Building on the very well attended DNA presentations ("DNA: The Code Of Life") at SHA2017, this talk will cover:
* A brief recap what DNA is and how it works
* It is surprisingly digital!
* How reading DNA is within 'pro-sumer' reach now
* (I might bring a live demo for after the talk)
* An overview of DNA editing technologies (offline, and online: on living organisms)
* Including the famous CRISPR-CAS, but also newer variants
* How does such editing actually work in a lab?
* The surprising lack of a definitive link between most DNA mutations and any effect
* Could you hack your DNA? Will people start doing this?
* Should we try to stop them?
* Wild speculation on what this might mean for the future
The goal of this presentation is to provide real non-hyped information on what DNA editing is and what it might achieve. And since we are hackers, I hope to explain how a hackerspace could start reading DNA right now with USB-powered hardware. And finally, since no hacker can resist tinkering: could you hack your own genome, or your cat's, or improve on your favorite plant?
Building on the very well attended DNA presentations ("DNA: The Code Of Life") at SHA2017, this talk will cover:
* A brief recap what DNA is and how it works
* It is surprisingly digital!
* How reading DNA is within 'pro-sumer' reach now
* (I might bring a live demo for after the talk)
* An overview of DNA editing technologies (offline, and online: on living organisms)
* Including the famous CRISPR-CAS, but also newer variants
* How does such editing actually work in a lab?
* The surprising lack of a definitive link between most DNA mutations and any effect
* Could you hack your DNA? Will people start doing this?
* Should we try to stop them?
* Wild speculation on what this might mean for the future
The goal of this presentation is to provide real non-hyped information on what DNA editing is and what it might achieve. And since we are hackers, I hope to explain how a hackerspace could start reading DNA right now with USB-powered hardware. And finally, since no hacker can resist tinkering: could you hack your own genome, or your cat's, or improve on your favorite plant?