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SCIENCE FRICTION: HYBRID EMBRYOS STIR CONTROVERSY -
Rapid advances in the field of biology have prompted lawmakers to consider creating guidelines to regulate experiments involving animal-human hybrids. As politicians debate the ethical and moral issues, scientists continue to explore uncharted territory, with each step forward prompting the question: how far is too far?
Animal-human hybrids were once purely the stuff of science fiction, however fiction has become reality. Scientists have created sheep that possess human hearts and livers, pigs that have been born with human blood, and a variety of other creatures whose genetic makeup has been tampered with. Biologists call these hybrid animals chimeras. They are named after a mythical Greek creature that was said to possess a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.
In recent years cross-species experimentation has become more widespread. Scientists at Newcastle University recently created Britain’s first ever human-animal hybrid embryos. Researchers inserted human DNA from a skin cell into cow eggs from which the genetic information had been removed. The human-cow hybrid embryos will be used for stem cell research.
The Yuck Factor
The frightening reality is that there are not currently any federal guidelines to regulate chimeric experiments. Researchers have been left alone to regulate themselves, but there seems to be no consensus within the scientific community over what is and is not considered ethical.
Moral objections to chimeric research are often dismissed by proponents as simply knee-jerk reactions based on instinctual, rather than logical, thinking. These misgivings are sometime referred to by scientists as the “yuck factor.” Unfortunately, many researchers describe the “yuck factor” as though it were an obstacle to scientific discovery, instead of evidence of a troubled conscience.
Exploring these new frontiers of science and medicine without the guidance of a strong moral compass will lead us into an ethical quagmire with dangerous repercussions. Without some kind of clear guidelines, we risk adopting a form of logic that would leave us tempted, not only to ponder, but also to do the unthinkable.
We are embarking upon an enterprise unlike anything undertaken before. The avalanche of advances in the current biotech revolution is both exciting and frightening. The promise of new remedies and cures in many diverse fields of medicine has given new hope to those who suffer from diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s. Meanwhile science continues to outrun lawmakers. The biotech revolution has produced a host of ethical questions that have yet to be answered. These questions strike at the very heart of what it means to be human. To learn more about this topic, click on the links below.
Related Links:
• First British Human-Animal Hybrid Embryos Created - Guardian
• Bill to Ban Human-Animal Hybrids Introduced in Congress - Life Site
• Genetically Modified Human Embryo Stirs Criticism - AP
• Strategic Trends: Biotech - Koinonia House
• BioTech: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice? - MP3 Download
- From: Koinonia House News Letter
For a deeper discussion of the possibilities, see our briefing pack, Behold A Pale Horse , which includes a discussion of contemporary bacterial and other forms of warfare, and their Biblical implications.
by Chuck Missler
There have been some fascinating developments in the fight against disease that also portend some astonishing prophetic perspectives.
Researchers have discovered in recent years that some infectious and potentially lethal bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and Vibrio cholerae (the bug that causes cholera) exchange messages with one another in order to be dangerous. They are harmless if they can’t communicate.
These organisms have developed what researchers call a “bacterial language” - a set of chemical signals that enables them to take a head count, rather like a sergeant calling a platoon’s roll. The bacteria don’t attack until they sense that their numbers are sufficient.
The messages are hormonelike molecules that certain microbes can send and receive-saying, in effect, “I’m here,” and responding, “So am I.”
In a recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Bonnie Bassler, a molecular biologist at Princeton University, in Princeton, NJ, said E. coli and salmonella bacteria wait until their numbers reach a critical mass before they start to release the poisonous toxins that have sickened or killed people who ate contaminated food.
Scientists call this bacterial communication system “quorum sensing.” That’s because it works a bit like a quorum in human society, where it takes a certain minimum number of people to qualify as a meeting in certain kinds of proceedings.
“Quorum sensing enables bacteria to coordinate their behavior, to act like multicellular organisms and to acquire the benefits of cooperative activity,” Bassler said. “If bacteria started producing toxins as soon as the infection began, it would be like waving a flag to alert the host’s immune system.”
Bassler continued, “If the bacteria are in small numbers, they don’t stand a chance, but if they wait until they reach high cell densities, then they have a much better chance of establishing an infection.”
The phenomenon of signaling molecules was discovered in the 1970s in two sea-dwelling bacteria, Vibrio fischeri and Vibrio harveyi, which emit a blue glow when their population reaches a certain density.
Since then, more than 30 species of bacteria have been found to exchange messages this way. Some talk only to their own kind; others communicate with alien species.
The Battle Against Disease
Battles in the information age involve controlling the enemies’ communication systems, as well as gaining adequate assessments of relative strengths.
What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. -Luke 14:31, 32
“Some bacteria both speak and understand a common chemical language,” said Jeffrey Stein, chief scientist at Quorex Pharmaceuticals, an experimental drug company in Carlsbad, Calif. Stein likened it to a system of “wireless communication.”
Researchers figure they may be able to prevent or cure disease if they can jam the bacterial communication network - say, by blocking the apparatus that receives messages, known as a “receptor” - on the surface of the microbes.
New weapons and tactics to counter infectious microorganisms are becoming crucial, since these little creatures keep developing resistance to existing drugs.
For example, one such microbe, Staphylococcus aureus, resists all but one potent antibiotic, vancomycin, and even that line of defense is crumbling.
“There is a lot of interest in new drugs that turn off that (Staphylococcus) system,” said Stein, whose company is working to develop and patent such remedies.
“We’re developing compounds that interfere with molecular signaling [by] turning off receptors. This is a new concept, a fundamentally new class of antimicrobial tools.”1
This progress in the fight against disease is both encouraging and yet at the same time is also disturbing as we attempt to gain a broader perspective on our prophetic horizon.
The Latest Pandora’s Box?
There is a dark side to the emergent technologies that are ushering in the 21st century. These technologies include genetics, nano-technology, and robotics.
The field of genetics has been making grand strides as DNA is becoming better understood, and the human genome is beginning to yield to several mapping efforts.
Nanotechnology is the science of building tiny devices out of individual atoms or molecules; it was first theorized by Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman in 1959.
Here, too, technologists are beginning to make some impressive progress.
The field of robotics is also the beneficiary of strides in making sentient, programmable devices that can, in some contexts, outperform humans.
By combining robotics with the advances in nanotechnology, one of the goals is to develop molecule-sized machines that are injectable, programmable, and can navigate the human bloodstream.
As these advances combine further with developments in genetics, some are predicting the development of self-replicating machines that can lead to new, unexpected diseases.
It is expected that they may have the ability to be custom-built to attack genetically distinct groups of people, or even specific individuals!
The potential military and social engineering implications are extremely disturbing. As these three areas of pursuit begin to converge, we can begin to see some terrifying possibilities that may prove far more dangerous than the weapons of mass destruction that cast their shadow over the 20th century.
The intense pursuit of these technologies, accelerated by unbridled corporate competition, is proceeding at an alarming pace.
The potential for accidents or abuse is of increasing concern to those who are concerned with the stewardship of our future and that of our grandchildren.
And the bizarre prospects being ushered in by these new technologies may also suggest some radically different perspectives for our Biblical eschatalogical conjectures.
The Prophetic Implications
Among the famed “four horsemen” of the Apocalypse, we find the pale [chloros, green] horse:
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. -Revelation 6:8
We usually infer that the “beasts of the earth” are of the four-footed kind; we rarely include in our perspective the possibility that they might be microbial.2
Among the end-time prophecies are a number of passages which warn of some really strange maladies:
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. -Revelation 9:3-6
There are many passages that may take on a different complexion when viewed from the vantage point of the current technological revolution in genetics, nano-technologies, and robotics.
The potential Bibilical implications are so provocative that they will be the subject of further articles in the forthcoming issues of our news journal.
Much of this article was excerpted from “Scientists Attack Germ Enigma,” Robert S. Boyd, Knight Ridder, q.v., Spokane Spokesman-Review , Sept. 19, 2000.
Who does not remember the old castle, Mickey clad in the sorcerer’s robe and hat, the psychedelic armies of brooms, and the relentless march of the Dukas symphony? Only when the castle was flooded did the sorcerer wake up and dry it with a spell. Mickey got off lightly with a swat of the broom. We may not be so fortunate.
Science often appears as a close cousin of sorcery. Science brings to life the tales of old: flying through the air at the speed of sound; communicating with images at the speed of light; traveling even to the moon; and, even the power of healing.
The explosive advances in science and technology have already gone far beyond what even science fiction writers once thought possible. Biotechnologists may well prove to be the ”Sorcerer’s Apprentices” of the 21st century. And these advances raise challenging issues of ethics, morals, and even our theological perspectives.
Genetic Engineering
Of all the many scientific discoveries, the field which clearly has become the most controversial is the study of genetics. Farmers have been genetically manipulating plants long before they knew about genes. Selective breeding, however, can enhance or suppress only those traits already present in a population. Modern genetic engineering (including such techniques as gene deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes) has freed the process of genetic modification from limitations imposed by the existing characteristics of a species, creating something that could not exist in nature.
Commercial applications of this technology thus far have concentrated on bioengineering pest resistance and herbicide tolerance into widely planted crops like corn, soy, cotton, and potatoes. Growers adopting these ”first generation” genetically modified crops have been able to increase yields while significantly reducing costly inputs like chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
The StarLink Debacle
StarLink corn was a corn hybrid genetically modified to make it more profitable to grow. It contained two added genes - one for herbicide tolerance and one for insect resistance. The herbicide tolerance gene was the product of an earlier approval process. It was the addition of a gene derived from the bacterial species Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), coding for an insecticidal protein called Cry9C, that triggered the StarLink crisis. This controversial Cry9C variety, 50 to 100 times more potent than other Bt-spliced insecticides, caused critics to warn of dangerous food allergies in humans, with symptoms ranging from fever, rashes, and diarrhea to anaphylactic shock and sudden death. The FDA approved it only for animal feed.
On September 18, 2000, a coalition of consumer and environmental groups detected DNA fragments from StarLink corn in Taco Bell taco shells sold in grocery stores. Days later, Kraft Foods recalled all Taco Bell taco shells. Kraft’s action started a frenzy of recalls as other manufacturers discovered StarLink corn in their products, too.
By November 2000, the FDA recalled nearly three hundred types of adulterated snack chips, corn flour, and other corn foods. The cost of these recalls ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Complaints began pouring into the FDA and the CDC about allergic reactions to corn products attributable to StarLink contamination. Overnight, StarLink became a ”Frankenfood” poster child - the incarnation of critics’ worst nightmares. International corn exports plummeted. The ensuing crisis paralyzed an entire sector of American agriculture and food production and badly shook consumer confidence. Even two years later, StarLink corn was still popping up in corn shipments.
Implications
It is certainly a ”brave new world” in which science will obviously continue to outrun the lawmakers. The last time man pursued knowledge to such an extent, God intervened and scattered the people and confounded their languages. As the Bible says in Genesis 11:6, ”…now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” How long will it be before His patience is once again exhausted?
BioTech: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice - Audio CD - Chuck MisslerUpdated April 2006! Chuck Missler surveys some of the most promising prospects and reviews the types of ventures emerging. He also reveals some of the concerns emerging among the informed, and includes some of the provocative Biblical implications.
Behold A Pale Horse - MP3 Download - Chuck MisslerNot all beasts are large enough to see with the naked eye. Find out about emergent diseases and biochemical warfare.
Drug-resistant strains of diseases once thought to be eradicated, such as Tuberculosis and Legionnaires Disease are threatening our modern society. AIDS is no longer our worst problem. Are these outbreaks possibly precursors to the plague Judgements of Revelation?
The search to decipher DNA and the development of drugs which could address the causes of diseases such as cancer, rheuma toid arthritis, and heart disease is accelerating.
Designer Genes
Each of the human body’s 75 trillion cells, except for the red blood cells, has a full complement of chromosomes in its nucleus. Each nucleus has 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs. In each chromosome is a wadded-up strand of DNA, which includes hundreds of millions of base pairs. Stretched out straight, it would measure anywhere from three to nine feet long and about 20 atoms across.
The DNA code is universal, whether it be human, rat, bat, mouse, worm, fruit fly, or microbe. (All codes of life came from the same “software house.”)
The Human Genome Project, a $3 billion international effort to map the entire genome, was launched in 1990 and involves 350 labs. It isn’t expected to complete its task until 2005. One of the leading organizations, Human Genome Sciences, has 135 scientists using the most advanced computer, laser, and scientific technologies deciphering and decoding the molecular sequences making up the human genome.
Human Genome Sciences, along with its associated research foundation, the Institute of Genomic Research, is expected to have isolated and deciphered most of the important human genes within two years. (It is a public company with the backing of drug giant SmithKline Beecham.)
Designer Animals
Lambs are now being born on a farm in Scotland which have had their genetic construction so altered that they will produce a drug called Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) in their milk. Clinical tests of this drug will begin in late 1995 on humans suffering from lung disorders.
Genzyme Transgenics hopes that its anti-thrombosis drug, anti- thrombin-III (AT-III), produced in the milk of genetically engineered goats, will be ready for clinical trials in early 1995.
GenPharm International (Mountain View, California) has just produced the first progeny from a Dutch biotech bull in the hopes of producing drug-manufacturing cows with a milk yield ten times that of goats or sheep.
In Britain, researchers at the government-backed Roslin Institute are reporting progress in breeding genetically engineered chickens which will be capable of producing drugs and vaccines in their eggs.
Giant Business Opportunities
The potential economic stake is enormous. Genzyme Transgenics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) anticipates that the market for milk- produced drugs alone will be worth over $1 billion per year within the next decade. New start-up companies as well as the big drug “giants” are rushing to build in-house gene-hunting capabilities.
Organ Factories
There are also organs being produced for eventual transplant into humans. Researchers at the British company Imutran estimate that hearts and other organs produced from genetically altered pigs could be transplanted into humans within three years. The first litter of suitably adapted pigs was born last month (June 1994). Estimates suggest that more than 100,000 patients a year could receive such pig organs.
Are Concerns Justified?
The proponents of genetic engineering claim that they have learned from the development of nuclear power, and environmental legislation is now being introduced to control potential damage. However, no laboratory security, no matter how effective, can deal with unforeseen post-release effects.
Controls designed to protect high-security farming of genetically manipulated farm animals can’t deal with the damage that would follow the release of genetically manipulated plants, fish, or animals. The areas of risk include: the escape of an introduced gene by crossing it with wild relatives; unexpected alterations of normal characteristics in different environments; and, unexpected advantages conferred by genetic manipulation which could lead to the establishment and persistence of an organism.
There are already many examples where the introduction of exotic species to a new environment has caused the displacement of indigenous fauna and flora without the added ingredient of genetic manipulation. Rabbits in Australia, zebra mussels in North America, and rhododendron in parts of north Wales are but a few examples.
There are some scientists and doctors who believe that the AIDS virus was the result of a government genetic experiment that went out of control. They point to some combinative aspects of the HIV virus which suggest that it was engineered in a laboratory. (See the Strecker Memorandum reference at the end of this article.)
Supporters of genetic engineering say that it is no different in concept from traditional breeding methods. This is misleading, since no traditional breeding method could result in the introduction of a human or pig growth hormone, for instance, into fish; or of insect genes into plants.
The instinctive shudder that passes down one’s spine is not limited to uninformed laymen; some scientists share these same misgivings. There is little doubt that these efforts could lead to adverse, possibly catastrophic, consequences.
“These are the risks of disturbing the integrity of nature.” As the experimentation continues and expands, and as increasing investments are made in this dynamic new field, the risks multiply. As the new “Sorcerer’s Apprentices” continue to tamper with the “engines of Creation,” no one can predict the results. There could be big trouble ahead.
It seems ironic that the vigorous and talented pursuit of solutions to relieve human suffering and misery might also be leading to some major, perhaps global, tragedies for mankind.
Apocalyptic Implications?
Revelation Chapter 9 is just one Biblical example which presents some pretty weird creatures of the future, described as “locusts.” However, they can’t be normal locusts since they have a king (and Proverbs 30:27 reveals that natural locusts have no king). Most commentators view them as a demonichorde. Could they be genetic mutants, brought on to fulfill an apocalyptic destiny? Rather wild. Who knows?
In this rapidly changing world, as we see the deterioration of morality, the increasing corruption at the highest levels of government, and the increasing risks in the unbridled application of only partially understood technologies, isn’t it reassuring that God is in control of your life? Or is He? Have you put Him in control, or are you “winging it” yourself?
If you are gambling your eternity that the Bible is wrong, you’ve got more guts than I have. Think about it.
Bylinsky, Gene, “Genetics: the money rush is on,” Fortune Magazine, May 30, 1994.
Various Briefs, Intelligence International Ltd., 17 Rodney Road, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 1HX, UK.
The Strecker Memorandum (video), c/o Dr. Strecker, 1501 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041; (213) 254-7127.
**ADDITIONAL RELATED RESOURCES**
Genesis - MP3 Commentary - Chuck MisslerRecent breakthroughs in the fields of physics, technology and biology led Chuck Missler to update and re-record this wonderful study in Genesis.
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