January 25, 2010

Report 9. - Genetic Salvation

- Today's fiction is future's science.

Mankind reached a major milestone in its evolutionary history. We go through radical changes. That is to say, these changes affects all our cells and through that the human genome. This transformation is called the Genetic (or Chemical) Salvation. Why salvation? Read the previous entry.

Why chemical/genetic? Let Panavak talk for it:

"The Genetic Salvation is the expression of one or more hitherto inactive gene, making new proteins appear in the human body. Our DNA is present in all human cells, therefore this tiny change may have a huge impact on us. Only such transformation can change man's relationship to the environment. This is what we call Chemical Salvation. The gene in question is called the Key to Golden Age. (For sceptics, I recommend to read about the gene called Sleeping Beauty. - sic.)

Questions to answer: What is activated / activating these genes? What are these genes? How do they get in the human genome? Was it always there as a dormant gene?

The answer is a modest "perhaps."

For a long time, 95% of human genome was thought to be of no use. Experts (?) coined the word junk DNA. But since the early 2000s, more and more scientist break this assumption. We now know that this is a misunderstood remark, which show nothing, but the limited competence of certain researchers.

During our study, we approach DNA as if it was a computer system, which consists of an executable program and a database. The 3 billion base pairs make up a quaternary coded program and database together. The program governs the embryonic development; the creation of man from the meeting of an egg and a sperm cell (by division and differentiation) to a fully developed human body. In other words, this is an streamlined and accelerated evolution in the womb. The program does not stop at birth, it continues through puberty, the changing age, right until death. The variables of this program are stored in the database. (A good example for a database-like structure may be the collection of antimicrobial peptides recipes of our immunsystem.) The database and program have been changing continuously throughout our history/evolution (Evolution's footprints.). I admit that this is so far - due to the simplification - is more fiction than science, but as a researcher I would rather work on this than on cloning sheep. I believe that we can read our past from our DNA. (It is no coincidence that the largest DNA belongs to an amoeba! One of the first form of life. Genome sizes.)

The Genetic Salvation, we suppose, concerns the program part. Key to the Golden Age gene(s) will wake, and the evolutionary program gets an update. This can be done either by a dormant DNA's activation, or it may come from outside as a packet.

As much as we know now, either ways can be valid. We are right to assume that this gene was always present, and waiting for activation, since the Golden Age - according to our myths - existed in the past. (The first attempt at non-active gene expression was in 2008, it had surprising results.).

But in case this gene was not present in the human DNA, there are ways it can get in there. Science knows such transformation in the genome. They are caused by transposons. Do not think of complicated things. Such DNA package can be a retrovirus, which is DNA / RNA wrapped in proteins. (See an artist's impression on right.) Virus can affect the human body in a negative way, so there is nothing to preclude that there are viruses, which are beneficial to us. Some bacteria are known to be our friends.

Such saviour DNA packages can come from a insect bite or by inhalation of a flower's pollen. (Surely it won't come from one of our laboratory.) Thank you for your attention."


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