George Church Will look to Human Genetic outliers and Transgenic sources to improve Humans

George Church, a pioneer in synthetic biology and genomics, is talking about radically altering the genes of humans for improved health, enhanced capabilities and life extension. He is not just just looking at centenarian and supercentenarian (110 years and older humans) genes but transgenic genes. Tortoises live to 180-260 years, bowhead whales up to 210 years, the bi-valve mollusk up to 405 years (but in freezing water).

This is a brief excerpt from his new book Regenesis which he wrote with Ed Regis.

The hydra might not age.

Hydra

Turritopsisnutricula, a jellyfish might actually get younger.

Those animals and their genes and biology need to be closely studied to see if their tricks could adopted into human genetics.

How he would make a Wooly Mammoth is a hint to how he would radically alter human genes

Full blown Genomic Engineering for resurrection the Wooly Mammoth.

He would use MAGE (Multiplex automated genomic engineering) technology. MAGE was also developed by George. Genomic Engineering works a few nucleotides at a time. MAGE works in a wholesale fashion.

1. Take the elephant genome
2. Break it into 30,000 pieces of 100,000 DNA units in length
3. Use a reconstructed Mammoth genome as a template
4. Select the important changes to make the elephant genome
5. Reassemble the changed pieces
6. Transfer into the egg cell for the female elephant to give birth to the new Mammoth clone

Transgenic genes could be introduced into humans in a similar fashion and placed into stem cells.

Some people are almost transhuman now

* Rare double mutants in the myostatin gene have more lean muscle and less body fat
* those with the LRP5 gene have extra strong bones (like the real version of the Bruce Willis movie Unbreakable character
* Those with the PCSK5 gene have 88 percent lower coronary disease
* Those with double CCR5 genes are HIV resistant
* Those with double FUT2 are resistant to stomach flu

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