neoduality _ 0002 _ altered human

_{by t3sh}

🎶 playlist of the month

press play and enjoy this issue

it’s may 2025 and the world is still dazzled by ai fireworks.

yet other future-defining tech is almost completely unnoticed. not many people are talking about an open-source library for precise genome editing? or genetic LLMs generating better gene combos? or DIY human enhancement kits that make you remember more… or sleep less?

root access to your genes granted to crispr-cas9. it’s a gene-editing tool that uses a guide RNA to direct the Cas9 enzyme as “molecular scissors” to cut DNA at precise spots so scientists can add, remove, or replace genetic material

(and to be fair, there have been further discoveries that are similar, and even better for specific tasks, like BASE editing.. but crispr is the iconic one)

just imagine this:

people who need only 3-4 hours of sleep per day. commuters on the subway next to you, walkers on the skywalk. their days are four hours longer. that’s two extra months awake every year. how much more could they do?..

btw, there’s an awesome chilling podcast thriller about this (link below in the culture section)

garage biotech renaissance?

thinking about all this, i ask myself.. is it too wild to imagine that 10 years from now, we can expect:

• DIY gene-therapy startups?

• underground biohacking groups engineering enhanced humans?

• tools evolution never built, generating human modifications impossible by natural selection - biology that never existed before?

• open-source drug development? picture largest open-source projects in the world - linux or kubernetes - but for writing human enhancements and custom DNA treatments

there’s literally an open repo: OpenCRISPR
https://github.com/Profluent-AI/OpenCRISPR - AI-designed, open-source gene-editing system

we’re watching the democratization of evolution - fundamental machinery of life. unlike code projects, this release puts life’s machinery into any lab-savvy hands.

…should they rename it vibe-crispr? 🤔 

gene editing is clearly one of the pivots shaping humanity’s path, yet very silently (for now).

🟢 week’s highlights

• 🧬 the world is celebrating the first custom CRISPR dna fix for a 10-month-old with fatal metabolic disorder (CPS1 deficiency).

• 💊 and it works for teens too: prime editing makes medical debut in teenager with immune disorder, achieving 66% restoration of crucial enzyme function in neutrophils within 30 days →

• 🔬 Stylus Medicine (Boston) raised $85M (Series A+extension) led by RA Capital, Khosla, J&J, Lilly, etcfiercebiotech.com to develop a novel recombinase/LNP gene-insertion platform for in vivo therapies beyond CRISPR. →

• Colossal Biosciences engineers first-ever “woolly mouse” by editing 7 genes to grow thick mammoth-like fur. why?.. it’s a proof-of-concept toward its audacious goal of resurrecting woolly mammoths for Arctic climate resilience (which could help restore ecosystem and contribute to climate change mitigation)

• 😎 MGH scientists introduce PAMmla, an AI model that screens 64 million CRISPR enzymes to predict editing. This allows design of ultra-precise, low off-target Cas9 variants, vastly expanding safe genome editing options.

🔴 week’s red zone

notably, crispr headlines right now are bright and happy. not many negative developments reported publicly..

but some shady experiments and darker stories are still there, just outside the spotlight.

• in China, scientists added the human MCPH1 gene to rhesus-monkey embryos. the young monkeys grew brains that looked more “human-like” and solved memory tests faster. the paper slipped online, then local news links disappeared two days later.

• earlier in 2018, also in China, researcher he jiankui edited two embryos to fully resist HIV. worked in secret lab, skipped proper consent. he got 3 years in jail back then, while the world is celebrating KJ today. why such different outcomes? there are many factors:

  • clinical need: KJ would have died without the fix; there was no clear medical necessity for HIV-block mod.

  • oversight: KJ’s trial was public and peer-reviewed; worked alone behind closed doors.

  • heritable risk: KJ’s edit dies with him; he jiankui edited embryos’ CCR5 gene in a way that permanently altered the human germ line, raising untested multigenerational risks

still, i wonder.. if he jiankui had waited seven years and run a flashy pilot in boston, would he be a keynote speaker instead of an ex-con?

• ctx110 death (2020) - an early recipient of crispr-edited “off-the-shelf” CAR-T cells succumbed to severe neuro-toxicity and died 52 days post-infusion

crispr is no longer a proof-of-concept; it’s an operational tool. capabilities and concerns are scaling together, so we should watch them closely. some of the biggest concerns are:

• black market, underground human enhancement labs

• new forms of societal divide (edited vs unedited people - becomes very messy and complicated)

• regulatory lag (as with AI)

culture refs

• 🎙️ tomorrow’s monsters pod - chilling and immersive audio drama about a silicon-valley mind-hacking startup.

share feedback, forward if useful.

until next week, keep noticing the details.

— t3sh

*_{thumbnail art disclaimer: this image is a conceptual mock-up, not a genuine screenshot of gene-editing software. The art belongs to FriendshipCube.com}

_{about this newsletter}

_{duality is all around us. and technology that’s altering the world is a prime example of modern, future-defining duality.}

_{duality of good and evil, of mediocre and exceptional, of intentional and unintentional outcomes.}

_{when I think about the future and hyper-advanced tech, cyberpunk naturally comes to mind.. and while it looks cool with all the electric neon lights and can be very romantic with protagonists fighting for humanity, at its core, cyberpunk is the downfall of human society.}

_{at t3sh, we deeply love technology and believe it has a greater endgame. we look to and focus on the bright potential for all, and we’re dedicated to steering toward it.}

_{neoduality by t3sh newsletter is your weekly sync-up on the wildest technological alterations to the world happening around you today. often silent and hidden, they shape the future of humanity.}

_{you will notice them as soon as you stop thinking it’s magic or noise and realize – it’s the details.}