''Unnatural Selection'' (or stylized as, ''"unnatural selection"'') is a 2019

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

web documentary A web documentary, interactive documentary, or multimedia documentary is a documentary production that differs from the more traditional forms—video, audio, photographic—by applying a full complement of multimedia tools. The interactive multim ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

in 4 episodes. It is presents an overview of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

and particularly, the DNA-editing technology of

CRISPR CRISPR () (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments of bacte ...

, from the perspective of scientists, corporations and

biohackers ''Biohackers'' is a German techno-thriller television series created by Christian Ditter that premiered on Netflix on 20 August 2020. A week after its release, the series was renewed for a second season, which was released on 9 July 2021. Synop ...

working from their home. The series was released on the

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in October 18, 2019.

Episodes

''Unnatural Selection'' is a documentary series.

Season 1

The first season consists of 4 episodes. It became available for streaming on October 18, 2019.

Participants

The documentary TV series includes the following notable participants (alphabetized by last name): *

Andrea Crisanti Andrea Crisanti (12 June 1936, in Rome – 7 May 2012) was an Italian production designer and art director. Crisanti studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He began his film career as assistant set designer to Mario Garbuglia by w ...

– Italian microbiologist *

Nelson Dellis Nelson Charles Dellis (born February 4, 1984) is an American Memory sport, memory athlete and consultant. He is a five-time USA Memory Championship, USA Memory Champion, holding the record for most wins of the national memory champion title. He ...

– American memory athlete *

Jennifer Doudna Jennifer Anne Doudna (; born February 19, 1964) is an American biochemist who has done pioneering work in CRISPR gene editing, and made other fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics. Doudna was one of the first women to share a ...

– American biochemist and Nobel laureate for CRISPR * Victor Dzau – President, U.S. National Academy of Medicine *

Preston Estep Preston "Pete" Wayne Estep III is an American biologist and science and technology advocate. He is a graduate of Cornell University, where he did neuroscience research, and he earned a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard University. He did his doctora ...

– American geneticist and CSO of Veritas Genetics * Kevin M. Esvelt – American biologist *

Katherine A. High Katherine A. High is an American doctor-scientist who is an emeritus professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She was the co-founder, president, and chief scientific officer of Spark Therapeutics and curre ...

– American doctor and CSO of

Spark Therapeutics Spark Therapeutics, Inc. is a developer of gene therapy treatments, which treat debilitating genetic diseases. It is a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche. History The company was founded in 2013 by Katherine A. High, Jeffrey Marrazzo, and Steven Al ...

* Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte – Spanish geneticist * Jeffrey Kahn – American professor of bioethics * James Russell – New Zealand ecologist *

Aaron Traywick Aaron James Traywick (December 19, 1989 – April 29, 2018) was an American businessman and life extension activist in the transhumanism and biohacking communities. He sought to develop gene therapies to make inexpensive treatments available fo ...

– American life extension activist *

Josiah Zayner Jo Zayner (formerly Josiah Zayner; born February 8, 1981) is a biohacker, artist, and scientist best known for their self-experimentation and work making hands-on genetic engineering accessible to a lay audience, including CRISPR. Education ...

– American biohacker, artist, and scientist * John J. Zhang – Fertility Specialist

Reception

According to reviewer Megan Molteni, writing for ''Wired'' Magazine, "''Unnatural Selection'' chronicles the ambitions and struggles of scientists, doctors, patients, conservationists, and

as they seek to wrest control of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

from nature itself. They are all navigating the profound ethical dilemmas of a world where it’s possible to rewrite the code of life inside any

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

, including

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

... If you were looking for a ''

Schoolhouse Rock! ''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...

'' explanation of how

Crispr CRISPR () (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments of bacte ...

works or a deep dive on the history of its discovery, ''Unnatural Selection'' won’t deliver ... All the requisite references will be made n the series��to ''

Gattaca ''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin ap ...

'', to Huxley, to “life, uh, finds a way.” ... After watching ''Unnatural Selection'' you might not have a better understanding of how

Crispr-Cas9 Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9, formerly called Cas5, Csn1, or Csx12) is a 160 kilodalton protein which plays a vital role in the immunological defense of certain bacteria against DNA viruses and plasmids, and is heavily utilized in genetic ...

differs from Crispr-Cas12e, a, or b, but you’ll definitely have something to talk about on the subway." According to reviewer Dream McClinton, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "For the ilm-makers the series had to tell the broader, more intricate story of

, a story filled with great risk, benefits, consequences, emotions, sentiments and future, to better illuminate the field and further the discussion on the technology ... The series is haunted by feelings of ambivalence from the scientists who are cautious about tipping the scales towards a possible dystopian future .. ''Unnatural Selection'' demonstrates the worry of many, and the hope of others, threaded into a huge tapestry of possibility of a more perfect future ... While ne of the film-makersdoubts the series will change the minds of the public about genetic engineering, ehopes it will educate some about both the benefits and risks of genetic engineering." There are other reviews of the series, including reviews from the ''TheReviewGeek'' and ''ReadySteadyCut''.

References

External links