josiahzayner

I think this is more of a regulatory and ethics issue than anything. We already have the capabilities to edit humans both as adults and embryos and cost is mostly driven by the market-ish. So I really think it depends on governments or the risk you are willing to tolerate. I am sure there are some people who will inject you some gene editing solution in a country without much regulation but will it actually do anything? Will you have proper standard of care?

I think governments ar going to sit on human embryo editing for a long time. It's kind of like a weapons race and no one wants to start it? Maybe?

Obviously, this class that was created by UMichigan above! Not to self-promote but also my company sells an all-in-one hands on kit that can be done in your home https://www.the-odin.com/diy-crispr-kit/

Eat well, exercise and don't smoke cigarettes. Those things will make you live far longer than any gene editing people are currently pushing.

I think it's education and access. Computers were seen as the next big thing so every classroom had one even though you couldn't do more than play Oregon Trail. People don't seem to be latching on to biotechnology in the same way yet so we have a society that is extremely undereducated on literally what makes their body and every living organism work.

We have inexpensive equipment and raw materials to do genetic engineering and molecular biology but people still need convincing that it is a worthwhile thing to learn.

So I guess Biohacking just needs better marketing?

We don't really understand genetics as well as we hope. There are some very monogenic traits that affect a single genes but most phenotypic outward traits are caused by many different genes and so we don't understand how to easily modify them.

Think of the genetic code like an alien technology (which it may be maybe? Panspermia?) That works but we don't really understand how it works so we can poke or prod and see results but fundamentally we literally cannot recreate a cell or genome from scratch.

It's possible but probable anytime soon? Maybe not.