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Crispr / gene editing is one step closed to treating human disease!

The Bob Pritchard Column

The powerful gene editing technology CRISPR is one step closer to treating a human disease.  Science, reports that a UT Southwestern Medical Center team reported  they had successfully used CRISPR to correct the genetic defect responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in four beagles bred with the disease-causing gene.

 

People born with the disease are often eventually confined to wheelchairs as their muscles continue to weaken, and in the later stages, many rely on ventilators to breathe as their diaphragm muscles stop working. Eventually, they develop heart and respiratory failure.

 

 

The team “fixed” the mutated dystrophin gene by splicing out an offending section of the gene using CRISPR. The gene editing technology, discovered in 2012, can cut out sections of DNA at precise locations (and also introduce new DNA as well). In the case of Duchenne, simply snipping out a section of the mutated dystrophin gene allows the gene to make enough of the proper protein that muscles need to function.

 

The results were jaw dropping.

 

The  muscle cells in various parts of the dogs bodies, including the heart and diaphragm, were churning out healthy dystrophin protein at anywhere from 3% to 90% of the normal levels eight weeks after injection. Because Duchenne affects deep organs like the heart and respiratory system, finding a way to deliver CRISPR more widely, without repeated and multiple injections, is preferable.

 

The study is the latest in an encouraging string of results in applying CRISPR to treat human disease. Researchers have also successfully used the gene editing technology to splice out HIV from both infected human cells in the lab and in living mice and rats, and are close to beginning trials to blood disorders like beta thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. Scientists have even corrected a genetic heart defect in embryos in the lab, which were not allowed to develop further or be implanted for ethical reasons.

 

Duchenne, often diagnosed before people start to notice symptoms of muscle weakness, might be halted in its tracks before important skeletal, heart and breathing muscle are damaged beyond saving. A CRISPR-based therapy may be most effective in treating young people recently diagnosed with the disease, to prevent them from ever experiencing the symptoms of Duchenne.

 

The hope is that if those animal studies and human trials prove this technique is safe and effective, CRISPR could potentially lead to a cure for Duchenne. Note that this is a cure, not a treatment.  All of the other therapies so far for Duchenne muscular dystrophy have treated the symptoms and consequences of the disease. This is going right at the root cause of the genetic mutation.

 

"Today," "I will be lecturing about the liver and spleen."

"Damn, if there's one thing I can't stand it's an organ recital."

 

The PC is dead - long live the PC

Great insites by Rajkumar VR Sigamany - as he talks about Resilience, Innovation and Collaboration 

"Death of the personal-computer” is one of the recurring themes we’ve been seeing for the past several years. Having a long association in the semi-conductor Industry, such articles performed their duty, creating churns in my stomach. While such articles are not uncommon in the last two decades, once again the PC sales have bounced back proving the pundits wrong.

I’ll attribute the success to these factors: Resilience, Innovation and the Support Group

Resilience - For many years, smaller devices have challenged the PC with better flexibility, longer battery-life, lightweight, etc. Despite all the setbacks, challenges and the assumption that the millennials will avoid the PC as they refuse to be tied to a desk, the reality is smartphones, tablets and PCs all being used alongside performing the tasks best suited to. 

We’re at the beginning of the 4th revolution. Although Artificial Intelligence discussions started around 1950s, it looks more real now due to the processing power, data and cloud. While there are clear benefits, we hear more challenges and the uncertainty. That’s what makes it interesting. We have successfully seen three revolutions in the past and the questions for the 4th should be, “How are we going to approach it? How quick we’re going to bounce back from the challenges”.

Innovation - If you look at the history of the PC, you could see how heavy, boring and less innovative the PC was for a long time. The competition from the smaller devices and the user preferences forced the PC to innovate more in the last few years than it has innovated in the first few decades becoming a better product and evolving. 

In a world of disruption due to technology, new trends are threatening our jobs, they way we've performed our jobs, outdating the skills we developed over many decades and pushing us out of our comfort zone. The change is uncomfortable, unsettling and our usual response is to avoid and resist if possible. While the change is difficult, a positive outlook could help us to see the numerous opportunities it brings. History proves, the best option is to embrace the change by investing in new skills to create a better tomorrow. 

Support Group– The PC bounced back due to the contributions of the organizations in its ecosystem. Organizations of various sizes collaborated, leveraging each other strengths to make the PC better and relevant. The result, we have a PC with better design, features and usage. 

In an era of 24-hour news and updates, the role of the others are becoming crucial in our success. It’s becoming essential for us to build a support network with diverse skills and talent. It is our responsibility to ensure that they care in our success.  

With PC considered as a ‘thing’ in the ‘Internet of Things’, I don’t expect the PC to die, rather see a bright future. By remaining resilient, innovative and guidance from the support network, I believe in we can…

Conquer the change!

So what does the employer of the future look like?

Having a specific skill does not cut the mustard anymore - machines and AI have that covered! 

The workplace has become far more multi-dimensional. To get the job you want, you need to show that you can 

• collaborate well 
• communicate well
• have high values and integrity.
• be prepared to integrate with other business units 
• be able and willing to be part of a continuous learning programme

There are few job roles now that don't involve some element of working with software, social media, "the Cloud" and definitely your mobile! 

It is fair to say that Technology and the Internet are ubiquitous in everything we do and is as important as being able to read and write! 

About 65 per cent of ICT workers studied non-IT degrees.

Technology skills underscore the future job market. 

“The sharply increased importance of skills such as technology design and programming highlights the growing demand for various forms of technology competency identified by employers surveyed for this report” - 

says a 2018 report on the future of jobs  (World Economic Forum)

However, proficiency in new technologies will be just one part of the 2022 skills picture. 

Intuitive human skills, such as creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, and negotiation will retain or increase their value, as will attention to detail, resilience, flexibility, and complex problem-solving. Emotional intelligence, leadership, and social influence, as well as service orientation will also see an outsized increase in demand relative to their current prominence.

The good news is that non-technical people have found themselves gaining IT skills on the job or through structured learning and IT professionals have been upskill Ing their non-technical and "soft skills", connecting their technical roles to the broader business environment.

LinkedIn data shows that six out of the top 10 skills required by ICT workers are non-technical in nature: 

• project management, 
• business strategy, 
• relationship management, 
• strategic planning, 
• sales and 
• customer service 

were in the top 10 skill sets needed.

There is a massive shortage of skills in the IT sector , and the size of Australia's digital economy is expected to almost double in the next six years from $79 billion in 2014 to $139 billion in 2020 (creating an extra 66,000 IT jobs)

Graduates and imported skills will not meet the demand.

Cliffy Rosenberg - IT Guru, mentor and ex CEO of Linkedin Australia said the only way to meet demand was through educating and training the existing workforce – (Vocational Education) particularly when it comes to women, who are under-represented in in the IT industry (only 28 per cent of the ICT workforce) and older people (only 11 per cent are aged over 55), who often are discriminated against because of outdated stereotypes about their ability to learn about new technology.

The organisations that will thrive will be those who have a culture of continuous learning and programmes to upskill their employees. 

"The digital future is coming rapidly and it doesn't matter which area that you work in, you have the ability to improve the competitiveness of your business by investing in your team through continuous learning programmes," says Rosenberg .

"We have got to prepare our economy for the future. We have got to prepare the workforce for the skills needed for today's economy and then make sure we are ready for tomorrow's economy as well."

So what does the Employer of the future look like ?

The employee of the future would appear to be a flexible, creative, emotionally intelligent contract worker who understands AI, robotics, and automation, and has deep analytical and experience design skills. 

How do they learn this 

• Being able to learn how to learn
• Working at an organisation that values  learning in the workplace 

Read -  robots will create jobs but decimate middle class careers  By Chris Middleton 

Click here to find out more 

Economic indicator chart

http://projects.wsj.com/econforecast/?standalone=1#ind=unemp&r=20

Sapiens - where are we heading?

Interview with Noah Harari on his book Sapiens 

Interview with Noah Harari on his book Homo Deus

Learning how to reengineer our bodies and minds - could result an end of humanity. When  the datacentre understands you more than you know yourself - you become useless 

Steve Cutt’s on Sapiens and impact on the Planet 

Are you lost in the World - Steve Cutts

Our History in 2 minutes

Yuval Boah Harari on AI, Cars , Doctors , Jobs and Cyborgs

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/why-the-rise-of-ai-makes-mental-resilience-so-important/

I came across an interesting CBS newsclip (link above)  of an interview with Yuval Noah Harari - author of Sapiens , Homo Deus and now 21 lessons for the 21st century.

Some of my takeouts. - would be interested in yours ....

Will AI  become the dominant force on earth controlled by a few humans or cyborgs? 

Politics has moved from Land to Machines to Data !  

The powerful will be those who control the data!

Up to now , life matter as we know it has been made of organic compounds and organic biochemistry - from Giraffes,  tomatoes, plant animals and humans.

We are now entering the realm of replacing natural selection with intelligent design.

Organic to inorganic life forms - cyborgs - will this enable us to explore the galaxy (ps whose us?)

Is AI going to create  “The useless class of Sapiens? 
Will humans  stay relevant? What will they do? 

They will Not only be unemployed - but unemployable 

Not only  will drivers of vehicles  be replaced by more efficient AI - but doctors by IBM Watson!! 

Or

Will AI augment and improve doctors as opposed to replace them? 

It is clear that the  onset of AI will change the nature of jobs as we know it. AI will not be a Big Bang but  a gradual evolution of byte size innovations that will eventually disrupt and replace jobs as we know them today 

Some questions 

Jobs - can people retrain and reinvent - and do it again and again and again ? They say a millennial's today will have 14 jobs in their  lifetime - at least 

Have we got the tools  to teach emotional intelligence at schools? 

Do we need to have a new paradigm to learn how to learn - knowledge dumps is not the go .

What should we be teaching?