Evolving Ourselves –

Adapting to Our Unnatural World

Augmented/Amplified Humans Colloquium

Steve Gullans, PhD

Recent News Headlines

Caffeine linked to miscarriageand dad's habit matters, too

Genetically Modified Maggots Can Feast On Wounds And Help It Heal

Smallest-yet genome reveals how little we know about

life — synthetic or real

Gut microbes cause obesity

Grandpa's obesity affects the health of his grandchildren

City Birds Are Smarter and Stronger Than Country Birds

Donald Trump's unsettling nonsense on weather and climate

Happy cows make more nutritious milk

Blind woman may see thanks to gene therapy and light

CRISPR's latest trick is cutting HIV out of human cells

Gene drive and the future of weaponized insects and the elimination of public

health threats like Zika Virus Mosquitoes

National Academy of Sciences

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Origin_of_Species_1859_title_page.jpg\

Survival of the Fittest

- Herbert Spencer, 1864

Random Mutation

Natural Selection

Darwinian Evolution

Natural World

Flickr: Valerii Tkachenko, brewbooks, Peter Alder, Darwinek, Cropbot, Myrabella, Lachaume, Tillea, Anthere

Unnatural World

Flickr: KR3ColinB ecstaticist, DSK_3539, Andrei Dimofte, Jesster79, Billy Hathorn, fishhawk, Matt H. Wade, Chris Metcalf, Rob Chandler, Riverrat303

Non-Random Mutation

Unnatural Selection

Today Humans Run ½ the Show

Unnatural Selection

Unnatural Survival

Avoiding early death

• Modern medicine

• Food & nutrition

• Shelter

• Less violence

Unnatural Reproduction

Passing on “bad” traits

• Prenatal testing

• In vitro fertilization

• Healthy pregnancies

• Safer deliveries

Unnatural Survival

http://krusekronicle.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/17/le01.gif

Credit CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm

Infant Mortality Rate Maternal Mortality Rate

Unnatural Survival

Unnatural Reproduction

Assisted Reproductive Technology • Fertility drugs

• Intrauterine Insemination

• Embryo transfer

• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection

• Autologous endometrial coculture

• Assisted zona hatching

• Embryo splitting

Third Party Reproduction

• Sperm donor

• Egg donor

• Ovum donor

• Mitochondrial donor

• Surrogacy

Unnatural Reproduction - Fertility

Credit: Max Roser https://ourworldindata.org/fertility/

Very Rapid Urbanization

Our biology is designed for this

Flickr: Valerii Tkachenko, brewbooks, Peter Alder, Darwinek, Cropbot, Myrabella, Lachaume, Tillea, Anthere

But we live in this

"Trillium Poncho cat dog". http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trillium_Poncho_cat_dog.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Trillium_Poncho_cat_dog.jpg

Life Around Us Is Changing

And So Are Humans

• Living Longer• Taller• Smarter• Less Violent• Healthier • Allergies

• Autism• Diabetes• Migraines• Infertility• Obesity• Myopia

Nature AND Nurture

EnvironmentGenes

HoloGenome

Genome (DNA)

Microbiome(Bacteria)

Virome(Viruses)

EpiGenome(On/Off Switches)

Transgenerational Inheritance

Credit: Tanya Hall http://www.pdimages.com/web9.htm

Epigenetics and Disease

• Obesity

• Heart Disease

• Diabetes

• Cancer

• Allergies

• Infections

• Fragile X

• Autism

• Schizophrenia

• Depression

• Alzheimer’s

• Autoimmune Diseases

• Angelman’s

• Rett Syndrome

Microbes & Obesity

Credit: Janice Carr - CDC

Microbiome and Disease

• Obesity

• Heart Disease

• Type 2 Diabetes

• Infections

• Growth

• Lipid Levels

• Prostatitis

• Cancer

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Autism

• Depression

• Alzheimer’s

• Parkinson’s

• Stroke

• IBD

• Sickle Cell

• Insomnia

Credit: Orion--13Credit: Tommy Williamson

Genomics

HoloGenomics

Becoming A New Species?Are We Rapidly

Mutating?

Non-Random Mutation

Intelligent Design

Taking Control of Our Genome

Gene Editing

Gene Transfer

Stem Cells

CRISPR

Cycle of Technology Hype

Trough of Disillusionment

Peak of Inflated Expectations

Slope of Enlightenment

Plateau of Productivity

Credit: Roy Amara & Gartner

Cycle of IT Technology Hype

Robotics

Internet of Things

Speech Recognition

Smart Phones Consumer Electronics

Credit: Roy Amara & Gartner

DronesCyber-Humans

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2013/10/24/moocs-and-the-cycle-of-hype/

3-D Printing

Virtual Reality

Berg, Boyer & Cohen

http://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/people

Cycle of BioTechnology Hype

Synthetic BiologyGMOs, Stem Cells

Gene Editing

Gene Therapy

Insulin, HGH, Botox, Fertility Treatment

Credit: Roy Amara & Gartner

Cancer Therapy (I/O)Anti-Aging

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2013/10/24/moocs-and-the-cycle-of-hype/

Gene Therapy

Brief History

• First human trial in 1989

• 2300 Human trials

• Approved in China, 2003

• Glybera approved by EU in 2012 to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency

• $1M for treatment

• None FDA approved

Credit: George Church

Well Worn Path

Disease

Aging & Beauty

Performance

Non-Random Mutation

Modify myself

Modify all my progeny

Modify my children

Transiently

Permanently

Reversibly

Gene Editing – Gene Drive

Adapted from: Patrick Boyle: http://www.methodquarterly.com/2014/11/going-viral/

Carrier of Malaria Resistance Gene Carrier of Malaria Resistance Gene& CRISPR/Cas9

Eliminating Malaria

Metabolix

http://www.godieselusa.com/the-feed/?currentPage=3

DIY Genetic Engineering

Humans are Directly and Deliberately…

Taking Control of Evolution

Ethical Challenges Ahead

• Designer babies

• Designer pets and crops

• Forever young

• Immortality

• Cyber-humans

• New species

• Future humans

Frank K. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_McKinley.jpg

What is Evolution?

Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a population

spread over many generations.- Prof. Laurence A. Moran

http://bioinfo.med.utoronto.ca/Evolution_by_Accident/What_Is_Evolution.html

Missing Heredity&

Mystery Toxins

Credit: Claudette Gallant - publicdomainpictures.net

CNS

Immune Endocrine

Hologenome

DESTINY

DietEnriched Environment

StressToxins

InfectionNurture

You