Comment by Chance-Device
4 hours ago
> Do we currently have the ability to do targeted methylation or de methylation at sites in cells?
No, and you probably wouldn’t want it if you could. You don’t know what mutations are lurking in the genes that have been switched off or the consequences of turning them back on.
I’ve thought about this a bit, and what resetting the methylation map really requires, in addition to actually resetting that map, is resetting your genome to a known good state.
That’s pretty radical, but to selectively switch methylation on and off with precision you’re already talking about science beyond anything we have, featuring custom engineered constellations of proteins that unwrap your chromatin from around histones and then walk along it changing methylation state, then pack everything back.
And doing it for each cell type, without applying the wrong map anywhere.
And knowing what all the cell types and their correct methylation maps actually are.
And assuming that methylation isn’t used anywhere, for example in the brain, in a way we don’t expect.
And methylation isn’t the only kind of epigenetic modification.
So, if we’ve solved all of those problems, rebuilding your DNA to a clean, mutation free state at the same time should be a breeze.
We really do need AI for this if any of it is going to be remotely feasible.
in my futile searches for meaning I’ve wondered whether cancers in humans are a failsafe to something else or preventing something worse
more specifically the lack of more failsafes seen in some other mammals are a reaction to something besides happenstance
Was actually a great article on this last week: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49832938
Cancer is the price we pay for complex multicellular life. It’s not a failsafe, it’s the failure of all failsafes to regulate cellular growth within an organism.
> wondered whether cancers in humans are a failsafe
I don't think so, but in the context of theories that are more-interesting than "stuff just breaks sometimes", I'd like to suggest the atavistic aspect.
Some cancers resemble a return towards unicellularity, as if "newer" multicellular rules have broken down. Not in any remotely-effective "our genes shall survive the dark times as goo" way, though.
> We really do need AI for this if any of it is going to be remotely feasible.
Would you give your life into the hands of AI skynet slop?
I understand your rationale, of course, but I for one don't want big fat mega-corporations dictate over our life here. Naturally, all of this hinges whether AI can even solve this problem. I assume it can, but I doubt it can do so initially - and the legal implications are still enormous. I really am not ready to turn my hands to claude's gene therapy slop.