Kaunas: Historians, not politicians, should discuss
The UPA participated in the massacres of Poles during World War II.
“A DNA-editing feat involving editing the genes of early stage embryos -- a far cry from designer babies, but nevertheless a step in that direction -- was announced last week.
Dieter Egli, an associate professor of developmental cell biology at Columbia University, and his co-authors, including Nathan Treff of Nucleus Genomics, a New York-based DNA-testing startup, say the technology could help fix disease-causing mutations in embryos.
"We're not throwing the final 'OK, you will have gene-edited babies tomorrow' at the public," said Egli. "That is a process that can occur through discussion matched with scientific progress."
The research was published online last week on a preprint server, which enabled the researchers to put out the paper before it was vetted by outside reviewers. Such vetting is common practice with scientific research.
Previous gene-editing efforts have often used Crispr, which can cut out parts of the DNA sequence, but the technology can also cause damage if the wrong DNA is targeted or cut out. In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jianku said he used Crispr to tweak DNA in human embryos and was imprisoned for the work.
The technology Egli's group used, called base editing [1], allows them to target individual DNA letters in sequences more precisely with fewer adverse effects.
That said, sometimes off-target or incomplete editing happens with base editing, resulting in so-called "mosaics," which are genetic mixtures of edited and unedited cells. In Egli's study, nearly 80% of embryos became mosaics, meaning if those embryos grew into babies, they would likely still have cells with the disease-causing mutations.
Egli's group focused on altering two genes, one that can raise the risk of heart disease and one that is tied to blood disorders like sickle cell disease, and the research showed they were sometimes able to do so successfully, in the same embryo, without damage.
"I am generally supportive of the concept of embryo editing to prevent genetic disease," said Dr. Paula Amato, a fertility expert at Oregon Health & Science University who wasn't involved in the research. This method of gene editing appears more promising than others, she said, but added the mosaic issue needs to be resolved for this to move forward.
Base editing has been used in human embryos before. The technology was used to correct a disease-causing mutation and an Alzheimer's disease-risk gene variant, said Alexis Komor, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at the University of California, San Diego, who wasn't involved in the work.
"There really is not any unmet medical or clinical need for this, especially from an in vitro fertilization perspective," Komor said.
Using embryo editing to create babies is illegal in the U.S. and many other countries. Scientists have long worried that it is a slippery slope and that the technology could ultimately be used to promote eugenics.” [2]
1. Base editing is a precise gene-editing technology that allows scientists to chemically convert one single DNA nucleotide base into another without breaking the double-stranded DNA backbone. By avoiding DNA cuts, it minimizes unwanted genetic errors—such as insertions or deletions—making it highly accurate and safe for treating genetic diseases.
How It Works
• Targeting: It uses a customized guide RNA and a modified, catalytically "dead" or nickase Cas9 enzyme (which cannot cut DNA) to find a specific genetic sequence.
• Chemical Conversion: Once locked onto the target, the attached enzyme (a deaminase) directly alters the chemical structure of the target base.
Primary Types of Base Editors
• Cytosine Base Editors (CBEs): Convert a Cytosine-Guanine (C → G) base pair into a Thymine-Adenine (T → A) base pair.
• Adenine Base Editors (ABEs): Convert an Adenine-Thymine (A → T) base pair into a Guanine-Cytosine (G → C) base pair.
Key Advantages over Traditional CRISPR-Cas9
• No Double-Strand Breaks: Traditional CRISPR acts like scissors, cutting both strands of the DNA, which relies on the cell’s own repair machinery and often leads to unwanted genetic rearrangements. Base editors chemically modify the base directly, sidestepping this issue.
• High Efficiency: Base editing is highly efficient in both dividing and non-dividing cells.
• Broad Therapeutic Potential: Because approximately half of all known pathogenic human genetic variants involve a single-letter point mutation, base editing is a powerful tool for developing precision genetic medicines to correct diseases.
2. U.S. News: Scientists Edit DNA Of Early Human Embryos. Woodward, Aylin; Janin, Alex. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 08 June 2026: A3.
„KARTAIS ĮMONĖ įkūnija savo laikmetį. „Ford“ ir jos „Model T“ užfiksavo riaumojančio trečiojo dešimtmečio energingą nuotaiką. IBM įkūnijo pirmosios kompiuterių eros technologinį optimizmą aštuntajame dešimtmetyje. „General Electric“ įkūnijo žiaurų dešimtojo dešimtmečio kapitalizmą. Didžiąją šio amžiaus dalį tuo metu vyravusi įmonė buvo „Apple“.
„iPhone“, elegantiški vartai į viską apimančią programėlių ekonomiką, taip pat priminė laikmetį, kaip ir dideli plaukai devintajame dešimtmetyje. Taip pat ir „Apple“ globalizacijos priėmimas, o ypač Kinijos – kaip vietos, kurioje pirmiausia gaminami įtaisai, o vėliau juos parduodama.
Pastaruosius 15 metų šiai skaitmeninės eros ir laisvosios prekybos ikonai vadovavo Timas Cookas. Galbūt Steve'as Jobsas, jo legendinis pirmtakas, sugalvojo „iPhone“, bet būtent ponas Cookas įdėjo jį į 1,5 milijardo kišenių, todėl „Apple“ logotipas tapo visur paplitęs nuo San Francisko iki Seulo. „Apple“ rinkos vertė išaugo. 11 kartų per pono Cooko vadovavimą, nes, skaičiuojant viską, įskaitant dividendus, jis į „Apple“ akcininkų kišenes įgrūdo apie 4,6 trilijono dolerių. Tai yra daugiau nei 850 mln. dolerių už kiekvieną jo ilgos kadencijos dieną.
Balandžio 20 d. „Apple“ pareiškė, kad ši kadencija baigsis rugsėjį. Pono Cooko įpėdinis Johnas Ternusas turi nuspręsti, ar šią sėkmingą formulę – išmanieji telefonai + pasaulinės tiekimo grandinės = 1 trilijonas dolerių bendro grynojo pelno per 15 metų – reikia atnaujinti atsižvelgiant į dirbtinio intelekto (DI) ir geopolitinio susiskaldymo amžių. Tai sunkus sprendimas. Ir jis svarbus ne tik „Apple“.
Kai ponas Cookas perėmė vadovavimą, jo strategija buvo statymas už ateitį: technologijų ir pasaulinės ekonomikos. Technologiškai „Apple“ rizikavo, kad, kaip įsivaizdavo Jobsas, išmanusis telefonas bus pagrindinė sąsaja tarp žmonių ir skaitmeninio pasaulio. Tai pasitvirtino. Todėl ponas Cookas pats neprižiūrėjo jokio tokio transformacinio produkto kaip „iPhone“ pristatymo. „AirPods“ yra populiarūs, o „Apple“ parduoda daugiau laikrodžių nei Šveicarija, tačiau tai tik išmaniųjų telefonų priedai. Ambicinga „iCar“ idėja buvo tyliai išardyta. Kas nors prisimena ką nors apie „Vision Pro“, išskyrus jo 3 500 USD kainą? Tačiau nuolat tobulindamas „iPhone“, plėsdamas telefonų asortimentą ir parduodamas juos daugiau vietų, ponas Cookas sukūrė imperiją.
Dviguba „Apple“ ekonominė lažyba dėl pasaulinių tiekimo grandinių ir Kinijos atspindėjo globalizacijos mastą. Iki 2010-ųjų dauguma prekių prekybos barjerų buvo panaikinti. Kiekvienais metais šalys keisdavosi produktais ir paslaugomis, kurių vertė siekė beveik 60 % pasaulio BVP, palyginti su maždaug 40 % 10-ajame dešimtmetyje. Kinijos dalis pasaulio ekonomikoje išaugo nuo 10 % 2011 m. iki 17 %, nuo technologijų tiekėjos iki dažnos lyderės, o nuo keturių „Apple“ parduotuvių iki 50.
Ponas Ternusas, daugelį metų buvęs „Apple“ žinovas, atrodo, linkęs laikytis to paties požiūrio. Pavojus yra tas, kad dirbtinis intelektas ir prekybos karai paverčia „Apple“ statymu už praeitį. Ji klestės, jei dirbtinio intelekto modelių kūrimas bus mažiau pelningas nei dirbtinio intelekto programų ir aparatinės įrangos, kurioje jos veikia, pardavimas; jei prekybos barjerai pertvarkys tarpvalstybines tiekimo grandines, o ne jas sunaikins; ir jei Kinijos ir Vakarų santykiai įtempti, bet ne nutrūkę.
Kol kas konservatizmas atsiperka. „iPhone“ vis dar gali būti „sukurti „Apple“ Kalifornijoje, surinkti Kinijoje“ arba, vis dažniau, „Indijoje“. „Apple“ turi susitvarkyti su savo dirbtinio intelekto politika, tačiau modelių kūrimo vengimas daugiausia padėjo jai išvengti 3 trilijonų dolerių vertės duomenų centrų perkrovos, kuri gali baigtis didžiuliais nuostoliais. Jos rinkos vertė nėra toli nuo visų laikų aukščiausio lygio – 4,2 trilijonų dolerių. Dabar lengviau nei bet kada įsivaizduoti, kaip visa tai gali pasikeisti. Tačiau daugelį globalizuoto, į vartotoją orientuoto pasaulio, kurį padėjo sukurti ponas Cookas, elementų verta išsaugoti. Jei pasiseks, jie išliks.“ [1]
1. Take the iPhone, garnish with globalization. The Economist; London Vol. 459, Iss. 9496, (Apr 25, 2026): 8.
“SOMETIMES A COMPANY encapsulates its times. Ford and its Model T captured the go-getting mood of the Roaring Twenties. IBM embodied the techno-optimism of the first computer era in the 1970s. General Electric epitomised the cutthroat capitalism of the 1990s. For much of this century the company of the moment has been Apple.
The iPhone, a sleek gateway to the all-consuming app economy, has been as evocative of the zeitgeist as big hair was of the 1980s. So has Apple’s embrace of globalisation and, especially, of China—as a place first to make gadgets, then to sell them.
For the past 15 years this icon of the digital era and free trade has been led by Tim Cook. It may have been Steve Jobs, his legendary predecessor, who dreamt up the iPhone, but it was Mr Cook who put one in 1.5bn pockets, making the Apple logo ubiquitous from San Francisco to Seoul. Apple’s market value has grown 11-fold on Mr Cook’s watch as, counting everything including dividends, he has stuffed some $4.6trn into the pockets of Apple’s shareholders. That is over $850m for every day of his long tenure.
On April 20th Apple said that this tenure will end in September. Mr Cook’s successor, John Ternus, must decide if this winning formula—smartphones + global supply chains = $1trn in cumulative net profit over 15 years—needs updating for the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and geopolitical fracture. It is a tough call. And it matters beyond Apple.
When Mr Cook took over, his strategy was a bet on the future: of technology and of the global economy. Technologically, Apple gambled that, as Jobs envisioned, the smartphone would be the principal interface between people and the digital world. That proved correct. As a result, Mr Cook did not himself oversee the launch of any product as transformative as the iPhone. AirPods are popular and Apple sells more watches than Switzerland, but these are mere smartphone accessories. The ambitious idea of an iCar was quietly scrapped. Who remembers anything about the Vision Pro, apart from its $3,500 price tag? But by continuously improving the iPhone, expanding the range of phones and selling them in more places, Mr Cook built an empire.
Apple’s twin economic wager, on global supply chains and China, reflected the extent of globalisation. By the 2010s, most goods-trade barriers had gone. Each year countries were exchanging products and services worth nearly 60% of world GDP, up from around 40% in the 1990s. China went from 10% of the global economy in 2011 to 17%, from technological supplicant to a frequent leader, and from four Apple stores to 50.
Mr Ternus, an Apple insider for many years, seems inclined to stick to the same approach. The danger is that AI and trade wars make Apple a bet on the past. It will thrive if making AI models is less lucrative than selling AI applications and the hardware on which they run; if trade barriers reconfigure cross-border supply chains rather than destroy them; and if relations between China and the West are strained but not ruptured.
For now conservatism is paying off. iPhones can still be “Designed by Apple in California—Assembled in China” or, increasingly, “in India”. Apple must get its AI act together, but eschewing model-making has mostly kept it out of a $3trn data-centre binge which may end in huge losses. Its market value is not far off an all-time high of $4.2trn. It is easier than ever to see how all that could change. But many elements of the globalised, consumer-centric world Mr Cook’s Apple helped create are worth preserving. With luck, they will endure.” [1]
1. Take the iPhone, garnish with globalization. The Economist; London Vol. 459, Iss. 9496, (Apr 25, 2026): 8.