He was a retired criminal and his dna was already a several scenes. He wanted to change his dna to elude capture.
-
-
Show this thread
-
First I told him that he can’t change his dna in one site in the genome. The forensic tests look at multiple spots in the genome to get a “fingerprint”.
Show this thread -
So we started doing this, but I told him that the sites in the genome used for forensic tests are repetitive, so they’ll be difficult to crispr. But I didn’t want to suggest trials because guess who the guinea pig would be...
Show this thread -
He was already pissed that he had to buy multiple crispr kits, instead of the single $300 kit...
Show this thread -
So, I had to bypass all the warnings in the crispr design. Did I really want to order this repetitive oligo? No. But I really didn’t want to be held by a crispr-DIY criminal either.
Show this thread -
He injected the crispr mix because that’s what that news article suggested. I’m not sure when Dailymail became a medical journal... And against my better judgement, I told him we’d better check to see if it worked.
Show this thread -
I told him we’d need to buy a forensic kit, a pcr machine, and a few other things. An old fashioned sequencer. I could have suggested a MiSeqFX, but his garage didn’t meet site requirements for installation. He was livid at
$tag. I told him to take it up with Bio-Rad & Thermo.Show this thread -
And then I told him we’d need to check different tissues.
Show this thread -
So, tens of thousands of dollars later, all the results came in mostly negative. No change had occurred, which is what you’d expect if you just inject crispr into yourself without targeting stem cells and no mechanism for the complex to enter cells.
Show this thread -
At that point, the guy had run through all his savings and had to resort to a life in crime to get his money back.
Show this thread -
So kids, don’t DIY crispr to escape a life of crime, despite what the Dailymail may say.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.