Do you want to give birth to Superman?
Biohacker: "It's time for kids with superpowers"
Yulia Krasilnikova, Hi-tech+
American crypto investor and transhumanist Brian Bishop has already prepared a business plan for a new project. He plans to earn billions of dollars by editing sperm cells. Children will receive a rare blood type and longevity genes.
Blood type
After the story with the Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui, who edited the genes of human embryos on his own initiative, experiments with CRISPR began to raise more questions from regulators and bioethicists. The Chinese authorities did not appreciate the researcher's act – at some point there were rumors about his arrest and even the threat of the death penalty. The scientific community also criticized He for arbitrarily deciding to carry out a risky procedure and involving volunteers in it.
However, the story of the disgraced scientist did not affect the plans of American biohacker Brian Bishop.
Back in May, he prepared a business plan for a new project for the mass creation of "designer children". According to MIT Technology Review, the self-proclaimed transhumanist promises to earn billions for himself and investors through genetic engineering.
The "modified" children will be assigned a fourth blood group and a positive Rh factor, which will allow them to become universal recipients.
They will also receive super-longevity genes and in the future will be able to celebrate their 110th birthday. In addition, Bishop promises to give them the unique ability to "build muscle without weightlifting."
Bishop is sure that regulators have about as much power in the field of genetics as in the field of cryptocurrencies. Numerous gray areas create opportunities for the most daring experiments. He supports Hae and believes that he was unfairly ostracized.
Freelance-The Science Behind Bitcoin
In a newsletter for potential investors, biohacker stressed that laboratory experiments have already begun. And he has the first couple of clients. However, Bishop also has his own funds. According to Technology Review, an aspiring entrepreneur has made a fortune investing in cryptocurrencies. Programming brings him additional income – on average, he receives about $ 600 per hour.
Journalists managed to find out that Bishop pays fees to European scientists in bitcoins, outsourcing tasks to them. So, he ordered a series of experiments to the Institute of Gerontology of NAMS of Ukraine in Kiev.
The crypto investor also sponsored the experiments of an American dog breeder David Isha, who tried to breed puppies glowing in the dark by combining the DNA of a jellyfish with the sperm of a mastiff. So far, he has not succeeded.
Bishop was transferring money to Ishi for similar research using the "scientist's" own sperm.
"You are not doing a story about Brian himself, but about the border zone, the gray biotechnology market and freelance science," Ishi said in a comment to reporters.
Modified fertilization
It is still unclear what methods Bishop and his biotechnologist colleague Max Berry plan to use. The experimenters immediately abandoned the traditional genome editing method used by He Jiankui. They decided to introduce modifying molecules not into the egg at the stage of fertilization, but into sperm cells.
This approach has already been called frightening and erroneous by some geneticists, while others have noted that it is not worth taking Bishop seriously.
However, biohacker is not interested in the opinion of ordinary geneticists. He intends to get the approval of George Church himself, a famous researcher from Harvard University, founder of a blockchain startup for trading genetic data.
Church previously stated that sperm modification is technically possible, but debugging the technique will take a lot of time. The MIT geneticist said that he had already spoken with Bishop, but did not intend to support him. Instead, Church suggested that the enthusiast contact the ethics council and get permission from the American regulator, the FDA.
While the journalists were preparing the material, the transhumanist began to doubt the original plan. He was interested in another technique – VelociMouse, which allows you to quickly change the genome of mice. It will work with people as follows: scientists will extract stem cells from one embryo for IVF, modify them, and then inject them into the second embryo.
Bishop believes that the transition from animal tests to human experiments will require only $2 million.
Biohacker does not disclose his personal motives at the same time. When asked why he decided to take up the creation of people with superpowers, Bishop said: "Write that I was bitten by a radioactive science fiction writer."
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