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Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

cosmosmagazine.com

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Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#81

Post by alexey-salmin »

stahtops wrote: post #80
alexey-salmin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that deafness is not the same as being left-handed? I mean objectively, not based on the current cultural norms which will be very different 50 years from now.

Let me help explain, some left handed people can hear and are not deaf. Objectively that is how deafness is not the same as being left-handed.

Well thank you, but the question is why one needs "fixing" and the other doesn't. Parent comment made an argument that being gay is like being left-handed so it doesn't need "fixing". That's fine with me, but I don't see how the same logic doesn't apply to deafness.

Many deaf people enjoy their life as it is and don't welcome your attempts to "fix" them.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#82

Post by alexey-salmin »

Veraticus wrote: post #78
alexey-salmin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that deafness is not the same as being left-handed? I mean objectively, not based on the current cultural norms which will be very different 50 years from now.

“Objectively,” left-handed versus right-handed changes nothing about a person’s capabilities in the world, whereas being deaf does. Cultural norms is an interesting comparison. Despite there being no actual difference in capacity, cultural views forced many left-handed people to be right-handed, making those people miserable in the process for no good reason.

Being deaf is surely different from not being deaf but you can't objectively say it's a disadvantage. It's only a disadvantage in a world built for not deaf people, like being left-handed is a disadvantage in a world built for right-handed people.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#83

Post by Veraticus »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #82
Veraticus wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Objectively,” left-handed versus right-handed changes nothing about a person’s capabilities in the world, whereas being deaf does. Cultural norms is an interesting comparison. Despite there being no actual difference in capacity, cultural views forced many left-handed people to be right-handed, making those people miserable in the process for no good reason.

Being deaf is surely different from not being deaf but you can't objectively say it's a disadvantage. It's only a disadvantage in a world built for not deaf people, like being left-handed is a disadvantage in a world built for right-handed people.

I can and did say that. The world is easier for non-deaf people. I can’t imagine even many deaf people would argue against that statement.

The correct way to argue against this isn’t to say that “objectively” the world is the same for deaf and non-deaf people; it’s that there’s a culture and language bound up in deafness that don’t deserve to die thanks to medical advances. That is true, and makes treatments like these and what they mean to the deaf community much more complicated and difficult.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#84

Post by sweezyjeezy »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #82
Veraticus wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Objectively,” left-handed versus right-handed changes nothing about a person’s capabilities in the world, whereas being deaf does. Cultural norms is an interesting comparison. Despite there being no actual difference in capacity, cultural views forced many left-handed people to be right-handed, making those people miserable in the process for no good reason.

Being deaf is surely different from not being deaf but you can't objectively say it's a disadvantage. It's only a disadvantage in a world built for not deaf people, like being left-handed is a disadvantage in a world built for right-handed people.

This feels a bit tenuous. What world do you envisage where it's a completely level playing field? Do we ban talking, music, sound in movies etc etc??

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#85

Post by stahtops »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #81
stahtops wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me help explain, some left handed people can hear and are not deaf. Objectively that is how deafness is not the same as being left-handed.

Well thank you, but the question is why one needs "fixing" and the other doesn't. Parent comment made an argument that being gay is like being left-handed so it doesn't need "fixing". That's fine with me, but I don't see how the same logic doesn't apply to deafness. Many deaf people enjoy their life as it is and don't welcome your attempts to "fix" them.

I didn’t attempt to “fix” anyone. Everyone has to do that themselves.

What about the deaf people that don’t enjoy their life as it is and do welcome the opportunity to hear?

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#86

Post by telesilla »

LoganDark wrote: post #61
akoboldfrying wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's try to fix the world's vast number of actual, boring health problems before trying to add the equivalent of spoilers and chrome-plated hubcaps to perfectly healthy human bodies.

I wish it were possible to achieve an entirely non-human body, but I don't think that's going to happen within any of our lifetimes.

Make sure to read Daniel Dennett before you change too much, you might forget who you are and become someone else entirely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_It_Like_to_Be_a_Bat

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#87

Post by PierceJoy »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #82
Veraticus wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Objectively,” left-handed versus right-handed changes nothing about a person’s capabilities in the world, whereas being deaf does. Cultural norms is an interesting comparison. Despite there being no actual difference in capacity, cultural views forced many left-handed people to be right-handed, making those people miserable in the process for no good reason.

Being deaf is surely different from not being deaf but you can't objectively say it's a disadvantage. It's only a disadvantage in a world built for not deaf people, like being left-handed is a disadvantage in a world built for right-handed people.

It’s a disadvantage in the “built” world, but it’s also a disadvantage in the natural world. If you drop a deaf person in the middle of the forest with no one around, they will not be able hear rivers for water, they will not be able to hear animals approaching, etc.

Being deaf is objectively a disadvantage because 4 senses is objectively worse than 5 senses.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#88

Post by inglor_cz »

akoboldfrying wrote: post #47
dyauspitr wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can do both things at the same time.

That's true if we assume unlimited resources and equal awareness/perceived social value of the two applications. But I think the former doesn't hold, and the latter is greatly influenced by sites like HN, where I'm disappointed to consistently (if not exclusively) see breathless proposals for ways to design shinier hubcaps whenever some promising new technology appears. Yes, they can and likely will both happen to so…

"they aren't independent"

That interdependence may be beneficial, though.

Experience and revenues from cosmetic treatments will help health-restoring treatments.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#89

Post by ugh123 »

sircastor wrote: post #21

I’m curious about the effect on the deaf community. I understand there’s resistance to “fixing” deafness as some consider it a component of their culture and community, not unlike queer people and the attempts to “fix” them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant#Criticism_and...

That would be a terrible reason to give up, or slow down, on research in any area of health science.

Re: Gene therapy restores hearing to children with inherited deafness

#90

Post by inglor_cz »

dyauspitr wrote: post #12
gota wrote: post #2

This stuff seems miraculous. > "Through minimally invasive surgery, Shu injected adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineered to carry and deliver functioning copies of the human OTOF transgene, into the children’s inner ears. " Can't read that and not get curious, excited, for the future. Congratulations to all those involved in the research and thanks to all who contributed to it - including all taxpayers if public fund…

I can’t wait for a geneCAD where we for example, design wings for a human body and then it works out the rest and generates a CRISPR based AAV that you can inject yourself with. True race and sex changes too. Hopefully in the next 50 years but that’s wishful thinking.

Our bodies are very much not suitable for flight. Birds look differently from the inside.

It might prove easier to grow biological pylons for external jet engines...

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