ColdFusion - BREAKTHROUGH: Scientists Reverse Blindness [CRISPR Technology]

Episode Date: August 17, 2026

CRISPR Gene editing therapy is used for the first time in living humans with amazing results. 0:00 Introduction 0:53 What is CRISPR? 2:05 How Does CRISPR work? 3:18 The Experiment 5:30 The Results 9:31 Shortcomings 10:34 The Future 12:00 Caution 13:02 Conclusions --- About ColdFusion --- ColdFusion is an Australian based online media company independently run by Dagogo Altraide since 2009. Topics cover anything in science, technology, history and business in a calm and relaxed environment. ColdFusion Discord: https://discord.gg/coldfusion Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3dj6YGjgK3eA4Ti6G2Il8H ColdFusion Music Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGkpFfEMF0eMJlh9xXj2lMw ColdFusion Merch: INTERNATIONAL: https://store.coldfusioncollective.com/ AUSTRALIA: https://shop.coldfusioncollective.com/ If you enjoy my content, please consider subscribing! I'm also on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TV Bitcoin address: 13SjyCXPB9o3iN4LitYQ2wYKeqYTShPub8 --- "New Thinking" written by Dagogo Altraide --- This book was rated the 9th best technology history book by book authority. In the book you’ll learn the stories of those who invented the things we use everyday and how it all fits together to form our modern world. Get the book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/NewThinkingbook Get the book on Google Play: http://bit.ly/NewThinkingGooglePlay https://newthinkingbook.squarespace.com/about/ --- ColdFusion Social Media --- » Twitter | @ColdFusion_TV » Instagram | coldfusiontv » Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/ColdFusionTV Sources: https://theconversation.com/what-is-crispr-gene-editing-and-how-does-it-work-84591 https://www.newscientist.com/definition/what-is-crispr/#ixzz7AeYFNfd1 Research paper: https://journals.lww.com/retinajournal/_layouts/15/oaks.journals/downloadpdf.aspx?an=00006982-202105000-00002&pdfToken=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 https://futurism.com/neoscope/gene-therapy-injected-eyeball-restores-blind-patients-vision https://www.vox.com/2018/7/23/17594864/crispr-cas9-gene-editing https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/09/29/1040879179/vision-loss-crispr-treatment My Music Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGkpFfEMF0eMJlh9xXj2lMw //Soundtrack// Burn Water - Nostalgia Dreams Luis Miehlich - I Tried To Reach Out (with Handbook of Magic) Hiatus - As Close To Me As You Are Now Roald Velden - Peaceful Gem Club - First Weeks Sleepyfish - Forgot It Was Monday Nova Nova - See Burn Water - Youth » Music I produce | http://burnwater.bandcamp.com or » http://www.soundcloud.com/burnwater » https://www.patreon.com/ColdFusion_TV » Collection of music used in videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOrJJKW31OA Producer: Dagogo Altraide Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify.

Ready to take your investing knowledge to pro-level, this is Fidelity Connects, your daily edge in the markets. Get deep insights on real-time market topics that may impact your investment portfolio. Listen to Fidelity Connects on Spotify today and power your next move tomorrow. Hi, welcome to another episode of Cold Fusion, where I cover anything in science, technology, business, or history. Most of us take our eyesight for granted, but there are many people out there who can't view all that the world has to offer, not because they simply need glasses, but because of a genetic disease. This is something that's been unfixable until now. In this episode, we will take a look at how an emerging technology called CRISPR has allowed

people to see again increasing their quality of life and has brought them much joy. So today, we'll take a quick look at what CRISPR is, how it works, and the latest experimental research restoring sight to those who need it. Let's take a look. So firstly, CRISPR is an acronym. It stands for clustered, regularly interspaced, short, palindromic repeats. Alright, so that sounds like a lot, but the name really isn't important for today. What is important is the fact that CRISPR is a biological tool that can be used to edit genes.

Think of it like a biological pair of scissors that can cut DNA, but also has a component that can insert DNA. It's super low cost and can be done by researchers or even someone in their backyard garage. Gene editing can now be done in ways that used to be really difficult, or if not, impossible before. So this CRISPR tool can quickly and efficiently tweak almost any gene in any plant or animal. Researchers already have used it to fix genetic diseases in animals, to combat viruses, and to sterilize malaria-causing mosquitoes. They've also been used to prepare pig organs for human transplants, or to create glowing animals, including dogs, cats and rabbits.

The CRISPR tool was first described in 2012 and since then there's been a massive realization of how powerful this tool is. CRISPR has so much power that there have been calls to be careful on how humans use it, but more on that at the end of the episode. So how does it work exactly? So CRISPR is a way of finding a specific bit of DNA inside a cell. When that specific part of the DNA is found, the next step is usually to alter that piece of DNA.

So sometimes it can be cut, but other times it can be cut, but other times, it can be used to turn specific genes on or off. In the CRISPR system, a special enzyme is used by scientists as a pair of molecular scissors. These tiny scissors use an artificial guide made from RNA, a kind of messenger of instructions on where exactly to cut the DNA. The guide searches along the DNA sequence until it finds its target. Think of it a bit like a Google search. Once the right part of the DNA sequence is found, the enzyme cuts the DNA.

The DNA then tries to repair itself by searching around for the nearest bits of DNA to grab. The scientists have already introduced a new DNA sequence, along with the guide. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result?

Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandums that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. So when the DNA is searching for something to grab, it picks up the DNA that the scientists have introduced and it stitches it into itself. A microscope and a tiny needle can inject both the biological scissors and the new pieces of DNA at once. That's oversimplified, but that's essentially how it works. So let's move on to the experiment. Along the way of innovation, some scientists have come up with the idea of using CRISPR as a gene therapy. The headline case of today's episode involves injecting CRISPR therapy straight into the eyeballs of the visually impaired.

The aim was to directly correct genetic defects. As crazy as it sounds, the results was vastly improved vision from most of the volunteers, even allowing some to see colour for the first time. So two studies, one published in April of 2021 by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a second study by Harvard Medical School in September of 2021, have been recent drastic breakthroughs in gene editing in humans. In one of the studies, a legally blind patient regained their vision for over a year after getting a single injection of the CRISPR gene editing treatment.

In both of the studies, the treatments were to reverse a specific mutation caused by a genetic eye disease that goes by the name of Lieber congenital ameerosis, or LCA. LCA causes progressive blindness early in life and patients are usually legally blind by adulthood. So how does the treatment work? Well the genetic disease LCA prevents cells from producing a particular protein, CEP290. And this protein is crucial for the eyes photoreceptor cells. The CRISPR treatment sneaks some RNA into those cells and triggers the production of CEP290, essentially reversing the mutation for months at a time.

In the first study, the researchers saw continual improvement in the patient's eyesight, and the restored eyesight actually peaked for two full months after the injection and lasted for over 15 months. As the study authors explained, this result was a great sign for gene therapies at large. In the second study, multiple participants, all of whom had LCA, were extremely happy that their vision was improved from the gene editing treatment. The treatment of course is experimental and still far from curing LCA, but the changes that some have experienced were significant enough to have a meaningful impact on their daily lives.

Let's take a look at some of the results. Some of these anecdotes just warmed my heart. Vision says he's starting to see again after taking part in a revolutionary gene editing trial to try and restore patients eyesight. We first introduced you to Michael in May. He spoke to us about being the second participant in the world in a groundbreaking medical trial designed to try and restore vision to visually impaired patients. The study involves the revolutionary gene editing technique called critical.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to do. to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result?

Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. When you're a mid-sized business, you need every competitive advantage you can get, like an AI solution that works for you, not against you.

SAP Grow is built with AI embedded at its core, working across every system, and it's ready to go from day one so you can hit the ground running. Bring it with SAP Grow, AI Cloud ERP for any size business. For Michael, who was born with cerebral palsy, this is life-changing. He shared videos with us of him picking up and drinking from a glass, something he couldn't do easily just last year. My visual field was so constricted that my muscles would tense up and I would tense up when I was trying not to spill it. I can grab it a little bit easier because my eyes relax my brain.

Dr. Eric Pierce, one of the trial investigators with mass eye and ear, tells us in a statement, we're thrilled to see early signs of evidence that gene editing is working and functioning inside the body. This has never been done before and is a major step for science. Still striving to be my very best and to make sure that changes in my vision because progress isn't always linear. Don't cause all durations in my attitude or work after. The next step is for Michael to continue testing at mass Ionear to track progress in vision and the safety of this trial. The hope is for this CRISPR treatment to become more widespread in the years to come. In Mineola, Long Island, Dana Arshin, Fox 5 News.

That is incredible. One patient, Carleen Knight, says that she can see colours far more vividly and feels safer walking around at work. Quote, I was bumping into cubicles and really scaring people that were sitting at them. It's nice, I don't scare people, and I don't have as many bruises on my body. It's kind of fun to see. She even dyed her hair green to celebrate her newfound ability to see her favourite colour. Her vision is brighter, clearer, and instead of having to reach and fumble around for objects, she can simply now just look for them.

When talking about the experience of dropping a fork on the floor, she states, quote, I just leaned down to pick it up and I didn't even know where it was and just saw it on the floor. It's really cool. It's such a simple thing for us, but for someone to begin to be able to see again must just mean the world to them.

Another volunteer in the experiment, Michael Calboro has begun to see colour for the first time in years. He first noticed it a month after the procedure when a red cardroath passed, but the most dramatic event occurred on the dance floor of his cousin's wedding. Quote, I could see the DJ strobe lights change colour and identify them to my cousins who were dancing with me.

That was a very, very fun, joyous moment. He's also gained more peripheral vision and can finally watch sunsets again. He recalls the first time he saw one after the treatment. He was coming home from a meal with a friend when he saw pink in the sky. Quote, Yeah, you see the sunset?

That's the sunset. and we both smiled at each other. It was a great moment. He finishes off by saying, I'm just incredibly honored and privileged to be a part of this, and very, very excited to literally, hopefully see what comes in the future. As for the scientists involved in this breakthrough,

they're very optimistic. Harvard Medical School, ophthalmologist, Eric P. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture. are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows

to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. When you're a mid-sized business,

you need every competitive advantage you can get. Like an AI solution that works for you, Not against you. SAP Grow is built with AI embedded at its core, working across every system. And it's ready to go from day one so you can hit the ground running. Bring it with SAP Grow. AI Cloud ERP for any size business. Pierce, who's helping run the experiment, told NPR, quote,

We are thrilled about this. We're thrilled to see early signs of efficacy, because that means gene editing is working. This is the first time we're having evidence that gene. editing is functioning inside somebody and it's improving in this case their visual function. Dr. Mark Pennessy, Professor of Optomology at the Casey I Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University states, quote, it's really amazing technology and very powerful. So we should talk about the shortcomings. Firstly, the procedure didn't work for all the patients. The Harvard scientists

theorize that either the dose was too low for their vision or that the unresponding patients were too damaged by their genetic disease. It's also important to note that none of the patients have regained absolutely normal vision, but the improvements are already life-changing with no significant side effects observed. The team cautioned that more patients need to be treated and followed for a long time to confirm safety. Interestingly, the results have been so promising that researchers have been given the go-ahead to move on to the next group of patients. The researchers have begun to administer a higher dose, which could work better, and they eventually plan to start treating. children who have the best chance of benefiting.

They're also optimistic that the vision of the patients could improve further with time, as Mark Pennessy states. Quote, when you improve the vision of the retina, sometimes there's a lag for the brain to be able to recognize and use that vision. It takes some time to learn how to use that improved vision. Sir CRISPR is already showing promise for treating anything from blood disorders, kidney diseases, and even as a cancer treatment. The results from this study could open the door to use

the same approach to treat other diseases where doctors can't take the cells out of the body. This includes brain disorders and muscle diseases. And recently, to top it off, scientists just recently performed the first pig to human kidney transplant. The patient was a brain-dead individual on life support. They used CRISPR to turn off the genes that would usually cause the kidneys to be rejected by the human body. When you put an organ from a pig into a human, is it going to do what it's supposed to do?

In this case, the pig's kidney needed to rid the human body of waste, and remarkably it did. No evidence of this vigorous early rejection, and the second thing, the kidney functioned well. Likely because this was no ordinary pig. Researchers had knocked out one of its genes that triggers the human body to reject pig organs. With family consent, the kidney was attached outside the body of a woman who had suffered brain death. Researchers then watched as it started producing urine. significance of moving, you know, this into a human, I think can't be understated. The hope is to allow for organ transplants to be more readily available for people who need them.

Okay, so some words of caution. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify.

Insurance is entering a new era. Policyholders expect a fast and flexible experience from the insurers they trust. That's why modern insurers run on Adion. From effortless premium collections to instant claims payouts, Adion's single platform automates your entire policy life cycle. A single platform to reduce churn and claims fraud. Drive revenue. Stay in control of how your money moves. Adion, fintech built for your next move. What we've seen is an amazing use of this technology, but we have to think about it carefully.

When it comes to genetic modification, there's still a lot that we don't know. What if there's some unforeseen changes that we don't know about yet? Because the technology is just too new? What if CRISPR technology can cause off-target mutations? That is, to edit a gene that they're not supposed to. There is still plenty of scientific work remaining to completely understand CRISPR, but we do have to do our best to make sure it's as safe as possible. Once a mutation is in the general human gene pool, it really can't be stopped.

We should also be careful of less positive uses. You all probably remember what happened in 2018, When a Chinese scientist, Hezien Kui, reported that he had created the first human babies with CRISPR gene edits, a pair of twins resistant to HIV. The announcement stunned the scientific world, and the director of National Institutes of Health Francis Collins said that the experiment was, quote, profoundly disturbing and tramples on ethical norms. So don't get me wrong, I really don't want to take away from the amazing progress that's been

made. It can clearly change lives and make people's lives better in a very very. positive way. I mean just the fact that it's making people's eyes better and letting them be able to see again, it's just amazing. All I'm saying is I hope we just proceed with caution with CRISPR. So what do you guys think? Are you fairly chilled out about this technology? Or do you see it as going a bit too far? Or maybe you're somewhere in the middle. It'll be cool to get a discussion going. Though if you do want to discuss in more detail, the best place to do that would be the Cold Fusion Discord. So that just about wraps it up. I'd also like to say that the podcast has started

up again. So if you want to find the podcast versions of these episodes, you can find it on Spotify and some other platforms. Links will be below. All right, so that's about it for me. My name is Doggo and you've been watching Cold Fusion. Feel free to subscribe if you want to see more. So I'll see you again soon for the next episode. Cheers guys. Have a good one.