The Future Where Cancer Is a Thing of the Past

For thousands of years, humans have had to deal with the perils of disease; spread infectiously like cholera, spread genetically like sickle cell disease, or developed due to lifestyle factors like heart disease and lung cancer. The number one killer of man was not old age, each other, but infectious disease. According to National Geographic, over 30 to 50 percent of Medieval Europe’s population was wiped out in a matter of years not because of a great war or economic crisis; but due to a small flea on a rat traveling from the East, causing what we know it as the Black Death. Over the centuries, countless other examples of disease ravaging whole civilizations overnight are inscribed in historical records. For example, it was not the fierce and aggressive forces of the Spanish Empire that were responsible for colonizing most of Latin America, but the diseases which they brought from their homeland that wiped out millions of Native Americans within a matter of months. Cholera, diphtheria, tetanus, and other diseases did more damage than any sword ever could. In Industrial Revolution-era England, the sewers of London caused multiple cholera outbreaks destroying families in the slums of Soho and other now renowned areas of the city. Following WW1, the amount of deaths in active combat could not even parallel the deaths and suffering created by a sphere-like satellite shaped object the size of 1 nm or less called influenza. The Spanish Flu, as it is known, caused between 25-50 million deaths worldwide, and was the worst pandemic in recent memory, second to only the one which we all lived through. The COVID-19 virus was not as deadly as influenza a century prior, but the mismanagement and decline in overall health for decades beforehand caused its effects to be amplified. Over 800 million cases are confirmed, and as of this past Wednesday, over 7 million deaths were recorded; the actual amounts are much higher, due to the current numbers not being fully accurate. Despite all this, the deadliness of infectious diseases is on the decline, and as the world becomes more developed, the emergence of the chronic and genetic disease threat is present more than ever. In the U.S, the top three causes of death are accidents, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Two of these are diseases caused by genetic in conjunction with lifestyle factors. However, with new advances in genetic technology, scientists predict that in the near future, the amount of deaths and cases from these chronic and genetic diseases will drastically lessen.

Why Are These Advances in Genetic Technology so Important?

A highly popular field of interest for many in the workforce is technology, specifically computer programming. In this field, programmers must write, run, and adapt code for processes important to all sectors of life, and are the backbone of our modern, highly-technology dependent society. Our genetic code, or the chemical sequences which make us who we are,

were up until recently unadaptable by humans. For the most part, our genetic code could be compared to a modern-day computer programmer only having one opportunity to write, debug every single error in their code, run it, and submit it for use. This is highly unrealistic in the real world, but the norm in our own bodies. As such, it is highly likely that there are some “glitches” in the code; we know them as genetic mutations, and they are responsible for not only genetically-inherited diseases, but for predisposing us to others as well. Some common mutations include HBB gene mutations(sickle cell disease), BRCA1 and 2(predisposition for breast cancer), and APOE(Alzheimer’s risk). Among other factors, radiation, micro plastics, genetic deviation, and others can also cause genetic mutations and disorders. Genetic mutations are caused in a number of different ways, and the science behind them is essential to understand how important the advances are.

The Science Behind Genetic Mutations

The field of genetics is an entire study in biology; I could write one article for each subject in it! However, today we are going to focus on the basics, and give a general overview of the genetic processes which are the most important, and what goes wrong in each of them that allow for genetic mutations. First, your body has two kinds of cells: somatic, or body cells; and non-somatic cells known as gametes. Somatic cells are the ones responsible for muscle growth, bone repair, and a number of other functions internally. The gametes are repsonsible for carrying your genes on to the next generation, and are also known as your sex cells. These cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. In a normal, non-mutated human, 21 of these pairs are called autosomal pairs, which are identical in males and females. The main differentiator of the two sexes are the other two chromosomes, which are Chromosome XX in females and XY in males. Now, the processes which make new somatic and sex cells are called mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis is the cell process by which somatic cells are divided to make daughter cells. Meiosis is responsible for gametic, or sex cell development. Usually, errors in the meiosis process cause genetic mutations, since they are directly passed down from parent to child, and are the only kind of cell passed down. The two major kinds of errors happen either in the actual process itself, or because special factors known as mutagens affect the process. These can include chemicals, radiation, and other physical vectors. It is also important to take into account that most mutations are harmless; but the ones that aren’t are especially deadly. With that being said, all of this information puts into perspective the advances in genetic technology being made today.

What Are The Advances in Genetic Technology?

Two decades ago, the foundation of genetic technology was laid with the invention of CRISPR technology, along with the discovery of the Cas9 enzyme. Together, the CRISPR-Cas9 technology was formed. (Quick Note: an enzyme is a protein, responsible for speeding up chemical processes in the body). Two parts make up this technology: the Cas9 enzyme, along with a guide RNA with the target area on the DNA sequence embedded in it. The guide RNA is

swallowed by the enzyme, moving toward the targeted area in the DNA sequence. The enzyme then latches onto the DNA, conjoining the guide RNA to the target DNA. The main thing happens here: when the enzyme does attach the RNA to the DNA, the body’s natural DNA repair processes either deactivate this segment of DNA, or the alignments specifically cause that part to be broken off completely from the rest of the DNA helix. By doing so, the problematic part of the gene is removed from having any effect, successfully changing the DNA for good. So far, CRISPR and its derivative technologies have made massive breakthroughs in cancer, sickle cell anemia, to even adapting the genes of mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria. In terms of cancer, the University of Pennsylvania ran a groundbreaking experiment in 2019 that proved CRISPR’s importance in the field. Scientists identified three genes responsible for uncontrolled cancerous cell growth: PDC1, TRAC, and TRBC. All of these affect the cells defense mechanisms against cancerous cells, and are usually not working properly in a cancer patient. The solution is to use CRISPR to edit these genes out of the patient, preventing further cancer spread without using radiation or chemotherapy. CRISPR’s use in mosquito control has proved promising. A research team at the University of California, San Diego, has successfully used CRISPR to help mosquitoes “self-destruct”. Mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects notorious for the diseases they carry are viral vectors; they do not inherently have the disease, they are simply a way for it to transmit. The scientists at UCSD used CRISPR to activate or deactivate key DNA sequences when the mosquito was infected by the virus; as a result, some cognitive or physiological effect would happen which would end in the death of the mosquito. Overall, the use of CRISPR has now become widespread, and more innovation is happening slowly and steadily.

Conclusion:

For millennia, both chronic and infectious diseases have devastated humanity and have been an obstacle for constant human progress. With advances in genetic technology, which can be used to prevent these diseases from developing in the first place. In the near future, scientists can confidently say that many chronic diseases will cease to exist. With the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology, along with many other breakthroughs with dangerous diseases such as malaria, cancer, and even heart disease, genetic technology is a fast-growing field. Hopefully, we can use these technologies responsibly and efficiently, so that lives can be saved without the cost and suffering of modern medicinal methods.