Three times more intelligence thanks to genetic modification

By changing the gene NR2B, scientists created a "smart" mouse in the world called Hobbie-J. Scientists hope that the same gene regulation can increase human intellect.

According to the study, the mouse named Hobbie-J underwent genetic modification that has three times the memory of the same type. With that enhanced memory, it can better handle many complicated tasks, such as going through the maze with clues to find the way is a piece of food at the end of the road. This is an important method for measuring mouse intelligence.

When Hobbie-J mice were an embryo, the team was led by Dr. Joe Z. Tsien, Georgia State Medical College, injected a genetic material that caused development. beyond the NR2B gene, which plays a role in controlling the speed of communication of brain cells.

Hobbie-J mouse has three times the intelligence of genetically modified genes.Illustration

A few years ago, Tsien and his colleagues had a brain test similar to that on a mouse named Doogie. Scientists hope to experiment on Hobbie-J and Doogie to provide medical knowledge that helps treat many of the human brain disorders.

"The NR2B gene functions as a switch, when turned on, it speeds up Doogie's learning and memory. It also displays similar results on Hobbie-J," Tsien said. "This provides the ability to use drugs to affect human genes, helping to resolve neurological disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease."

However, neurologist Guosong Liu, who worked on the Doogie project, said the medical project faces two major challenges ahead. First, human genetic modification is having a moral barrier when it is not approved by the international medical community. Second, a large memory can be a big burden, even a nightmare for people, remembering that without forgetting is natural. "An expanded memory is a potential danger to healthy people," Liu said.

The researchers themselves are aware of this, saying that, if approved in practice, the application of this gene therapy should only be used in severe neurological patients.