Human Evolution and the Power of the Mind: Science Compilation

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The Why Files: Operation Podcast 3h 0m 1 speaker 6 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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What is CRISPR and how could gene editing reshape humanity and warfare?

The Why Files: Operation Podcast 0:03
Be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated. What's going on? Code Cerulean, sir. We have to move. What? Now. Did he say Code Cerulean? Human! Human, did he say Code Cerulean?
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 0:49
We're off to an undisclosed location and someone's gonna have to take over the show, but I'll see you guys I'll see you guys in a couple of days
Jesse (guest host, American Alchemy) 1:09
Welcome aboard. I'm Jesse. No, you are not hallucinating. No, this is not a deep fake. And it's certainly not a glitch in the simulation. And yes, I'm aware that I'm not AJ. I know, I checked too. I'm the host of the YouTube channel American Alchemy, which means I'm already uncomfortable asking weird questions on camera. Even better when that camera's in a spaceship. AJ is out today with a bad case of deja vu. Hecklefish is probably in his fishbowl hanging with his trash-talking family. and I've been handed the keys to a Y-Files compilation.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 1:41
So I'm your substitute teacher in the school of forbidden knowledge.
Jesse (guest host, American Alchemy) 1:46
Today, we're looking at six different ways reality messes with consciousness. Genetics, synchronicities, mushrooms, radiation, mind control, and morphic resonance. We start with the most literal edit of all, molecular scissors aimed straight at the human genome.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 2:04
As AJ's about to tell you in this episode, the genetic genie's out of the bottle. And of course, the powers that be are already asking about military applications. Cyborg superhumans, Gattaca, a brave new world. Let's go say hi.
Jesse (guest host, American Alchemy) 2:18
First episode up is the genetics arms race, how CRISPR and AI destroy the world.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 2:29
The sun finally sets. You step out of the abandoned warehouse keeping to the shadows. You can't be seen. You're what's called an imperfect. Your parents conceived you the old-fashioned way, without genetic enhancements and without legal permission. They meant well, but your fate was sealed before you were born. You were nine years old when the tracers found them. The last time you saw your parents, dad was shoving you down a hatch, whispering for you to run. Before you had time to respond, he closed the hatch and covered it with the carpet. When you heard your mother's muffled screams, you took off down the tunnel. That was 17 years ago. You still cling to the hope that they're alive in a prison somewhere, but deep down, you know the truth.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 3:31
Your growling stomach snaps you out of the daydream. Imperfect or not, you still have to eat, and the factory district has plenty of off-the-books work. Sure, they pay you barely enough to survive, but they don't want to visit from the tracers any more than you do. It takes a long time to get to work. You have to stay far away from the patrols. Tracers can smell sweat and even hear a heartbeat half a mile away. Your heart murmur is a dead giveaway of imperfection. You hold back a sniffle as a tear rolls down your cheek and wonder how the world came to this. Then you remember something your mother said a long, long time ago. CRISPR. CRISPR changed everything.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 4:32
Mark and Grace desperately wanted to have a child. In 2017, they attended a lecture in Shenzhen, China about genetic editing. The guest speaker was Professor Han-Zhang Kuei, a Chinese genetic researcher. After the talk, the couple explained their situation to Dr. Han-Zhang Kuei. Mark was HIV positive, Grace was not. Any child they had would carry the disease. Han-Zhang Kuei told the couple he could help them with a revolutionary new therapy he was developing. Through a gene editing technology called CRISPR, he could make their children immune to HIV. The therapy would also make any descendants of these children HIV-resistant forever. He Jiankui performed the procedure, and it was a success. Mark and Grace had two healthy twin baby girls.
The Why Files: Operation Podcast 5:25
But Dr. He Jiankui wasn't being completely honest with them. CRISPR was a revolutionary new technology, that was true. But it was so new, no one in the world would have let him use it on children. On November 25th, 2018, news of the successful treatment was revealed to the international scientific community. But He Jiankui and his breakthrough success was not a cause for celebration.

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