Those of you who read about the recent isolation of a gene by Harvard biologists are probably still freaked out by the blaring headlines of the nation’s dailies that the Harvard madmen have unleashed a destructive force more potent than the hydrogen bomb remixes. The five penny rags were full of statements about ‘biological bombs’ capable of creating a race of supermen who would dominate their genetically inferior subhuman slaves. Brave new world is just around the corner.
These fantastic claims are far from justified. Geneticists won’t be messing about with your body David Guetta as a result of the Harvard work. However, your children might see the effects, and they may be beneficial.
Simply stated, the six biologists from Harvard isolated a gene—the stuff that determines our genetic make-up—from the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli. They infected the bacteria with virus-like micro-organisms called bacteriophages. Doris Monteiro Agora Lp The bacteriophage captured one gene from E. Coli’s genetic material and subsequently the Harvard six separated the gene from the bacteriophage in a test tube. Now that the gene is isolated, they can determine it’s activity independent of the rest of the cell. This will provide information about how the bacteris carries on its life processes. So what’s all the fuss about?
Antagonists claim that the biologists will start altering human cells and produce all sorts of mutants. This is a long way off. Human genetics are much more complicated than bacteria genetics and besides the isolation of a gene doesn’t mean that it can be manipulated and then returned. If this could be done, it would, however, be good news to people who suffer from congenital diseases such as haemophilia and diabetes. The genetic stuff in a diabetic’s body is not capable of producing the insulin necessary for normal health and they must continually inject the stuff into their arms, legs etc. If a bacteriophage could be trained to carry normal genes into a diabetic’s body cells and transplant it into the slot where the malfunctioning gene resides, and then transport the bad stuff out of the body, diabetics could go off the needle.
There is always a nasty side to most scientific discoveries and the Harvard group disclosed their worries about misuse of ‘genetic engineering’ to the press. The misapplication generally depends on the politicians, but it is also the duty of the scientists and the public to be aware of potential misuse. So keep your eye on future developments.
Gerry Wick
