Tribe of Books + VIB - On gene editing & 'The Code Breaker' by Walter Isaacson

After 3.8 billion years of evolution, our human race is on the verge of taking active control of our genetics. New technologies, such as CRISPR gene editing allow us to ‘Hack Darwin’ as WHO advisor and futurist Jamie Mitzl called it. Are you ready for this human genetic engineering revolution? It will not only transform healthcare or agriculture, it can/will ultimately revolutionise generations, the nature of new generations, and fundamentally transform the evolutionary trajectory of our species.

So join us live or online for our 9th event on Thursday evening (23/09) at 7:00 pm to learn more about gene editing and discuss the ideas from the book ‘The Code Breaker’ by Walter Isaacson in Ghent at the VIB-UGent FSVM research building in Zwijnaarde!

The zoom link will be shared with all registrants on the day of the event.

Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna is one of ‘The Code Breakers’ who pioneered this field. She is also the main character in the book of the same name, written by Walter Isaacson, who also wrote books on Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci and Steve Jobs. Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, Jennifer would help to make one of the most important biological advances since Watson and Crick discovered the code of life. Thereby, she opened a brave new world of medical miracles linked to complicated moral conundrums.

So when we say that CRISPR gene editing is to the gene, what nuclear power has been to the atom and what the internet has been to the bit, i.e. a game-changing, new Promethean technology, we are not kidding.

The venue is a fitting location for our Meetup as in these labs VIB scientists are using CRISPR to revolutionize our healthcare and agriculture! To help explain the science, the implications and ethical considerations we will also be joined by some VIB experts.

Finally, if you have a burning question for Doudna herself, we might even find a way to get her to answer… But more on that in future updates!

This and more we will discuss during our next Tribe Of Books meetup on the 23rd of September, 2021. Feel free to bring your own favorite book or ideas on the topic of gene editing and we will try to include it in the discussion.

> Read the book or bring your own book or ideas on gene editing
> Check out the VIB facts series on CRISPR: https://vib.be/vib-facts-series
> We will share some additional resources and info one week before the event
> Your evening will be facilitated by Nathan + ...
> Ask away if you have any questions

Hope to see you with many on the 23rd of September in person!

Happy reading,
Nathan on behalf of the Tribe