but not on other ethnic groups. Resistance to cold or heat. Calm temperament or explosive. Exposure to alcohol or resistance to it. Empirically and historically, we most often know this. But now we are beginning to understand how this is genetically determined.

– Undoubtedly, this new knowledge will also entail certain risks. Including the ethical plan. But that is why Russia really cannot be allowed to lag behind in this area in any way.

– This question applies to all high technologies. There are such statistics: how many devices for reading genetic information are available in a particular country. Of course, this is all changing very quickly. But there are a thousand of them in America now. In China – 500. In England – 200. And in Russia – 25.

– Maybe, in connection with the recent instruction of the president to bring the life expectancy of Russians to 74 years by 2018, the attitude towards your field will change?

– I hope so. Because in solving the problems of longevity and improving child fertility, individual genetic analysis and prenatal and preimplantation genetic diagnostics are of fundamental importance.

GENETICISTS LEARN TO WRITE– And if we look into the more distant future: what other prospects can your science open up to humanity?

– There are insanely interesting things. Everyone, for example, is concerned about the question of human origin. In the last 5-10 years, scientists have been actively studying the genetic information of the remains of ancient people. Most of the Neanderthal genome was made.

Or here: have you ever thought that the earth used to be a planet of people and horses? If we trace the migration of horses, it can give completely unexpected results for studying the evolution of mankind.

And the issues related to the emergence of nations? How did the genetic information move across Europe, Asia? Did the Vikings marry the women of the territories they conquered? Were the kings of the Scythians relatives?

Some people like to talk about immortality. Do you know what is actually immortal? The gene is immortal. Because I have the genes of my great-great-great-great... grandfather. As one of my faithful friends said, he is only a hundred generations away from Jesus Christ. This means that you can easily trace this genetic line.

– And discover the genes of Jesus Christ?

– Well, yes. It is clear that we all descended from some fixed number of people. This means that all people on the globe are relatives. And humanity, in fact, should be aware of itself in this way. This is another interesting philosophical question. Because then any wars will become conflicts within the same family.

– If genetics is able to improve the phenotypic data of plants, then the day is probably not far off when the improvement of the human "breed" will be commonplace? All people will become equally beautiful, intelligent, friendly. It will be possible to "set" the future child's eye color, inclination to science, creativity or sports – at the choice of parents or by state order. Or is it still fiction?

– We are beginning to understand this mechanism more and more. Today, figuratively speaking, we have learned to read. The next step is to learn how to write. After all, when we don't like a phrase, we can easily cross out the wrong word and insert a new one there. And if this "word" is a disease? Or some undesirable behavioral feature?

Ten years ago, a number of European countries adopted a declaration according to which the XXI century was declared the century of bioeconomics. Then it surprised many. But judge for yourself…

Almost the entire pharmaceutical industry today is based on the use of microbes. Many drugs, including insulin, are already produced with the help of genetically modified bacteria. In a couple of years we will be doing lego – combining the gene of one with the gene of another and getting a microbe that can do both. And in 10-20 years there will be such a huge fermenter tank – for hundreds or even thousands of liters, in which everything you need will be created from water, oxygen and some mineral substances. Environmentally friendly. No waste. Very low energy consumption. Just salvation for humanity, wouldn't you agree? But this is bioeconomics.

When we started doing the same with plants, it caused a huge amount of excitement. The noise around GMOs has been going on for more than 20 years. Environmentalists say they are dangerous. However, there is no data confirming the harm of such plants. On the contrary, they don't need fertilizers or all these monstrous chemical defenses.

Of course, safety is a priority. Everything needs to be checked. But in any case, when we begin to change some word in the genetic text, this is the first attempt to write. And if we have learned to do this with microbes and plants, then it is clear that we will soon learn to do it with animals.

– The fear that these experiments cause in some people is understandable. But resisting scientific progress is like fighting against gravity. Unwise, to say the least. The problem is not in knowledge as such, but in its use.

– Humanity is now facing a huge number of challenges. There are more and more people on Earth, they need more and more food. The question is for biologists. The environment is polluted. There is an increasing shortage of water. And these problems can be solved with the help of biology. If earlier the plague, smallpox, cholera were a thunderstorm for humanity, today they are hereditary diseases. We have learned how to treat people well. But their hereditary diseases are transmitted to the next generations, accumulate. The decision is up to the geneticists. There are problems related to energy. We have an amazing source – the sun. Plants have adapted to accumulate its energy. And, probably, someday humanity will study these mechanisms so much that it will also be able to record the energy of the sun.

Now it is clear why biology, genetics, genetic engineering and bioeconomics have become the main driving force of progress in the world today?

Nika Miloslavskaya was talking

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru09.07.2012