Ok, read their actual pitch. Lmao they think that a one time introduction of a GMO bacteria strain is going to 'just work' because they've also GMO'd it to outcompete other bacteria?

There's a reason we aren't running our cars on yeast-produced gasoline. No matter how awesome your tuned microbe is, it's still subject to mutation and natural selection. If your beneficial changes aren't actually helping it survive, they will not be conserved. And those 'competitive' changes you jacked it up with to make sure it dominates the environment? Well, that might end up horizontally transferred into something you don't like.

About the right amount of 'we humans are smarter than dumb biology' metal-fetishism I'd expect from the folks concerned.

A variant of this organism was first created in 1985, and volunteers deliberately inoculated themselves with the modified strain. This has, to our knowledge, caused no ill effects since.

Who needs the FDA when you have vague hunches?

Now I want Shark Tank but it’s all treacles luminaries. Wait that’s just the VC scene in silicon valley. Never mind

Some nice sneer:

I can understand Aella wanting to fund a project so she never has to brush her teeth again

Probably also heavily interested in Never Take a Shower Again research

https://nitter.net/nunyabeeswaxfed/status/1705695595413790814

Furthermore, we don't have to worry about regulatory slapdown if we sell it as a medical tourism product in, say, Próspera. We could brand this as a secret medical treatment for the super-elite, like Peter Thiel's StemcenterX or Minicircle's regenerative medicine hub, and charge $20,000 a dose.

Why is this option A?

the person behind it appears to be a "Jeffrey D Hillman", and this appears to be the first round: https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-DE004529-10

probably worth someone digging into that to see what else may surround the person

from the "Safety Review and FAQ" document:

Will this spread to everyone I kiss? It’s very unlikely in non-immunocompromised adults. However, if you’re concerned, you should avoid kissing anyone taking oral antibiotics, or children.

"sure let's just casually become a walking science experiment and then thinking to first ask whether the other person is taking oral antibiotics. oh and children, because mouth-kissing children is perfectly normal to me, the author of this document"

this was from just like 2min of glancing at this mess so far and fucking what

Broke: contemporary dentistry

Still broke: putting GM bacteria in your mouth to prevent cavities

Woke: examining your teeth for cavities before and after licking interesting objects found in nature and getting bonus nootropics out of it

Effective Altruits are a good marketing demographic to target I suppose. Gullible and wealthy.

I’m not sure if this is serious or just another investment scam.

They might have good connections in the EA space, but HN doesn't seem to be bowled over:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37634713

Microbes in my mouth that produce ethanol instead of acid? You are all wrong here, this is ideal. I'm sure it's 100% safe to have https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-brewery_syndrome but only in your mouth. Make sure to wash your mouth out with everclear whenever you brush, just to be safe.