Check out Hannu’s book: Quantum Thief
Hannu is the founder of Helix Nano: high impact mRNA products like COVID vaccines + enabling technologies to prototype and scale with mRNA
How should we engage with the natural world as within the anthropocene era, humans are the dominant force and need to define the relationship between humans and nature. Hence why it’s good to look back to ancient practices
The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C Mann - tells stories and vision from two people
- Wizard: The world has finite natural resources but we are going to exceed its limits and create technology to improve nature. It is a stance that is embedded within the STEM mindset. Norman Borlaug - successful wizard, breeds plants and crops
- Prophets: Someone that can foresee and analyze events & proceed forward in relation with nature. William Vogt
Is there a more nuanced way to uncover our relationship with nature? Hannu proposes the way of “The Witch”
- The witch doesn't try to control or pull away with nature, but to co-create, shape, learn, and take inspiration from nature.
Eg. Immune System. Can be influenced to build relationship with the body and environment
- Permissionless, exponential amplification of varied single cell signals, local and global information transmission, costimulation when multiple danger signals needed, have information processing capabilities hence its power and can be built
- Grow an evolutionary trait overtime.
- Innate immune system is ancient and is hard-wired
- Bacterias too! CrisprCas-9 can be considered an immune system
- However there are also cases of immune failure too
- Pandemics, Cancer/Aging, Transplant rejection
Can we interface the immune system?
- The Brain - Neuroplasticity builds the brain system without understanding it. The brain can adapt input without us understanding how the concept works.
- Eg. Pattern Vibrations in your body with deaf people. Converting sounds to patten vibrations and the brain adapts the sensation and make deaf people feel like they could hear
- Eg. Autistic children given motion camera to express emotions
- The concept can be applicable to immune systems! Vaccines are a rudimentary immune interface
- Look up - Smallpox vaccine origins with milk maids
- Modern method is to use small part of the virus (spike protein) to make the immune system adapt to the disease
- Ancient practice called __?. Taking blisters from pox patients and expose it
- This can happen because mRNA is a universal way to speak the immune language
mRNA: High information channel compared to normal viral vaccines
mRNA manufacturing is universal and uniquely scalable.
The process of mRNA can also be miniaturized, like using microfluidics. We can also imagine wearing mRNA wearable attached to our body to tell us if we have problems in our body. A speculation on neo immunization.
- Instant immuno-shield against biothreats
- Cancer prevention, drugs too cheap to meter
- Expand the circle of what it means to be human
Mars: if we go to mars we are most likely to develop cancer
Can we extend the use of mRNA for the ecosystem too?
- The use of synthetic mRNA and inject it to plants or fungi.
- There is a possible way of using mRNA to speak on a molecular level
David: But what about mutualistic/symbiotic collaboration with Nature? What does it look like? Ancient Human practices feel with nature (for eg, rain dance, eating plants and singing)
Immune failure is ever changing and ongoing. The complexity of the system means we have to have a system that can be interfaced & systematically controlled