What would it be like if we could detect dangerous changes in our genetic make-up before we become ill? If we could cure them right at the cause, the genes? Or if we could immediately recognize when our blood values enter a critical range?
Much of this is already possible today, said Professor Lars Steinmetz at the Heilbronn Citizens' University at the Bildungscampus. At the event organized by the TUM Campus Heilbronn in cooperation with the Heilbronner Stimme and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation the Professor of Genetics at Stanford University presented three technologies that could prevent diseases.
Whole Genome Sequencing makes it possible to decode the human genome in order to identify risk variants in genes. Today it is used, for example, in the diagnosis of monogenetic diseases, in forensic analysis or in cancer medicine.
The second technology, known as Gene Scissors, makes it possible to cut out certain parts of the DNA and replace them with a healthy sequence. In this way, previously incurable diseases can be treated. Targeted therapy at the direct cause becomes possible and thus a permanent cure.
Biosensor Technology could intervene in advance. Sensors are implanted under the skin that measure certain blood values and send them to a smartphone. This allows dangerous deviations to be detected at an early stage. "In the future, we will certainly be wearing many sensors on, in and around our bodies," predicts Steinmetz.
If you want to see the whole event just click this link: https://youtu.be/OjaHU3LxPFQ