Nucleic Acid Compiler (NAC)
conceptBiotech & Transhumanism · Defense & Military-Industrial
This is a plan for rewriting a person's genes with beams of light, no needle required.
Who they are
A goal of a US military research agency (DARPA), under a program called GO.
What they do
It's a package of engineered proteins built inside living cells that react to specific colors of light and, on cue, build new DNA or RNA from scratch.
How it works
Instead of shipping gene edits into the body using viruses or fatty bubbles, an operator would simply shine patterns of light into tissue; the light-triggered protein machinery inside the cells would then write and run new genetic code.
Why it matters
If it works, changing someone's genes becomes as easy and remote as pointing a light at them, effectively a read-and-write interface to the human genome.
The engine's record — word for word
DARPAs GO program goal. Complex of engineered proteins expressed within living cells that respond to specific optical signals (wavelengths of light) to synthesize DNA/RNA template-free. Eliminates physical delivery bottlenecks (viral vectors, lipid nanoparticles). Enables massless transfer of genetic information. If deployed, remote operator beams light patterns into tissues prompting in-cell NAC to compile and execute new genetic code. The read/write interface to the human genome.
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