From Mammoths to Humans: The Case for Gene Editing with Eriona Hysolli

Description

Can today’s technology really prevent tomorrow’s diseases? Today, we're talking to Eriona Hysolli, biologist and co-founder of Manhattan Genomics. We discuss why preventing genetic disease before birth is a more powerful idea than treating it in adulthood, how the UK quietly pioneered a procedure that most of the world still considers off-limits, why the loudest opposition to gene editing often comes from bioethicists rather than the public, and what it would actually take to engineer traits — from woolly mouse hair to human limb regeneration — with enough certainty to act on. 00:00 – Introduction and Eriona's Background 00:37 – The Woolly Mammoth Project at Colossal 01:55 – How DNA Sequencing Actually Works 04:32 – Reading vs. Understanding a Genome 07:01 – Recovering Ancient DNA Like a Hard Drive 10:28 – Is the Woolly Mammoth Made Yet? 11:42 – The Woolly Mouse and Validating Mammoth Traits 13:35 – From Colossal to Manhattan Genomics 15:48 – The Ethics of Germline Gene Editing 17:49 – Building the Right Framework for Controversial Research 23:08 – The UK's Three-Parent Baby Blueprint 26:40 – Strong Opinions Loosely Held 28:07 – Super Soldiers, Eugenics, and Genetic Selection 33:20 – Choosing Traits vs. Modifying the Species 34:15 – What Gene Editing Can and Can't Do Today 38:42 – The Coolest Things We Could Do Right Now 41:38 – AI's Role in Accelerating Biological Discovery 44:21 – Limb Regeneration and the Salamander Signal 47:20 – Stem Cells, Rejuvenation, and Re-Engineering Humans 48:57 – Eriona's Stealth Company 50:54 – Sign-Off