All language subtitles for Unnatural.Selection.S01E04.Our.Next.Generation.720p.NF.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.x264-NTG

In animal models,
it worked many times before.

But for human...

there were a lot of questions.

We have a fertilized egg with a sperm,

and now it's a day one embryo,

a so-called zygote.

So now, we need to arm our laser.

It's probably...

one of the favorite parts of all of us...

to hit something with a laser.

I need to open the shell of the cell.

And we're going in.

It's a kind of magic, right?

You take the genetic material
of one person and put it into the...

living being of another person.

So yeah, it's kind of magic.

This step is only the beginning.

The future of embryology is bright.

But I was wondering,

you're from the US,
and now you're in Ukraine,

and, uh...

it's forbidden in the US.

So, what do you think about
all of these three-person babies?

We're on the verge
of a technological breakthrough

that could change the future
of mankind.

Most people have no idea
how rapidly things are changing.

We're now changing the DNA,
the code of life.

It's amazing, the sorts of things
that we could do with this.

The question is, should we?

What happens if diseases
were just eradicated?

All technology is inherently about
changing away from what is natural.

Good evening, everyone.

In 2013, researchers
at the University of California

discovered the power
of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology,

setting off a revolution
in molecular biology

that has continued to push the limits

of what we imagined could be possible.

The world unlocked by the power
of CRISPR may seem limitless,

but for every utopian promise
of eradicating diseases,

maximizing agricultural yield,
and producing wonder drugs,

there are an equal number
of dystopian stories

of all-too-human hubris
pushing us too far.

Where do we draw the line?

How do you feel?

Nervous.

- Nervous?
- Mm-hmm.

What are you thinking?

That I'll be able to see a little better
and...

I just want to know what it's like.

The lights...

they kind of look like fires, and...

I obviously can't see anything else
but that light.

That's what it looks like to me.

It's been a crazy...

a crazy, uh... ride.

'Cause we found out...

- what gene it was in October.
- Mm-hmm.

- Right? October.
- Yeah, in October.

And then it was approved in December.

- Right.
- And then,

- here we are.
- Right.

Middle of July,
and we're about to have surgery.

He might not have to walk around
with a cane.

He can go outside
and play with his friends

and not have to worry about tripping over
the curb that he didn't see.

What's wrong?

Hey.

I'm happy.

- So why are you crying?
- 'Cause.

They're happy tears?

- Yes.
- Hey.

- You're not nervous? You're just excited?
- Yeah.

- Are you gonna sleep tonight?
- Maybe.

I am very excited to introduce you
to Dr. Josiah Zayner.

He's pushing the boundaries of science
outside traditional environments,

including human
and animal genetic engineering.

He left NASA. Can you believe it?

Um, but if you keep an eye
on the popular media,

you would have seen a story
about Dr. Zayner,

who famously injected himself with CRISPR,
uh, in front of a live audience.

And I know everyone wants me to ask,
so I gotta ask. Um...

Why did you do that?
And what impact do you think that has had?

Yikes.

- That's a loaded question, I think.
- Of course. That's what we're here for.

There's this quote
that kind of sticks with me.

It's a quote from Charles Darwin.

And he said that,

"If our poor and our sick

suffer not because of nature,

but because of our institutions,

great is our sin."

If you look at gene therapies
that are on the market now,

the cost's near a million dollars.

To me, that's a huge sin
by our institutions.

The crazy thing is,
is that, as a genetic engineer,

as somebody who knows how to make this,

I can go to a... a company,
a contract organization

and have them make it
for a few thousand dollars.

A few thousand dollars.

Why did I inject myself?

Well, I... I injected myself

because people who have
chronically been oppressed by the system,

people who have suffered...

I want to show them that there is hope,

that they can be their own hope

if they harnessed, you know, gene therapy
and genetic engineering technology.

Stand right there.

Here you go, bud.

All right. All right.

He's in... surgery now.

They came in. They gave him his drops.

Fifteen minutes later,
they gave him his other... his other drops.

The anesthesiologist came in

and explained, you know, that they were
gonna be putting him under.

They're gonna be there
the entire time with him

and if something was gonna go...

go bad, that they were there to,

you know, to... to keep him safe.

Is it dangerous? Are you worried at all
that if it doesn't work,

is that giving people a false hope,
and is that something

you're worried about?

Is it dangerous?

I... You know, that's a tough question,
because a lot of things are dangerous.

I'm not telling people,
"Hey, look, you know what?

You're gonna get cured tomorrow."

But what I'm saying is,
the way science is done, right,

science is the process of people learning
about things

and then using it to help us all.

- Anybody can do that. Right?
- Mm.

Anybody can do that process.

This is what worries me,
because six years ago...

no one imagined that we might be able
to readily edit an entire species.

I'm a huge science fiction fan.

It's not there.

No one wrote a story about it.
No one even hinted about it, as far as I...

- as far as I know.
- What about Jurassic Park?

What do you think would happen
if somebody just gets some DNA

for making a gene drive

and you know, do an experiment with it?

What happens if I just released it?
What do you think would happen?

Let's... Let me put it this way.

A single tragic death
in a poorly regulated clinical trial

would probably set back
the field of gene therapy

by at least a decade.

Yeah.

And then,
all those medicines that you hoped for

are gonna be set back.

So that's why we need to be careful.

A single shot to eliminate HIV.

Seems too good to be true, right?

Well,
self-styledbiohacker Tristan Roberts

thinks it could be possible.

Last month, live on Facebook,

he injected himself with a gene called N6,

but many in the medical community
are outraged.

They call Robert's behavior

"delusional," "risky," and "frightening."

How many... How many injections
have you given yourself at this point?

- Just that one?
- Just the one, yeah.

Okay.

Um, and what's kept you
from doing another one?

The second version hasn't been ready.

But I think it's, like, it's...

- it's getting closer and closer.
- Mm-hmm.

Okay, so when you first started
thinking about doing this,

like, you put something
that had not been tested in humans

- or even animals, I think, in your body.
- Mm-hmm.

I mean, just like, emotionally,
that must have been...

crazy.

I've already grappled with my mortality
from getting the infection to begin with.

- Mm-hmm. Right.
- I really, at that young age, I'm like,

"Oh, yeah, I really could die."
I'm like, "Yeah."

- Right.
- So...

But from the outside,
it sort of seems like these first...

trials were super rushed,
they were on a deadline.

Thinking that you could just, like,
knock out...

an HIV therapy in three months.

HIV is enough

that if you can just do a proof of concept
in one person,

then that's enough to open up
a huge, like, line of possibilities.

I really think they need to be throwing
different combinations at... at people.

I think about the opportunity costs.
You know?

I think that the amount of people
who could be saved

by having looser regulations

is a much, much larger number
than the people who would be harmed...

by testing out things early on.

I mean, who should draw these lines
about what we're allowed to edit

and what people should be allowed
to pursue?

What if now someone wants to use it
to become stronger or for anything else

or some memory gene
to remember things better?

Where do you think we stop,

and what do you think
are the important things to consider

with that conversation?

I don't do work on humans,
because it's too controversial.

One problem I can see with CRISPR is
if we edit eye color

or hair color or height or intelligence,

is that the person whose genome
is being edited is an embryo,

so they have no input
into these genetic decisions

that are being made for them.

At this point in this country,

it's very clear
that... that we will not be allowing

these kind of edits
that can be inherited by your offspring.

People always break rules, right?
People are gonna break it.

So, I think the question
isn't whether we should help people...

stop people
from cosmetically editing people.

I think the question is,
how do we help it

so that everybody can get these edits?

What are we left with?

We're left with a lot of athletic,
attractive, healthy people?

Like...

whoo, that's gonna be a terrible world.

Uh...

Okay.

I don't... I don't know how to follow up
on that last sentence.

Um...

I'm just worried,

are we ready
to have that kind of power

to take that to the next level?

That's done. Got it.

Welcome.

- Thanks.
- And we're gonna go ahead

and explain a little bit about
how we do all this high-tech stuff

- that we're doing these days.
- Mm-hmm.

So, we start off with a blood sample,

and we're gonna screen you to make sure
you're not carrying something.

And everyone lights up positive
for something.

And if you do, we can check your embryos
for that disease as well.

The second thing we can do now
is add sort of frosting on the cake,

and say, "All right,
what else is available?"

And it's, uh, my understanding
you got an interest in eye color.

- Mm-hmm.
- I know there's an interest in blue eyes.

Yeah, I mean, take a look.

Yeah.

There are several genes
associated with eye color.

We know what they are now,

and we can predict
what the chances are

that an embryo is gonna have
a given eye color.

So, this is not
a 100 percent chance, right?

We're up to about 92 percent now.

- Okay?
- So, very close.

- So it's pretty high, right.
- Yeah.

So we'll give you a prediction
on the eye color

of each one of the healthy embryos,

and then you can tell us
what you want to do.

So fascinating.

Okay.

The bulk of patients
that come here are happy and healthy,

and there's nothing wrong with them.
They just want to choose.

There's not a lot of people

letting people choose boys
and choose girls.

There's...
There's no one, except us, right now

letting people choose eye color.

What did he say,
like, four to six weeks?

- To get the results back?
- I don't know.

Oh.

- Yeah, that's what he said.
- That's what he... Yeah.

I wish it was, like, immediate.

A lot of the things that we do
are socially controversial.

And we're totally fine
with social controversy.

Some of the things that we do
are not legal

in a good part of the world.

As a physician and a scientist,
I would normally go to the textbooks

and look it up and say,
"Should we be doing this?"

And you look it up,
and you get nothing.

There's no textbook on the shelf,
because it hasn't been written yet.

So here, you can see a list of about 200
that are interested in choosing eye color.

These are from every nation on earth,
including the North Pole.

I thought it was gonna be
really heavy for blue eyes,

but it's, um, it's pretty evenly divided
between blue and green.

Um, about 30 percent each, and, um...

40 percent brown eyes,

from the Scandinavians
who all have blue eyes.

So, I guess people always want
what they don't have.

This is a girl, as was expected.

Baby's in critical condition.

When I first started
with in vitro fertilization,

I was actually in England with the team
that produced the first baby.

That's it. The baby cried...

I came back to the United States

and introduced
that we were going to start it up.

And I walked out to the parking lot,

and someone had taped a note
to my windshield that said,

"Test-tube babies have no soul."

New things are sometimes scary.

I like being a maverick.

Um, I like taking people on
and trying to change their opinions.

So, we've added the sperm,

and we begin to grow the embryos.

So, it started off as one cell.
One divided into two,

into four, into eight,
until they look like the blastocyst

that's now under the microscope.

We analyze those genetically

to see what characteristics
this embryo has.

We do this individually
on every single embryo.

We've got a computerized graph.

We plug the numbers into the graph,

and it tells us what the chances are
that we're gonna get a baby

with whatever eye color
they're interested in.

So, it's um...
it's actually a sort of a video game.

I mean, it's fun.

We tested eight embryos.

There is one euploid, uh, male embryo.

- And they want a male?
- They wanted a male.

And it's
a good quality hatching blastocyst,

- so it should do well.
- Okay.

Well, we'll give 'em a call
and let them know

and, uh, bring 'em in for the boy.

In the US, fortunately,

the government doesn't become involved
in reproductive choices of couples.

We're able to diagnose embryos

and provide all that information
to the patients.

So, that's straightforward.

The next question that comes up is,

"Okay fine, we have an embryo
that's abnormal.

What are we able to do with that?"

And at this point, in the US, nothing.

We can't do genetic engineering,
and that's frustrating.

Why do we have to travel
all the way to Ukraine

and we could have done this
in New York City?

Of course...

there's lots of nice food here.

I have, how do you say,
the difficult mission

to introduce Dr. John Zhang.

He's one of the pioneers
of the nuclear transfer,

from New York.

We are in a very exciting moment.

I think this is going
to completely change the way,

how human reproduction will look
in the future.

The concept of nuclear transfer,

or so-called "three-parent baby,"

will completely change the world.

What?

Three parents producing one baby?
How does that work?

Three different parents?
How does this work?

So, the reason, uh,
to make a three-parent baby

is that, um, there's a small piece of DNA
that exists in every cell, uh,

that in, um,
in a particular woman, was defective.

This DNA, called mitochondrial DNA,
it's about 17,000 letters,

uh, which is much, much smaller
relative to the rest of the genome,

but it's critical to create energy
in the cells.

Mitochondria are located
in the woman's egg.

They're like the powerhouses
for the cell.

So as they get passed
from one generation to another,

then they can create babies
with mitochondrial diseases.

Now, those diseases are fatal.

So, the idea here is that you take
mitochondria from one woman,

the rest of the DNA from another woman,

and then the DNA from the male,
and put it all together.

So therefore, the baby has three parents.

A full 23 chromosomes from its mother,

23 chromosomes from the father,

and a mitochondrial genome

from a third person.

It could help
a lot of infertile couples, right?

Oh, no question about it.

There are lots of women
who can't give birth

because they know they have
this particular defect.

So it really does open the door of hope
for them to have children of their own.

The donor cell is on the right,
and the patient cell is on the left.

And all we need to do is the fusion.

We bring the DNA material

from the patient's egg
into a healthy donor egg.

That's just amazing, right?

They do exactly
what Mother Nature asks them to do

to make a healthy baby,
but without realizing that...

these are parts from two different ladies.

The Catholic Church is against it.
The Anglican Church is against it.

Because some say we're going down
a slippery slope, designer babies.

You know, when you change
mitochondria, that's one thing,

but it's a slippery slope
to be able to say,

"What if I changed the gender?
What if I changed the skin color?"

You're committing a child

to be part of an experiment
for the rest of his life.

The FDA views three-parent... baby,
or three-parent embryo,

as, uh, an embryo
that has heritable genetic change

introduced into it.
And so there has been a prohibition

on moving forward
with any research in humans

on that technology in the US.

But prohibitions tend to have
an unintended and untoward effect,

which is pushing people
who want to use them

to places where there are not sufficient,
or maybe any, regulation.

Why do we go there? Why do we go here?

Why we're not going there?
Why we're going here?

The final destination
is a healthy mommy and healthy babies.

- Hello?
- Come in. Hello.

So today, you have the possibility
to see our clinic.

Yes, to visit some magic places.

The clinic's already 11 years old.

We did about 7,000 IVF babies.

And now we start to propose
a new technique,

pronuclear transfer, for the first time.

We feel the urgency,

and we feel the need,

and also we feel the excitement.

The population of this group of patients
are accumulating.

We are having more and more patients
in this group

who need help badly.

We've tested all the embryos
for everything we can on this planet

to this moment.

So, every test that we can make,
we've made.

While the procedure looks unnatural,

we are doing something...

to fulfill people's very basic needs.

We always say, "It's in my blood.

It's in my genes."

So, I think, unconsciously,

we all feel that, one day,
we would like to...

pass along our genetics

into the next generation.

We are sitting here
with our faces all blurred

because, uh, there are a lot of people

that don't want to...

accept all the changes that are going on,

especially if it is about DNA.

People that don't face problems
like we did,

uh, they think, "Okay, it's natural...
in a natural way."

They just have some fun

and then they get, uh, a child,

but it was very difficult for us.

The first feelings that we experienced,

when we were told
about this new technology,

is that we finally had hope
to get pregnant

and have our own child. Uh...

Because I believe
that when you want a child...

no matter what,

you achieve it.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

How have you been feeling?

I've been very well.

Great, great.

Do you have any questions for us?

Yes, after the baby is born,

during the first year,

do you recommend a specialist
to watch over our baby?

When you first give birth,
there are going to be tests.

The clinic will be observing and examining
the baby for a certain period of time,

checking the blood tests, etc.

So we will be looking closely to see
how the baby grows.

Have you talked to your relatives
on this topic?

With your parents?

It might be too much information for them.

They've wanted grandchildren
for a long time.

It's not that important how they get them.

What you're looking at...

this is actually your baby.

That's how it looked
before we transferred him and biopted.

This is right after the nuclear transfer.

In the next frame,
it's already inside the cell.

Then it splits and evolves and evolves.

Let's see. What's today?

2:30 a.m. on March 7th.

She's just waiting for labor to start.
It's just not starting.

I just took Isis' temperature.

It's 99.1 degrees.

We'll see.

She's pregnant.

There's a feel-able lump,

but there's nothing.

It's just not happening for her.

The issue is not with...
getting the gene in the sperm.

The issue is with getting the sperm
in the egg.

What is wrong with the sperm?

So, it's been a stressful week,
but I've got a plan.

A lot to do tonight.
Gotta do like six transformations today.

Gotta run a gel
from three PCRs I did last night.

This may turn out to be
a long-term troubleshooting process.

All right, it's March 15th.

April 19th.

April 29th.

It's 2:06 a.m.

I'm getting better sperm samples
from this other male,

'cause he's in his prime.

May 7th at 3:35 a.m.

- Okay, it's morning.
- It's 1:00 a.m.

Trying to do this stuff
nights and weekends

and still have a full-time job
and a family.

7:00 a.m. on the 22nd again.
So, I gotta hurry.

Um...

With any luck, they'll work just fine.

Fourth version
of the bioluminescent plasmid.

12:13 a.m.

3:30 p.m. July 15th.

Really don't understand this.

It took all day to crunch through the math
on every study I could find.

I have chased it
every which way I can imagine.

It's not working, and I don't know why.

And it's tricky...
because I got very little DNA left.

Bad thing is I have to go to work
in the morning.

Top part. You got the bottom part?

Right there. Press hard for me.

This too.

- Yeah.
- And the bear.

- Yep.
- And the tiger.

Tiger.

Listen. Okay?

You're good. You're doing really good.

Shh...

Jack, try not to cry. I know.
I know. I'm not doing anything.

Can I put the washcloth on this tape?
There's a little more tape.

I wanna put the washcloth on.

I think he's just tired.

Jack,
you're gonna feel so much better

when you take that off.

I know.

- I can do it.
- You got it.

- I can do it.
- You got it.

Whoa!

Dude!

- I did it.
- Oh, my God.

- Mom, can you get that?
- Yeah, she's got that.

- You're doing it.
- I did it.

You did it! Don't touch.

- Don't touch though, okay?
- Mom, get it.

- She got it.
- It's all gone.

Good.

That feel a little better?

You did it!

- All right.
- Okay.

What do you think?

Why does everything...

Like, why does my eye look like
it's changing colors almost, like...

I really don't know how to explain it.

Does it look silly?

- Uh-huh.
- What does it look like?

What's it look like, Ava?

Not... Not this one. The other one.

Gooey.

Why does it look all gooey?

I feel like I'm swimming.

It looks blurry.

You know, when that heals,
you'll... you'll have a brand-new eye.

Tell me why you decided...
I mean, this is a brave thing to do.

Some people will think it's stupid,
but it's undoubtedly a brave thing to do.

Tell me why you've decided to do this
against medical advice?

I think we really can't wait
for the established players

to develop an actual cure for HIV.

It takes millions of dollars

and around five years
to test out a new therapy, right?

My health has been fine,

so I feel like I'm in a good position
to benefit people

who are in more desperate situations.

So, um,
we might end up pushing it to Sunday.

But I think we're all pretty optimistic

that the next batch will be
very effective at destroying HIV.

But you might have to use
multiple genes and multiple antibodies

in order to suppress the virus.

Tune in on Sunday for the, uh,
HIV therapy.

We have
three open-access gene therapy platforms

that are open to researchers,
independent and commercial,

around the world.

Can you hear me now?

Uh, yeah.

So, like, what's going on with Aaron?

Um, I don't know what his plan is.

I don't know if he's just
all PR and marketing

or if he really is as optimistic
as he seems.

These guys are getting these complexes
like they can cure people, and...

like, he has no idea
about any of this medical stuff.

Yeah. Yeah.

I don't know
if I'm supposed to be telling you this,

but Aaron started, like,
pre-selling stuff,

like, just to be on the waiting list.

Oh, gosh.

Once you start getting involved
with people who are...

you know, claiming they can cure diseases,

you just start to head down that path

- of fucking scammers.
- Yeah.

Do you really want that
on your conscience? Like...

Do you really want that
on your conscience?

Tristan.

Effectively, he's becoming a martyr.

He's like, "I don't care if this hurts me.

I'm willing to do this to try to push
things forward,"

and he should care. He should care.

What I preach is, like,
"Be your own hope," right?

Be your own hope.
Know enough that you can treat yourself.

It's this, like, double-edged sword.

I try to make it accessible

so then people don't think
they can't do it.

But then, at the same time,
people think they can do it.

And it's like, "Well, you can,

but you have to, like, learn a little
before you do it," right?

And that's where I think
it starts to get a weird area,

where you have people
who are encouraging people to do stuff.

It's getting sketch...
into sketchy territory, right?

It's...

Should people have access to the tools
to be able to do genetic engineering?

Yes, right?

Totally, I believe so.

But...

let's start to get more nuance.

If you're not affecting anybody else,
it's totally cool.

But once you start affecting other people,

then, you know,
you need to really think about it.

And I think the problem is...

my actions are now
starting to affect people.

And so...

I... I have to be more careful
with what I say now,

because people are fucking listening.

You know, I'm starting to see
that there could be repercussions

in real people's lives.

Real people get hurt because of it.

I feel responsible
if something bad happens.

Aaron, can you hear me?

Yeah, I can hear you.

So do you want to tell me exactly
what law you think we're breaking here,

or I'm breaking here?

The FDA is gonna say
you're selling unregulated drugs.

Unregulated research compounds,
not for human consumption.

Yeah, but, like,
what's the actual intent, right?

Doesn't matter.

They're gonna see
right through all this shit.

And what are they gonna do about it?

I don't know.

Like, I've been uncomfortable with
a lot of the stuff going on for a while,

and it's getting worse and worse.

I've got two kids. I can't...

If I get a $50,000 fine
and three years in jail,

what the fuck are my kids gonna do?

I'm not worried.

I'm in the front for a reason.
I'm not worried.

I don't know. I feel like you should be.

'Cause none of that shit's been tested.
None of that shit's remotely ready.

We have to pre-sell.

We have to sell.

Like, how did you think
this was gonna be monetized?

If something goes bad,
I don't know that I could...

sleep at night.

"Up till this point,

I've done my best not to publicly comment
on other biohackers in general,

and especially Ascendance,

because I believe people
should be able to do what they want

if they aren't hurting anyone
or misleading others to hurt themselves.

Unfortunately, it has reached a point...

where they are gravely misleading people.

If you really truly have a tested cure,

show me the data,
and I can definitely put you

in touch with people
who will help you get it funded

for actual clinical research.

Ascendance Bio are not legit
in any measure.

They have created no cures.

In my opinion,
they don't deserve the moniker

of 'biohacker' or 'scientist.'"

So, as I've been combing through
more and more literature,

I see this reoccurring part

that it's probably gonna need
multiple antibodies

in order to have a suppression
that's durable.

Something that lasts over time.

Because of this,
it seems like just taking N6

will almost inevitably lead
to resistance developing...

which could potentially screw up

my ability to use these therapies
in the future.

So, like, I respect the drive
to get this out as soon as possible,

but I need... I need time.

We don't know for sure
if N6 will not or will be a cure.

Until we prove that ourselves,

I think we're okay to move forward
with it in this way that we are...

This puts me
in a very uncomfortable position.

Even the science doesn't matter
to an extent.

It's your emotions and how you feel
that dictate your actions.

And those aren't always
gonna be dictated by logic.

I'm not here to put pressure on you.
I'm here to open a door for you,

and you can walk through that door
any way that you see fit.

Well...

- It's... Yeah, I mean...
- Because...

- what else would self-experimentation be?
- Just...

I don't think it's responsible to, like,

take just this off of one data point.

- I have to take this call, so...
- Oh.

He thinks that being able to just...

sell N6 would be, like, lucrative.

You're... You're a lab rat.

You're not... You're not patient zero.

- You're still a lab rat.
- Yeah.

I mean, these guys...
I mean, I would think they know this,

but I don't think
they really grasp it yet.

That without the money,
we can't do the work.

You know?

Everything that we do, um,
is paid for by me.

You know, it...

This puts him in a position where he's
probably not the most viable individual,

moving forward to continue testing.

That, unfortunately, is...

the way of the world.

Like, the people...

who are able to move forward quickly,

the quickest, the easiest,
the most efficiently,

um, with the least setbacks
and the least resentments

or emotional undercurrents
holding them back,

are the ones who are able to succeed
in getting these therapies to market

and to the individual.

We will have to continue financing,

you know, the blood draws,
and the testing,

and everything of that nature.

Is this really the best investment?

Um, is this really the thing
that's going to, like,

bring this, uh, to people
as fast as possible?

I wanted to have a conversation.

I wanted to be able to talk
about these things.

I'm the one paying the rent.
I paid for all the equipment.

I paid for all the materials. I paid them.

I do, you know... I respect
that you've made the investment,

but everyone disagrees with you.

I just want it to be ready
when it's ready.

I'd much rather it be made safely...

without too much...
with minimal amounts of stress.

I mean, in terms of Ascendance,
in terms of funding,

this is as far as I can go right now.

This is, like, a setback
for my faith in biohacking.

I feel like I...

am much closer to understanding
what is needed for a cure

than I was, you know, six, 12 months ago.

I don't know if I'm necessarily, like...

close to having access to this cure,
but...

Hmm.

Yeah, my attachment wasn't so much
in my own cure. It was in...

...hmm, in a bigger system,
in what can be.

There is a sense of frustration, right?

But honestly,
disappointment's the bigger feeling.

There has to always be a place
for the nobodies to go to, right?

'Cause we have to be able to say,
"Okay, I'm just...

I'm not a PhD, I'm not anything else,

but I'm passionate about this problem,
and I intend to fix it."

I'm afraid that people will see that as...

it's just not possible at smaller scales,

and that, um,

sort of the thesis of biohacking is...
is... is wrong.

Um, and so that you have to be
a giant corporation

in order to pull this stuff off,

and I don't think that's true even now.

There needs to be somebody
taking the technology from patents

and doing things with them,

and it's only gonna get easier over time.

If you end up in a position
where you need a million dollars to do it,

the superrich, even if it's illegal,

just go somewhere
and get their kids gene-edited,

we end up with super elites
who can't be touched.

Nobody has ever done gene therapy

or genetically modifying animals

in this setting with these tools before.

And so it takes time to discover
what works and what doesn't work.

And... And that's okay.

We're still doing it at a breakneck speed
compared to...

the history of life on the planet.

We see the heart beating,

the eyes.

No, I find nothing
that would attract our attention

or could be a reason to worry.

We were worried
how our child would evolve

because these are
the first children to be born...

um...

with this technology.

But I do not believe that these children

will be different from ordinary children,

who were born naturally from two parents.

If I take a car, for example, a BMW.

And you change the tires
from another supplier,

not from a BMW, you'd still...
it's still a BMW, right?

We're not talking about, uh, cars.

We're talking about people,

but still, we're okay with it.

Time will tell that this technology

will eventually become legally acceptable,

and most important to me

is to see
whether it's publicly acceptable.

We never thought it was possible,

so when anything new comes in,

it takes time to make adjustments.

No germ line modification.

That's been the bright-line rule.

Well, there's now discussion about,
"Well, why is that...

an appropriate bright-line rule?"

If we think these diseases are so bad,

why do we think it's acceptable
for them to be passed on?

Even if we've cured the people
who suffer from them,

why should they be passing on
those genetic diseases to their offspring?

You know, you can have a 40-parent child,
100-parent child.

You could even have a synthetic genome
that goes into making a baby.

I'm confident that people
are gonna use these technologies

to... to enhance, um, superficial aspects,
to, you know,

for eye color, hair color,
uh, sports ability...

and musical ability.

We are actually collecting blood
on vocalists.

And I say to them, "You know,

we don't really know
where that great voice came from,

but we know that your mother had it also.

And wouldn't it be great

if you were willing to donate
some blood to me,

so that someday,

maybe we'll understand
where this came from."

We're always trying to change who we are
to a different degree or extent.

Why do we have so many plastic surgeons?

Why have so many cosmetic products?

We want to design ourselves
in a certain different way.

What genes are appropriate to edit?

Where do you draw the line between...

something that's beneficial
or even necessary for health,

and something that might be
simply desirable?

Someone wants blue eyes. Should I say no?

Who am I to say no?

Two of diamonds.

Four of clubs.

Seven of hearts.

Six of spades.

Eight of clubs.

Ace of spades.

Five of hearts.

Two of hearts and four of diamonds.

- Yeah?
- Perfect.

Since genome sequencing is still,
uh, relatively expensive,

we've got to select certain groups
of people, certain individuals,

that we want genomic information from.

So, exceptional people
with extraordinary abilities,

extraordinary memories.

There's potential
for your genome to contribute,

you know,
to a new understanding of memory,

and maybe even enhance it.

That is... amazing.

I never thought I'd be in a position
to be able to help somehow like that.

- That's... That's probably plenty, yeah.
- Okay.

Here are, uh,
two of the sequencing machines

that will ultimately sequence your sample.

One has to face the fact that
a new technology is expensive typically,

and in a world, where, increasingly,

there's, uh, you know,
a sense of gross inequities,

how... how do we think about this?

If we are willing to go forward
with these technologies,

there should be fair access.

Equitable access.

It presents clearly
a great challenge to us as scientists

and just as members of society.

We're talking about technology
that could produce desirable traits

or remove undesirable traits,

and of course,
that raises all of the sorts of things

that come along
with thinking about eugenics,

being able to control
the traits of humans.

Eugenics seeks to apply
the known laws of heredity

so as to prevent
the degeneration of the race

and improve its inborn qualities.

There's an unfortunate history
in this country

of forced sterilization
in parts of the United States.

An infamous policy
to sterilize certain people

because they were deemed to be defective.

In institutions
such as this, all over the country,

mental defectives are cared for.

But it would have been better, by far,
for them and the rest of the community

if they had never been born.

It's a profound thing, to take away
someone's right to reproduction

based on their... their genetics.

And for me, that raises the specter
of Nazi Germany

within a context of this modern...
technology.

And so, if we want
to maintain the race at the high level,

everybody sound in body and mind
should marry

and have enough children to perpetuate
their stock and carry on the race.

It's a little bit of the Gattaca future,
right?

That... That, I think, is sort of where
you start to think, "Wait a second,

are we really ready to go
down that route?"

And if you weren't made this way, right,

does that make you superior or inferior?

Frankly, some scientists think
that it should never be used

in the human germ line.

I used to be a little shy and hesitant
about designer babies,

because I was the first one accused
of doing designer babies,

and I've changed totally.

I've come 180 degrees.

I love it now.

I think designer babies
are the way of the world.

I think that, um, if we were doing
this interview 100 years from now,

we would say,
"Hey, every baby is a designed baby."

As these techniques are refined,

it would be unethical not to use them

to make people resistant to viruses,
other diseases.

G, A, G...

And actually editing the traits
that they prefer to have

and the traits that we prefer, you know,
humanity generally to have.

G, A, G, A,

C, A, C...

A, G...

C...

Tip your chin back.
There you go. That way, it stays in.

In. In.

That one doesn't hurt, right?

All right, which one's first?
I'm looking at 'em.

- Does it go there?
- Yep. See?

- That goes there.
- Perfect.

All right, now we need to find a piece
that's exactly that shape.

- Is that the one?
- Yep, see? It's in.

I feel like everything's
kind of a blur now.

I mean, it's been three weeks

since his first surgery, and...

a little short of one week
from his second surgery.

But it's really been
a lot of fun watching him

just enjoy things that have...
been around him all this time,

and he's, you know,
getting to rediscover them

in a different way.

There he is.

Giraffe.

Looks like a polar bear.

Um, a cheetah.

And...

a pig.

Ooh! I got a good idea.

Ava, can we get you down on the next step?

I can't.

And say cheese.

Cheese!

It's called
"Mom Sitting at the Dinner Table."

He's made a lot of progression
in just these short three weeks.

Mom, look.

It's hard to imagine
what three months is going to look like.

Good job.

Open your eyes really big. Two.

Good, perfect.

That's what I wanted.

Excellent.

Let's just see
how well you are seeing here.

What is that?

T.

Okay.

And then?

L.

Okay, here. Look over here.

You see this? Now, what number's that?

Eight...

seven, four...

- five.
- Wow.

Can you see those at all?

- Six?
- Uh-huh.

Four...

- That's good. Uh-huh.
- Two.

You know, so he can almost really read
almost normal print.

I mean,
he's probably getting his print enlarged,

but he's... but he's, you know,
he's way down here.

So, it's really getting to the point

where he can read
without having it enlarged.

Usually, when we cover one eye,
his eyes would wiggle.

This really is truly impressive.

I mean, I've been doing this...

for over 25 years,

and this is the first time
I've actually seen this,

so it's pretty exciting for me, too.

- I mean, it really is.
- Big difference, right?

Yeah. Yeah, no,
he definitely has improved.

Things have gotten a lot brighter.

It's kind of crazy.

Like, I can see,
and I know that. I know that.

I think my confidence
is gonna be a lot better.

I'm in!

Guys! He got in!

Guys, he got in!

- Jackson's in.
- Mac, give me the chicken.

Jackson!

That's my burden, like,
for the whole life,

is following these babies.

I think, because I was the first
who made it, so, yeah.

It's my responsibility now.

I hope that they will be healthy
during the whole period of their life.

I hope for long life.

The operation is still going on.

We've been waiting.

Soon.

Yes, I'll let you know.

Mm-hmm.

Ready, Freya?
Let's go.

Boo-bah, boo-bah, bah!

Things are moving faster than...

a lot faster than I thought, and, uh...

the thing I learned is that,

when you don't think stuff is gonna happen

in the world of genetic engineering...

you're gonna be wrong.

Things are way beyond anybody's control.

You know, got me at my own game.

You wanna play with your music toy?

She likes to dance.

Come on. Let's go.

Come here, Freya.

You want some milk?

Genetics is crazy.

"You must never touch a dinosaur
with horns upon its head.

It's not a cat, so do not pat.

Just look away instead."

And here.

A Chinese researcher
claims to have helped make

the world's first gene-edited babies,

twin girls whose DNA he says he altered.

The gene editing was done
using a tool called CRISPR-Cas9.

Scientist He Jiankui says
he edited the babies' genes

to try to give them a trait
few people naturally have:

to help them resist HIV infection.

The recent announcement
from a Chinese scientist

about kids that were actually born
with edited DNA,

I think it's unconscionable.

I mean,
this is just absolutely indefensible.

If you look at the edits that were
purported to have been made in these kids,

they are untested in humans.

They've never occurred
in natural human beings.

I mean, think about that, right?

And they've never been tested
in animals, either.

So, this is truly experimentation
on human beings.

I understand
that my work will be controversial,

but I believe family need this technology,

and I'm willing to take the criticism...
for them.

A line has been crossed
that should not have been crossed.

It's very disturbing. It's inappropriate.

I would say that no babies should be born,

um, at this point in time,

following the use of this technology.

It just blows my mind, the... the backlash.

Where are they getting this,
like, anger from?

It's all about being first in science,
and you have to wait your turn.

And, uh, this guy didn't wait his turn.

He just, like, jumped the line.

We all want to be first, right?

I mean, this is where you...

really feel that you're making
a huge difference

and you're getting recognition.

Um, but I think, in this particular case,

the outcry from the community is so huge,

that I think it'll slow things down.

If somebody offered me

to be able to genetically modify my child

and make them resistant to HIV
or something like that,

I would, for sure.

If your kid got a disease that you had...

that you actually had a choice
in preventing from them,

you'd feel horrible.

You'd just feel absolutely horrible.

Anyone would.

Oh! Oh, okay.

Just gonna take this
out of the wrapping.

Okay.

Okay.

I grew up in a world
where biohacking just wasn't a thing.

But, my kids...

they're gonna grow up in a world where
this is... this is everyday real stuff.

There's gonna be
this younger generation coming up

who's gonna see it all the time
in everything.

Twenty grams, it says?

Twenty grams per liter.

And the generation past them
are gonna be built by it.

Taking control of our own biology

is the natural course of human evolution.

I'm gonna look... I'm gonna see
if I can find that blue star there.

Okay...

But it's gonna take all of us,

because nobody has the right
to decide for everybody,

and so everybody's got to make a choice.

We're currently still evolving.

We're still subject to natural selection,
but we're in a transitional period here

where we're transitioning
from a future determined by selection

to a future determined
by engineering and design.

We no longer have to accept

natural selection on its terms.

We no longer have to accept it
as a process that we can't intervene in,

that we can't change,
that we can't control.

We can... have our own goals.

People are very creative.

We value imagination.

We love to dream
about what we might become.

The scary part comes

when, all of a sudden,
our technical discovery

allows us to do something

that literally no one
had previously imagined.

But we cannot stop...

where we are.

We don't get to stand still.

There are many, many children dying,

even now, who might be saved
by this technology.

And I, for one, am not willing to say,

"No, you shouldn't consider it.

We should have a moratorium
on everything."

We should not take that choice away
from people.

The greatest hope of every parent

is that our children will turn out
to be better people than we are.

People who are more trustworthy,

who are kinder,
who are more compassionate,

who will do more
to make the world a better place.

And if one possible way
of accomplishing that

is by changing the genes
that they are likely to inherit from us,

then that, at least,
is something that we should consider.

Shh, shh, shh...

Meet your boy. You have a boy!

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

I...
I have... I have a...

I have a mixture of feelings
about the CRISPR technology, to be honest.

It feels, on the one hand,
awesome to be part of that.

On the other hand,
I feel a powerful sense of responsibility.

There are no easy answers to this.

How we think about what makes us human
at the level of our DNA.

That keeps me up at night.

That's the part that I worry about.

Because I don't want to impose
reproductive restrictions on people,

but I also don't want people
to be doing things

that are not responsible
for their future offspring.

All of these things
are needing to be discussed now

because they can be done now.

Aah!

A world without disease.

A world where no baby is ever born
with a genetic disease ever again.

Like, that's so amazing,
and it's so beautiful to me.

I can't believe people don't see it
that way.

Let's go to bed.

We are in control of our destinies now.

What's the matter, Jack?

Getting anxious, huh?

Yeah.

You didn't bring your glasses today?

No, 'cause they're hard
to get into this and out for me.

Oh, okay.

I'm fine.

You're making me nervous.

I... I feel like I'm gonna vomit.

Ava, wave to Jackie. He's waving.

- Look, wave.
- Oh, now he sees us.

That's good. That should hold you in good.

All right, Jack. Ready?

Okay. You hold this.

Good girl. Good girl. Good job.

Three, eight, five. Duchess.

Some gas.

Okay, go ahead!

Oh, there he goes. Oh, dear.

Oh, my God.