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Originally Posted by genetic
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Interesting concept. Why would it not be applicable to adults? I can
understand that once the brain is mature it might not be possible to alter
conditions, but things such as enzyme replacements for inherited missing
enzymes might be feasible for adults, in my view. We already have
medications that supply those products the enzymes would produce. It
would be nice just not to have to take medications for it, in my view.
I would agree that the brain is very, very complex, but I have faith in
science and the intelligence motivating academic interests in related fields,
so young people might very well live to see dramatic changes in help
for illnesses.
I will never forget learning that the German scientists who developed
rocket ships in World War II openly admitted when they came to the U.S.
to help with rocket development following the war said, "We had help",
meaning that they were assisted by extraterrestrials. The creation
of the laser is one of their products copied by our scientists who
tracked the laser backwards in its engineering and developed it for use
worldwide.
Those kinds of things are going on all over the world probably. We just
don't know about it.
Imagination allows all kind of positive thinking for the future.
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The problem is access....there are two major transection reagents...charged lipids and viral delivery and both need to access the outside of cells to gain entry. In more complex tissues access would be limited to where the reagent is injected because of cell cell connections. At the single cell level this is not a problem.
Second there is a problem with incorporation into the nucleus. Cells must divide in order for DNA to reach the nucleus where genes will be expressed. Brain cells at least most brain cells do not divide and grow, but at the single cell level there is profound growth and each cell will have a copy of the gene you inserted.
Still since we can't even work with stem cells it's unlikely that people will allow this to be done with children.