Genome Reconstruction
"Ninety-nine per cent of people don't have an
inkling about how fast this revolution is coming."
-Steve Fador, President of Affynetrix
"Gene therapy provides new options for medicine, and
implies new responsibilities for making decisions relating to the
limitations which reason and morality impose upon manipulation of
the human genome for the benefit both of patients and of society."
-HJ. Muller, Journal of Cellular and
Molecular Life Sciences
Improving our species at a genetic level seems to be one of the directions our technological evolution is taking us. I want to be clear that this is not the racist pseudoscience of 'eugenics' we witnessed in the early twentieth century. Where governments and/or groups declared some ethnicities or peoples are weaker then others and therefore unfit to procreate or even live. The genetic improving we are talking about is a scientific method of locating specific genes, and altering them, in an attempt to work towards an individual's advantage. The idea is to help a person live a healthier, longer, more productive life, without the worries of genetic disease or disability. The purposed positive implications of human genetic modification are beyond incredible. There are however some ethical and practical dilemmas we need to consider before venturing too far into our genetic future. There may be some boundaries that need to be put into place regarding the usage of genetic augmenting technologies. We have already entered the beginning stages of the genetic revolution and the age of widespread human gene therapies is quickly approaching. The power and availability of genetic technologies is only going to increase, so now is the time to thoroughly think this all out.
If
we are going to begin developing thoughts on the usage of human
genetic alterations, we must first understand how it works. In
order to explain the technique of altering genetic code I must first
introduce two terms. The first is restriction enzymes. Restriction
enzymes are a form defense used by some bacteria to
'cut' the genetic code of a virus into pieces, to disable
it's
functionality. Second is an enzyme called Ligase, which acts as a
sort of 'glue' that sticks sentences of genetic code together. In
1972 geneticist Paul Berg used restricted enzymes in a test tube to
chop two bits of viral DNA in half. He then used ligases to paste
them back together in new combinations. DNA coding is a universal language in
biology. The coding language of DNA is fundamentally the same in
every species of organism. This means that a section of code taken
from one chromosome can be inserted into another and still be read
in it's entirety. This remains true even if the chromosomes are from
different species. The
technique created by Paul Berg was a landmark achievement in that,
for the first time our species had the ability to put new genes in
chromosomes, as well as re-arrange the sequence of genes in
chromosomes.
The next step in genetic engineering
was to find a way to insert the newly altered genes into an already
developed, adult human cell. This is where the use of a small thing called
a retrovirus comes in.
"A retrovirus contains a message written in
RNA which reads, in essence: 'make a copy of me and stitch it into
your chromosome.' All a gene therapist need do is take a retrovirus,
cut out a few of it's genes, put in a human gene, and infect the
patient with it. The virus goes to work inserting the gene into
cells of the body and, lo, you have a genetically modified person."
-(Matt Ridley, "Genome")
So basically, in simplistic terms,
this is how human genetic alteration works.
Using this
described method, researchers predict that some day soon they will
be able to replace 'faulty,' or risk increasing parts of a person's
genetic code. With the proper understand, this technology may grant
the ability to dramatically reduce aging, and extend lifespans by
incredible amounts. Consider being able to do things like: extend
the capability
for cells to duplicate, increase immune system response, control
body fat storage, control cholesterol amounts used and manufactured,
increase cell waste disposal efficiency, and allow for brain cell
regeneration. Having the ability to read, understand, and alter the
genetic code, gives our species almost full control of our
biological destiny. Our genes are not only the dynamic architects of
our biology, but they are also the tacticians who decide our
response to the environments we live in. Because of the this
environmental response attribute, the environment directly
contributes to the status; the usage/non-usage of individual genes
with-in a chromosome. If we were to be able to dictate the body's
genetic response to varying environmental situations; we will in
turn be able to predict and manipulate the body's physiological
responses to those environmental factors.
The ethical and
practical issues
surrounding genetic technologies are abundant... Is it okay to directly
manipulate the very building blocks the make us who we are? It is
the view of many that by altering even a single gene, we are
changing the course of biological evolution. Our
species has gone through a long line of evolutionary selection to become what it is
now. Is it wise to tamper with what nature has selected for? Perhaps
we are incapable of understanding all the consequences that may
result from a single genetic change. It is being suggested that the
chaos Theory may apply to the effects of gene combinations being
active or inactive. The Chaos Theory generally states that even if
you know all the determining factors in a system, you may still not
be able to predict the course the system as a whole will take. This
is because of the varying interactions between the wide selection of
present factors. One action can cause a differing effect on the
starting conditions of another.
Thus meaning that we would be unable to predict an outcome of
any change to the genetic system. Any unforeseen genetic effects
could have dramatic far-reaching consequences. There is even a
possibility that such 'side effects' may not even be apparent at
first and may take several generations to appear. This obviously
increases the difficulty of understanding the effects caused by
subtle changes to the genetic system.
On the other side of the debate, it is the view of many
that the possible benefits to genetic manipulating technologies far
out-weigh the concerns. In his book "Genome," writer Matt
Ridley states his concerns with not taking full advantage of the
predicted genetic breakthrough technologies. "The improvement of any medical technology confronts our species
with a moral dilemma. If the technology can save lives, then not to
develop it and use it is morally culpable, even if there are
attendant risks. In the Stone Age, we had no option but to watch our
relatives die of smallpox. After Jenner had perfected vaccination we
were derelict in our duty if we did so. In the nineteenth century,
we had no alternative to watching our parents succumb to
tuberculosis. After Fleming found penicillin we were guilty of
neglect if we failed to take a dying tubercular patient to the
doctor."
-(Matt
Ridley, "Genome")
The computational power for creating
computer models of complex systems is growing dramatically, year by
year.
The acceleration of computational power is very
predictable. -(See:
Accelerating Returns) So it is only a matter of time
until the complications with predicting behavioral out-comes of
altering genes in a complex system, suggested by Chaos Theory, are
all but eliminated by advances in computer modeling. One of the
major enabling factors of human gene augmenting technologies will be
the capabilities of computational power.
Genetic research uncovered a grand new world of understanding. The sequencing of the human genome has propelled us closer to an age of possible widespread human genetic alteration. Those proposed alterations are huge but will the side-effects be equally as large? Genetic technologies may have a very important role to play in the future progression of our species and it is because of this that we need to think carefully before employing them. Below I have listed some websites and some books pertaining to genetic technologies.
- "Genome" By Matt Ridley
- "The Selfish Gene" By Richard Dawkins
-
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
-
http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/genetics.php
Other posts similar to this topic.
Future of
Genomics
Upgraded Humans