Fifty years ago,

humanity began the war against cancer.

When the war against cancer began,

we were relying on chemotherapy
as the main treatment for cancer.

Now, almost fifty years later,

we are still relying on chemotherapy
as the main treatment for cancer.

What is going on?

Because we have spent 
billions of dollars on cancer research,

and yet we don't seem to see
the productive results of this investment.

We are still relying on chemotherapy,
radiotherapy, and surgery

as the main treatments against cancer
despite spending billions of dollars

and despite all the many years
that have passed.

So what is going on with cancer research?

Is it possible that we
don't want to treat cancer?

That would be absurd.

Is it possible that we are approaching
cancer research the wrong way?

Luckily, the number
of cancer survivors is on the rise.

But we still haven't won
the war against cancer.

Scientists are now working on
the second generation of cancer treatment.

The ones that are supposed to replace
chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

In fact, two of these treatments 
were approved last year.

One is called immunotherapy,

and the second one is called gene therapy.

Now immunotherapy works like this:

You take immune cells 
from a cancer patient;

these are called T cells.

You send them to a lab

where they are genetically
engineered to fight cancer.

Then you inject them into the patient.

Three months later,
and the patient is cancer-free.

As exciting as it sounds, 
many people and many scientists believe

that immunotherapy is the future
of cancer treatment.

But I don't think so.

There are three problems,

actually four problems
with this treatment.

The first problem is that so far,
it only works against one type of cancer

which is called lymphoblastic leukemia.

And we all know that we have too many
types of cancers to deal with:

breast cancer, brain cancer, skin cancer,

and the list goes on.

The second problem with this treatment

is that it only works on people 
who are younger than 25 years old.

And we all know that cancer 
can strike at any age.

The third problem,

actually with the two treatments 
that were approved last year,

is that they are extremely expensive.

The cost of immunotherapy is $475,000.

And that's not the telephone number 
of your health insurance company.

Actually, that's the cost 
of only treating one patient

against only one type of cancer.

What is it about cancer treatments 
that makes them so expensive?

Why? Why do people 
have to sell an organ to treat another?

It is a devastating future 
that we are heading to

unless we do something.

So what we really need 
is a cancer treatment that is efficient,

that works for the long run,

and that is available when you need it.

Now, the other problem 
with these treatments

is that by the time they are
cheap enough for you to afford,

they won't be efficient.

It's going to take many years

before somebody from the middle class
can afford immunotherapy.

And by then, it won't be efficient,

because cancer cells tomorrow 
will not respond

to the same treatment 
they way they do today.

So we need something 
that also works for the long run.

Now, what if I told you
that instead of wasting $475,000

on treating only one patient 
against only one type of cancer,

we could, at the same cost,
prevent almost all types of cancer

in 15 individuals.

The human body is equipped 
with a natural defense mechanism

which protects us against cancer.

And it's working in your body right now.

It is called DNA repair mechanism.

When DNA makes copies of itself,

there are chances of errors 
called mutations.

And these mutations can be accelerated

when you expose yourself 
to chemicals, radiation,

when you adopt unhealthy lifestyles,

and sometimes family history
and genetics also play a role.

But there are proteins that are tasked

with repairing these mutations 
as soon as they happen.

And this is happening
in your cells right now.

So what if there is a way by which
we could enhance the cell's ability

to repair DNA at a maximum efficiency.

In fact, we could do that.

We know which proteins are involved 
in the DNA repair mechanism,

and we know how to control them

with the help of a gene editing
technique called CRISPR,

which you have heard about in the news.

CRISPR is the most precise
gene editing technique

ever invented in human history.

And it is proving to be very efficient.

So we could use this technique 
to enhance the cell's ability

to repair its DNA
at all times, at all costs.

But there is one problem.

If we want to protect you 
against all types of cancers,

then we have to make sure

that your entire body
is genetically engineered,

that every cell is
programmed to resist cancer.

But we can't do it in adult humans,

because your body 
consists of 37 trillion cells,

and that is impossible to engineer.

In fact, there isn't any technology 
or gene delivery technique

that can deliver genes 
to this massive number of cells.

But what if we could do it 
with human embryos instead?

Why?

Because human embryos 
only have eight cells

in the third day after fertilization.

And we can manage,

in fact, we can engineer
eight cells in human embryos.

In fact, we are
already doing it right now.

Take a look at these remarkable results.

Scientists genetically
engineer human embryos.

They manage to correct a mutation

responsible for a serious
heart condition in human embryos.

They also manage to treat a condition
responsible for a blood disorder.

What's more amazing, also,

they manage to introduce
HIV resistance to human embryos.

So technically speaking,

if these embryos were allowed 
to develop into adult humans,

then the chances of getting
HIV infection in these humans

are so slim they may never happen.

So if we can do it with these diseases 
by engineering human embryos,

then we can also do it with cancer.

And it is called embryonic cancer therapy,

which I believe could be 
the ultimate cure for cancer.

What's beautiful about
embryonic cancer therapy

is that we only have to engineer 
eight cells in human embryos.

These embryos will grow to be adult humans

with 37 trillion 
genetically engineered cells.

And we only have to do it once 
with one generation.

Because future generations 
will already, by default,

get this genetic change as we pass it on.

So they will pass it on 
to the next generation.

What's also beautiful about this treatment
is that it's cost efficient.

We are already doing 
part of the treatment.

You know about in-vitro fertilization:

you take sperms, eggs, 
you fuse them in the lab,

you create embryos, 
and you implant them.

This is a procedure 
for people who can't conceive.

So, it's very much the same procedure,

except that we are adding 
one additional step,

which is genetic engineering.

We are engineering the human embryo 
before implantation.

And the cost is really not so much -
I mean, in comparison to $475,000.

The cost of in-vitro fertilization 
is not more than $15,000.

In fact, you can get it cheaper 
in some countries.

And the cost of genetically
engineering human embryos

is also not more than $10,000.

In fact, you can buy
a CRISPR kit for $1,500,

and you can use it 
to engineer at least 100 embryos.

Think of the possibilities here.

Yes, maybe we have to rely on
in-vitro fertilization at the beginning,

but eventually, we will find a way

by which we could engineer the embryos 
right on the spot, inside the body.

Now, there are many ways

by which we can enhance
human embryos to fight cancer.

We can tweak molecular processes.

We have a great deal of knowledge

about the molecules 
that are involved with cancer,

and we could manipulate them
long before birth.

We could also manipulate human cells.

And instead of immunotherapy after birth, 
we could do it before birth.

What's more fascinating is

we could adopt certain traits 
from other creatures.

Now, you have heard of the tardigrades, 
the toughest animals on earth.

Tardigrades:

they can survive in space radiation, 
in the vacuum of space;

they can survive extreme radiation;

they can turn into glass,
under dehydrated conditions.

But what's fascinating
is that they can survive

extreme radiations
which could cause cancer in humans.

What scientists did is
they studied what causes this.

Why are they protected against radiation?

And they found a gene 
responsible for that.

They took that gene 
and added it to human cells.

Now you have a human cell 
but with a gene from another creature.

They took these engineered cells 
and exposed them to UV radiation,

and what happened?

The immune cells 
were resistant to radiation.

They gained 40% resistance.

So we could acquire this trait.

We could add it to human embryos,

which would definitely 
be helpful against cancer.

And there are many other creatures 
that have incredible super strength

which we could also add 
to the human genome.

Now let's imagine a future

where we have eradicated cancer,
and it no longer exists.

Do you know how much money 
we spend on cancer medication?

In 2015, the world spent 
107 billion dollars on cancer medication.

By 2020 it is expected to be 
150 billion dollars.

And that is just on cancer medication.

There are still billions of dollars 
that are spent on cancer research.

We are flooding a lot of money 
into cancer research,

and we are ignoring other diseases 
that are also as important:

Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, 
heart failure, spinal cord injuries,

and the list goes on and on.

These diseases also kill people. 
They make them terminally ill as well.

And if we just keep flooding
all the resources that we have

into cancer research,

then we are not heading
into the right future.

So, imagine a world

where we don't have to spend that money
on cancer research anymore.

Cancer has been eradicated.

Everybody is born
with a built-in mechanism

that protects them against cancer.

We can now use that money 
to study other diseases

and learn about their genetics.

And in a few short years, we will use 
what we learned about their genetics

to apply the same technique 
and treat them.

So this will be our gate 
not only to treating cancer

but also other diseases.

If we have the knowledge
and the technology

to do something as remarkable as this, 
then what is stopping us?

Well, there are a number of challenges 
that we have to overcome

before we can make this a reality.

The first challenge is bioethics.

As I said, we're working
with embryos here.

And most of the countries, now,

do not allow research on human embryos

beyond 14 days.

So after 14 days,
the human embryos are destroyed.

They are not allowed 
for scientific research.

So how are we supposed to understand 
the potential of this treatment

if we aren't less strict with the rules?

The problem with bioethics

is that the rules that we established 
against scientific research do not change.

Science and technology continue to evolve,

but the rules that we established 
50 years ago do not change;

we don't revisit them.

And that is a big problem.

And this is why I believe

that the rule of 14 days
on embryonic therapy

should be revisited,

we should discuss it more,

and we should be less strict

so we can understand the potential 
of embryonic treatment.

We will unlock unlimited potential
of such treatment

if we become less strict with the rules.

The second challenge is business interest.

It's quite clear that cancer 
is a stable source of income.

It's a problem, and as long as
the problem exists,

some people will continue
to profit from it.

And it is those people who invest
their money in cancer research.

So why would they invest it
into the area of research

that could eradicate cancer 
once and for all?

So that is a big problem.
Business interest.

If we eradicated cancer,

we're going to destroy 
many business interests

for companies and individuals 
who profit from the condition.

But luckily, part of the money 
that is spent on cancer research

also comes from 
public funding: governments.

Where do they get their money?

From you, the taxpayer.

Part of your money 
goes to cancer research.

And we have control over that.

So if we spend that money 
on new areas of cancer research,

then we might be onto something,

instead of having the monopoly 
of only focusing on the same areas.

As I said, for almost 50 years,
we haven't seen remarkable progress.

The last challenge is public awareness.

Now, the problem with society today 
is that we keep our minds shut.

We're not open-minded when it comes
to a new revolution in technology.

We just don't accept it -

even if we haven't learned 
a great deal about it,

even if we didn't educate ourselves.

And that is a big problem.

You have seen in online forums, 
the rise of ignorance,

comments,

and people who are objecting
scientific knowledge, rise of technology

simply because 
they don't understand it,

simply because they don't learn about it,

or maybe we're not doing a good job
of educating them.

So it's very important

for people to keep open minds 
towards technology and science.

Learn more about these available options 
before saying yes or no.

And it is your responsibility,
since you know about this now,

to bring this discussion 
to other people who don't know about it.

More people will know.

We can influence the decision makers 
to break the rule of 14 days

so scientists can now study embryos,

we can unlock the potential 
of embryonic treatments,

and we can defeat cancer.

The applications of science are endless,

and the possibilities are limitless,

and the choice is only ours now.

Either to keep cancer as a friend 
by embracing ignorance and greed,

or defeat our enemy once and for all

by embracing selflessness
and rational thinking.

Thank you.

(Applause)