Genetic Engineering: Beyond The Edge Of Humanity

8/4/2017

So you may have heard the news. A team of American geneticists have successfully edited the genes of a living human embryo. It's hard to believe that 15 or 20 years ago all of this is merely science fiction.

But as we take our baby steps towards transhumanism, we should, with all respect, give due credit to those who came before. As well as ask ourselves whether we want to know of what might come after....

"Why do you insist that the human genetic code is "sacred" or "taboo"? It is a chemical process and nothing more. For that matter -we- are chemical processes and nothing more. If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself."
Bio-Engineering tech quote, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Genetic engineering has its origins in plant and animal breeding. Sometime in antiquity, someone observed that like produces like – on the average, if one breeds two strong, healthy brown cows, one gets more strong, healthy brown cows. Change one of the parents to a white cow and you can expect white cows, and maybe even varicolored cows, among the offspring. Do these breedings consistently, periodically going back to a common ancestor to reinforce certain traits, and soon you will have a line that breeds true; that is, that produces individuals of consistent appearance, or phenotype.

The 19th century Augustinian monk, Gregor Mendel, codified these principles through his experiments with pea plants, founding the new science of genetics. His discoveries made it possible for humans to deliberately mold plants and animals in their own vision by selective breeding, revolutionizing agriculture in the process.

The other vital, 19th century contribution to modern genetic engineering methods was made by Charles Darwin, who discovered the principle of natural selection. In its simplest form, this principle states that the species most suited to its environment will predominate over other species that are less suited, and that the genes that confer this suitability will proliferate.

In the middle of the 20th century, James D. Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin discovered the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the genetic material, and proposed a mechanism for its replication. Their mechanism was based on the fact that DNA is composed of four building blocks, called nucleotides, identified as adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). These nucleotides form long chains, or stands, which associate with each other in a double helix. In that helix, A is always found across from T, and G is always found across from C, providing a code that allows either strand to be exactly duplicated from the nucleotide sequence of its partner. Along with nuclear fission, this was arguably the most important scientific discovery of the century, for which Watson, Crick and Wilkins won the Nobel prize. This discovery enabled legions of biologists to elaborate on the mechanisms of genetic change elucidated by Mendel in biochemical terms.

Darwin’s theory proposed that genetic change in a population occurs via a process of mutation and natural selection; that is, a random change in the structure of an organism’s DNA occurs and confers a trait that makes that organism more suited to its environment. Scientists verified this theory by identifying bacterial mutants that were resistant to various antimicrobial substances, and selecting them away from sensitive strains by exposing them to the toxic substance. They also identified particular chemicals, called mutagens, which increased the frequency of the appearance of these resistant strains.

Scientists learned that they could introduce foreign DNA into plant and animals cells by a process called transfection, and that the introduced DNA would integrate into the organism’s DNA, conferring a heritable genetic trait. This process came to be known as genetic engineering.

The next important discovery that allowed modern genetic engineering techniques to be developed was that of enzymes called restriction endonucleases, which cleaved DNA strands at specific nucleotide sequences. This led to the so-called technology of shotgun cloning, where restriction fragments from a donor could be introduced into the cells of a recipient, where they would combine with its DNA The introduced DNA sequence would be perpetuated by subsequent cell division. As always, particular clones with desired genetic traits could be isolated by selection. This technique even allowed the DNAs of different species to be combined in a single organism. For instance, GloFishes, which were created by splicing green fluorescent proteins from jellyfishes into zebrafish embryos.

This technology was viewed with apprehension by many, essentially because the introduced genetic material was random. While a specific trait in the recipient could be selected for, it was difficult or impossible to know what other traits may have been introduced along with it. If a genetically altered organism was released inadvertently or deliberately into the environment, where its proliferation could no longer be controlled, many feared that potentially catastrophic consequences. Apprehension was so strong that top scientists in the field called for a voluntary moratorium on certain types of experiments until the practical and ethical implications of the work could be fully considered. Even today, some types of research are controversial.

The future of this technology is exciting! It essentially allows humans to customize organisms for a specific purpose, or to a specific environment. It has tremendous implications for revolutionizing manufacturing and healthcare, eliminating hunger throughout the world, and bringing new industries into impoverished areas. The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations…

…but could we imagine further?

Eugenics

Human genetic engineering is but one aspect of the overall field of human biotechnology. It is the most fascinating aspect of human biotechnology with the power to improve everyone’s quality of life, healing all our genetic diseases permanently. We will soon be able to improve our mental, physical, and emotional capabilities. We’ll be able to introduce regenerative functions natural in other animals, increase longevity, and ensure a healthy diversity in the human genome. It carries the promise of enabling humanity to survive a wider range of environments on alien worlds ensuring our long term survival.

No discussion of genetic engineering in the context of future human evolution would be complete without covering the eugenics movement. Eugenics is the science of improving human heredity characteristics. Raising the bar on our collective gene pool by encouraging the propagation of desirable genes (positive eugenics) while discouraging an increase in undesirable genes (negative eugenics). In other words, selective breeding.

The movement began in the 19th century, founded by Sir Francis Galton. While he focused primarily on positive Eugenics, the 20th century saw the more aggressive promotion and application of negative eugenics (such as sterilization of the unfit), eventually resulting in the movement being tied to Hitler and the Nazi party. This marked the eventual demise of eugenics as a popular or even socially acceptable movement.

However, because the goals of eugenics are for the betterment of the human race, individuals and organizations can still be found that support both forms of eugenic tactics. While we agree with the general goals of furthering human evolution, the devil, of course, is in the details.

An entertaining attempt to highlight the issue of eugenics is told in the 1997 science fiction film Gattaca, starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law and Uma Thurman. The story centers on Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), who was born naturally but has a younger brother who was genetically optimized. Vincent has poor eyesight and a heart defect, but wants to work on the space program at the eponymous agency. He joins forces with Jerome Eugene Morrow (Jude Law), who has perfect genes but was crippled when he attempted to commit suicide. Using contact lenses and copious amounts of Eugene's hair and blood while being careful not to lose a trace of his own genetic material, Vincent manages to pass himself off as a "Valid" and get a job at Gattaca, where he succeeds by hard work and determination despite his inferior genes.

However, a week before Vincent is scheduled to leave Earth on a mission to Saturn's moon Titan, the Mission Director is murdered in his office and one of Vincent's "In-Valid" eyelashes is found on the scene. He must now avoid being discovered despite intense police scrutiny and his progressing relationship with his love interest Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman).

It’s a though-provoking sci-fi classic, and absolutely worth a watch.

Ponder this

What are the links between genes and the physical body? Can we, for example, create a trunked rhinoceros using some "trunk" gene from an elephant and splicing it into a rhinoceros embryo?

Can genes determine non-physical traits such as intelligence, emotions, or behavior?

Discuss

What are the ethical questions that currently occupies genetic engineering? Can you foresee future socioeconomic impacts and issues that the genetic age might bring? All parents want the best for their children, why should (or shouldn't) we do this on the genetic level? Would the disadvantages be worth it if we can eradicate heritable diseases, vastly increase food production, bringing about next generation of humanity who are smarter, healthier...better, than we are?