Human Nature

The science behind gene editing and its uses, good or bad, explored in some detail. Left me thinking of the impact when CRISPR meets AI and the potential chaos of their illegitimate children. The opportunity for the human species to embark on irreversible journeys has never been greater. Chuck in a bit of climate change and some despotic governance and you really do have the foundations for what was once the fantasy of science fiction.

"...weather we like it or not - we are living in a time of transition. After two billion years this is, in a sense, the end of the beginning." Robert Sinsheimer, Biologist, CalTech 26th June 1966

From a basic understanding the DNA structure and the mapping of its fingerprints - to the beginning of understanding what various parts do - has been an ongoing journey. A journey that, until this decade, fell short of our ability to "precisely manipulate"

Now the first DNA tools are in the toolbox. We are gaining the ability to "cut and paste" DNA. Not only in our surroundings - but in are very own beings, not only in all life forms but in all offspring.

This capability has "blasted" into the world with such velocity - question is; are we prepared for it's effects - the bad as well as good. The consequences of editing DNA raise philosophical questions of epic proportions.

To a large extent Human Nature attempts to explain; the principles of CRISPR, it's possible implementations and the ethical considerations - in parallel. This approach may be useful for keeping the audience hooked but, arguably, the end result would have benefited from a "chapter approach". It also leaves the impression that the topics aren't done to perfection.

This is not necessarily a good documentary - in the sense well made. The story itself is, however, so mind blowing and important that it gets a bonus with regards to rating - purely on the importance of the information conveyed.

It is a must see - more on the merit of what it is saying, than how it is saying it. We have unleashed enormous powers - knowledge and debate are required to temper them. The sooner more of us grasp the concept of CRISPR and Cas9 - the sooner can we influence; how and in which direction we want it to go.

The alarm bell just went off, it's a fire alarm - hitting the snooze button won't work.

Even if you are not familiar with science and biology, Human Nature does an excellent job at explaining how gene editing and everything work. From the origins of the method to its application, they try to be as neutral as possible, weighing the pros and cons. Every person interviewed is asked about the potential benefits but also dangers of this new method.

Greetings again from the darkness. That feeling when you start up a 95 minute documentary and a black and white clip of a Biologist giving a speech in 1966 fills the screen ... it's a moment of dread, which fortunately, filmmaker Adam Bolt quickly turns into a fascinating education. The fellow giving the 1966 speech (I missed his name) states that someday we will be able to alter human genes. More than 50 years later, Mr. Bolt's film shows us that scientists are beyond that, and on the verge of developments that demand some serious and literally life-altering discussions.

Deep science and cinematic story-telling aren't typically a good mix, but here we have a blending of journalists, researchers, and many types of scientists working with a knowledgeable filmmaker. They succeed in explaining the 'why' and 'what for' of gene-editing in a way that even a simpleton such as yours truly could follow. Going in, the concept of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) was vague at best (for me), and those involved with the film explain how this has opened the scientific door to the building blocks of life through gene-editing.

For structure, the film is divided into six chapters: Needle in a Haystack, CRISPR, The Gene Machine, Brave New World, The Good Gene, and Playing God. These chapters touch on the story of young David Sanchez (afflicted with Sickle Cell Anemia), food and bacteria, Aldous Huxley's book, eugenics, and morality. With so much to cover, the film excels in providing just enough for viewers, and putting the spotlight on those who can best explain their area of expertise or what results might mean.

Science often complements humanity while simultaneously standing opposed to nature. The film even shows the infamous JURASSIC PARK clip where Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) tries to confront the idea of genetic altering by stating, "Scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." There are also clips from BLADE RUNNER and GATTACA, and they all lead us to the question on everyone's mind ... should we play God? Most agree that stopping genetic diseases is a worthy goal, but how about designer babies? That's where discussion of Huxley's "Brave New World" and Hitler come in. Should we be architecting the "perfect human being"? When Dr. Jennifer Doudna asks, "What have I done?", she's smiling on the outside as a scientist, but surely has doubts as a person.

Keegan DeWitt's score is top notch for a documentary, but a film about isolating individual and specific strands of DNA isn't really about style. Listening to bioengineers discuss their own work and that of others in the field, gives us the basics of the science involved; however, as a society we must come to grips with that big question. Do we play the hand we're dealt, or do we stack the deck and keep one up the sleeve? At some point very soon, we must decide. As the film states, after 2 billion years, this is the end of the beginning. What does the next stage look like?

Well made movie which features some of the pioneers of the field, unlike some random guy from Youtube who made a video after reading some blog off the internet. CRISPR is the next internet & what we know about it & its uses is just the tip of the iceberg. The movie goes on tell the positives & negatives of gene editing but a viewer can't visualise the best & worst ways in which this can be used. I feel that it could have been a bit more dramatic and with a little more information it would have been the go to documentary for CRISPR related knowledge.