Genetic manipulation to boost intelligence?

[MichaelP <papadop@PEAK.ORG>]

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INDEPENDENT (London) September 2

MICE MADE SMARTER WITH GM BRAINS GM BRAINS CREATE NEW `SMART MICE'

SCIENTISTS HAVE genetically engineered a breed of "smart mice", which
raises the possibility of boosting the intelligence of humans with drugs
or gene enhancement.

The research shows it is feasible to improve mental ability by tinkering
with the genes involved with producing or interacting with the key neuro-
transmitters of the brain - a step towards designer babies.

The study also paves the way to designing drugs that could improve
learning and boost memory in people suffering from age-related disorders
such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

A team of scientists genetically engineered the genes of the mice to boost
levels of a brain protein that acts as a receptor for a key
neurotransmitter, called NMDA, which is known to be involved with memory
and learning.

The genetically engineered mice performed significantly better than
ordinary mice in a range of tests such as learning how to escape from a
maze or how to locate a sunken platform in a water tank.

"This points to the possibility that enhancement of learning and memory or
even IQ is feasible through genetic means, through genetic engineering,"
said Joe Tsien, assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton
University, who led the research team.

Professor Tsien nicknamed the smart mice Doogie, after the teenage genius
in the American television show Doogie Howser, M.D.

Research published in the journal Nature showed that the enhanced learning
and memory abilities of the smart mice were the result of an
over-expression of a particular protein sub-unit of the NMDA receptors in
the brain. Now that the precise role of this brain protein is known, drug
companies can develop ways of interacting with it to reproduce the effect
of enhancing cognitive ability, said Tim Bliss, head of neurophysiology at
the National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill in London.

"We know that the same gene and protein are present in humans and it is
likely that the same neural mechanisms are used in mice and men. So the
research is likely to be useful in the design of drugs for memory
disorders," Dr Bliss said.

"It would be a way of alleviating the problems of memory in an ageing
population. We know that these animals are in some sense smarter and have
better memories," he said.

A more controversial, and ethically questionable, application of the
research would be to alter the genes of babies to overcome inherited
disorders or to improve the chances of a better academic performance in
later life.

"What we are looking at is the baby steps toward a world in which we can
design our descendants," said Arthur Caplan, director of Pennsylvania
Health System and a leading bioethicist. "I don't think that is
necessarily bad. Finding ways to repair autism or mental retardation
associated with Down's syndrome or Alzhei-mer's or other disabling
neurological diseases is a very good thing," he said.

Because of the inherent risks, it makes more sense ethically to begin
applying this discovery to treating diseases and disorders rather than
trying to create smarter babies, Dr Caplan said.

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