> I wonder also why there is a deactivated gene that prevents HIV infection... did we have this ability for a long time but it fell out of use and was selected off?

It’s a gene for a specific receptor that has certain other functions in the body. Certain strains of HIV just happen to use this receptor for viral entry, but it has other functions in the body.

The specific CCR5 mutation has positive effects for resistance to certain HIV strains but actually worsens resistance to certain other diseases. There’s also a big question of how specific and accurate his editing actually was, of course.

HIV is a pretty recent disease and the gene that was deactivated serves a useful purpose against West Nile

> Pretty wild, especially also the implications of the children having their own children and passing the mutated genes.

The implications of your kids each having ~70 de novo mutations just in the course of normal reproduction, which mutated genes they will pass on to their own children, is also pretty interesting.

I doubt that this gene "only" prevents HIV infection. The unintended consequences of activating that gene could be very diverse, and not fully expressed in any one child. Most adaptations have trade-offs, some quite severe (sickle cell anemia protecting against malaria, as an example).

The genes aren’t mutated, your genes are mutated as they carry an inferior mutation that lets you get aids.