Unnatural Selection (TV series)

Unnatural Selection (or stylized as, "unnatural selection") is a 2019 American documentary television series. It presents an overview of genetic engineering, particularly the DNA-editing technology of CRISPR, from the perspective of scientists, corporations and biohackers working from their home. The series was released on Netflix on October 18, 2019.

Episodes

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 – Italian microbiologist
Nelson Dellis – American memory athlete
Jennifer Doudna – American biochemist and Nobel laureate for CRISPR
Victor Dzau – President, U.S. National Academy of Medicine
Preston Estep – American geneticist and CSO of Veritas Genetics
Kevin M. Esvelt – American biologist
Katherine A. High – American doctor and CSO of Spark Therapeutics
Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte – Spanish geneticist
Jeffrey Kahn – American professor of bioethics
James Russell – New Zealand ecologist
Aaron Traywick – American life extension activist
Josiah Zayner – 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 biohackers as they seek to wrest control of evolution 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, including human ... If you were looking for a Schoolhouse Rock! explanation of how Crispr works or a deep dive on the history of its discovery, Unnatural Selection won’t deliver ... All the requisite references will be made [in the series]—to Gattaca, to Huxley, to “life, uh, finds a way.” ... After watching Unnatural Selection you might not have a better understanding of how Crispr-Cas9 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, "For the [film-makers], the series had to tell the broader, more intricate story of genetic engineering, 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 [one of the film-makers] doubts the series will change the minds of the public about genetic engineering, [he] hopes 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.