It is hard not to compare these scientist, devoting their lives to the betterment of life, to the measly creatures tearing this country and the world apart for their own personal riches. It is so good to read about the best side of humanity for a change. Thank you Elliot! And bless you Rick Slayman.
Thank you Elliot for this touching story about Rick Slayman, who received a porcine kidney xenograft to treat his renal failure, and your cinematographic role in covering the CRISPER-enabled engineering of these porcine organs for transplant into humans. Equally amazing is the technique developed by Jennifer Daudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier that has allowed the production of the kidney received by Rick Slayman as well as the cure of Sickle Cell patients by using CRISPER to activate the production of fetal hemoglobin in their cells. These are truly wonderful stories of the fruits of basic research being applied to treat human diseases.
What a wonderful story and what a blessing for Mr. Slayman! You’re an extraordinary journalist. I can’t even pretend to understand the science but I do understand your joy at science doing what we all hope it will do - manifesting God’s healing power and making life better. Thank you for a great story!
I just watched the short video - I’m going to get back to you after I get the film. That’s a lot of food for thought - a lot and I honestly don’t quite know what to make of all of it. I’ve got to see the film. It’s a little scary. Sacred ground and all that - but I certainly want to learn more.
Thank you Abena. I would love to hear your thoughts on the film. We tried to approach the subject matter with nuance to spur reflection no matter what one thinks of the technology.
I know this will sound cruel, but I feel I have to point out that this is yet another example of humans treating every other species as if they are just fodder for whatever use we choose to make of them.
Thank you Will for adding this perspective, and it's great seeing you here. Indeed this is a point of view that is raised by some. Propoments of xenotransplantion note that the total number of animals we would be talking about to fil the transplant need would be a small fraction of those raised for food. But it nonetheless should allow us to think about how we as a species relate to other living organisms.
Thank you Will for speaking up for other species. It is also true, if we don't find a current creature of benefit to humans, we seem to have no problem willy-nilly destroying their habitat, driving them to extinction. Or, over use other species to point of extinction. Which in the long run is the cruelest of all, since we live in a closed system on an isolated planet, where "life" is one interactive, interdependent force we do not understand. We need to talk about these issues more.
This is amazing! It comes on a day that I sent a sympathy card to the family of our mail lady who was killed by a hit and run driver. Tracey was an organ donor so on death she brought hope to so many. Unfortunately there are so many people that need the organs how does one decide who gets what. A breakthrough like this is a game changer. There will be some success and some not but each step brings us closer.
CRISPR is amazing. I remember these women winning the Nobel Prize and felt that hadn't a clue about how their work could be applied in the real world. The answer is now clear. A breakthrough in fog, mine and others. Thanks Elliot.
It is so nice to read happy news for a change. thank you Elliot for sharing this story. I will rent Human Nature on Amazon. I have been aware of CRISPR since 2020. It is proving a boon in bio-medical technology.
I am a 9-year survivor of multiple myeloma. I have done diligent research to learn about this disease. I recall learning about CRISPR early on. Your article also addresses kidney failure and dialysis, which was a side effect of the killed myeloma cells clogging the tubules of the kidneys. In order to qualify for a human kidney transplant, I must have a full two-year remission. Although I have been stable for approximately four years, I am not in full remission. I am still treating this past two years with Daratumumab with good results. I wanted to ask if you are familiar with the BioKidney project being developed at UCSF?
It is hard not to compare these scientist, devoting their lives to the betterment of life, to the measly creatures tearing this country and the world apart for their own personal riches. It is so good to read about the best side of humanity for a change. Thank you Elliot! And bless you Rick Slayman.
Thank you Elliot for this touching story about Rick Slayman, who received a porcine kidney xenograft to treat his renal failure, and your cinematographic role in covering the CRISPER-enabled engineering of these porcine organs for transplant into humans. Equally amazing is the technique developed by Jennifer Daudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier that has allowed the production of the kidney received by Rick Slayman as well as the cure of Sickle Cell patients by using CRISPER to activate the production of fetal hemoglobin in their cells. These are truly wonderful stories of the fruits of basic research being applied to treat human diseases.
That is huge, Elliot. Thank you for sharing this, it brightened my day.
What a wonderful story and what a blessing for Mr. Slayman! You’re an extraordinary journalist. I can’t even pretend to understand the science but I do understand your joy at science doing what we all hope it will do - manifesting God’s healing power and making life better. Thank you for a great story!
I just watched the short video - I’m going to get back to you after I get the film. That’s a lot of food for thought - a lot and I honestly don’t quite know what to make of all of it. I’ve got to see the film. It’s a little scary. Sacred ground and all that - but I certainly want to learn more.
Thank you Abena. I would love to hear your thoughts on the film. We tried to approach the subject matter with nuance to spur reflection no matter what one thinks of the technology.
I know this will sound cruel, but I feel I have to point out that this is yet another example of humans treating every other species as if they are just fodder for whatever use we choose to make of them.
Thank you Will for adding this perspective, and it's great seeing you here. Indeed this is a point of view that is raised by some. Propoments of xenotransplantion note that the total number of animals we would be talking about to fil the transplant need would be a small fraction of those raised for food. But it nonetheless should allow us to think about how we as a species relate to other living organisms.
As a longtime vegetarian I relate to these living organisms by not eating them.
Thank you Will for speaking up for other species. It is also true, if we don't find a current creature of benefit to humans, we seem to have no problem willy-nilly destroying their habitat, driving them to extinction. Or, over use other species to point of extinction. Which in the long run is the cruelest of all, since we live in a closed system on an isolated planet, where "life" is one interactive, interdependent force we do not understand. We need to talk about these issues more.
Wow! How wonderful to make these scientific advances for the benefit of humanity!!
This is amazing! It comes on a day that I sent a sympathy card to the family of our mail lady who was killed by a hit and run driver. Tracey was an organ donor so on death she brought hope to so many. Unfortunately there are so many people that need the organs how does one decide who gets what. A breakthrough like this is a game changer. There will be some success and some not but each step brings us closer.
This is a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful news
Indeed. Thanks for reading.
Thanks you for sharing those two short films. I have heard of Crispr but really didn’t understand it at all, so this was enlightening.
Thank you Shari for your support and interest.
This is amazing, thank you
CRISPR is amazing. I remember these women winning the Nobel Prize and felt that hadn't a clue about how their work could be applied in the real world. The answer is now clear. A breakthrough in fog, mine and others. Thanks Elliot.
It is so nice to read happy news for a change. thank you Elliot for sharing this story. I will rent Human Nature on Amazon. I have been aware of CRISPR since 2020. It is proving a boon in bio-medical technology.
I am a 9-year survivor of multiple myeloma. I have done diligent research to learn about this disease. I recall learning about CRISPR early on. Your article also addresses kidney failure and dialysis, which was a side effect of the killed myeloma cells clogging the tubules of the kidneys. In order to qualify for a human kidney transplant, I must have a full two-year remission. Although I have been stable for approximately four years, I am not in full remission. I am still treating this past two years with Daratumumab with good results. I wanted to ask if you are familiar with the BioKidney project being developed at UCSF?
This is indeed exciting news for so many who languish on lists waiting for an organ.