DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid. The double helix. We have come to know this essential biological material as the unique identifier of every man, woman, and child. It has become the most damning of all possible evidence in criminal cases; yet equally powerful in freeing those wrongly convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
Although I’d argue that science has not unequivocally proven that no two persons can possess the same genetic code, there is no doubt that DNA defines the characteristics of not only people, but all plants and animals. Every physical feature—the color of your eyes and hair, your height, the tone of your voice, how strong you are, even the freckle on your left shoulder—is defined by the sequence of only four nucleobases in your DNA.
Over the past six decades, beginning with the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953 (based on pioneering X-ray images taken by Rosalind Franklin a year earlier), genetic research has produced phenomenal results, ultimately yielding a map of the human genome.
As breakthroughs laid the foundation for further and more rapid achievements, we now understand that our DNA not only dictates our physical characteristics but also plays a pivotal role in mankind’s susceptibility to disease. A prime example is the so-called ‘delta-factor’. There is compelling evidence that this genetic mutation, traced back to survivors of the Black Plague, lends extraordinary resistance to HIV infection.
Of course, DNA is also the key ingredient of cloning—the insertion of foreign DNA from a host into a recipient. The cells of the recipient accept and incorporate the foreign DNA, and gradually the recipient becomes biologically defined by this new genetic material. Although the ethics of cloning will be debated for generations, the scientific capability to clone plant and animal species has been firmly established.
Will genetic engineering ever be applied to humans? Never say never.
For example, cancer cells are very much like normal cells, except that cancer cells don’t know when to stop replicating. That part of their genetic code that would normally stop cell division does not function properly. The result is massive tumors and the disease, as we know it. Conventional treatment attempts to target the cancerous cells and selectively destroy them. Of course, the problem is that cancer cells and normal cells are very much alike—so killing cancer cells without killing the normal cells is a delicate task.
Enter genetic modification. Imagine being able to insert new DNA into cancer cells. The new DNA would have the correct base sequence—literally, the genetic code—that causes runaway cell replication to cease.
No more cancer.
Impossible? Outrageous? We’ve mapped the human genome. We know that many diseases such as sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, and breast and colon cancer—I could go on—are caused by mutations to normal human DNA. Now apply cloning—insertion of correct DNA into the cancerous tumor—and it is easy to imagine where this is going.
But science has no morals. That is why people must exercise their conscience. Science is knowledge. And knowledge can be used for good or bad. It is our choice.
This is the moral of Relentless Savage. I hope you find hours of enjoyment on these pages…
DE