Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Ning said: Humans who have mastered the gene technology are playing "God."
Why are ants born to decide whether they are queen or worker ants? How modern genetic technology has been developed? In the future, people can rely on genetic technology to solve what problems? Last Saturday, Prof. Yang Huanming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, gave a lecture on genetics at the medical school of Southeast University. The academician who has led the task of genetic testing for the "Human Genome Project - Chinese Volume" explained the relevant aspects of the gene in a simple and profound manner. know how.
"Gene" reads life
"Animal instinct" implies genetic code
"Why does some ants have been born to be queens, and 'praying for superiority' is only responsible for giving birth? Some ants are worker ants. They work every day. Some ants are born soldiers and they have to sacrifice their lives to fight crickets." Yang Huanming The academician said that in the past, these explanations were all animal instincts and were natural choices. However, the instinct of animals came from where it might be explained by genes in the future. The Huada Gene Research Institute led by Yang Huanming has also measured the genes of two ant species with different population levels and found that there are indeed differences between the two.
Yang Huanming said that the known Asians and Europeans have sequence differences of 0.7%-2% in their gene sequences, and therefore there are a series of different phenomena in the degree of susceptibility of certain viruses. Even if it is a yellow species, there are differences in the genes of Han and Tibetans. According to scientists' determination, the frequency of expression of a certain gene is only 5% in the Han nationality but more than 95% in the Tibetan population. This gene can explain why Tibetans are more adaptable to hypoxia and more adaptable to living on the plateau. .
Look at genetic maps to predict children's personality
"In the future, everyone may have their own genetic map and the price is relatively low." Yang Huanming said that a new gene therapy based on genetic technology is likely to be achieved. When a child is born, simply looking at the genetic map can predict what stages the child may be born with. Even the child's future personality can be predicted. Once you have your own genetic map, you can "get" the problematic gene like a dictionary, and then use the most direct method to restore the gene to normal. When you are sick, you can also according to each person's "genetic characteristics." "Select the drugs that are most effective for patients and have minimal side effects. In the future, the "Gene Map" can even be used as a "reference book" for life. By adjusting the lifestyle, we can make our lives and genes more harmonious.
Mankind plays "God" four steps
Genetic technology has allowed foreign media to issue comments that “God is dead.†Humans who have mastered genetic technology are more likely to “godâ€. In Yang Huanming's lecture, the process has four steps.
The first step: transform existing species
Representative Technology: Transgenic
Humans have a long history of transforming species, but the emergence of transgenic technology is a revolutionary change. Now that genetic modification is not an unpopular vocabulary, the more realistic situation is that it has penetrated into all aspects of our lives.
Transgenic technology refers to the process of extracting a desired gene from a certain organism, transferring it to another organism, and recombining it with another organism's genes to produce a specific substance with a genetic trait of variation. “Every well-known rice, for example, has weaknesses in every type of rice, and new varieties produced through crossbreeding will still have weaknesses. However, using genetically modified methods, it can transform rice to produce high-yield, high-quality, antiviral, and antibiotic resistance. New crop varieties such as insects, herbicides, etc. This method is difficult to obtain by traditional methods such as hybridization,†Yang Huanming said.
The second step: life replication
Representative Technology: Cloning
In 1996, a sheep named Dolly caught the attention of the world. This sheep, which was only cloned from the mammary cells, changed the situation in the past that could only be "replicated" by the embryonic cells. It was named the first of the world's top ten scientific and technological advancements by the "Science" magazine of the United States. Since then, cloning technology has become the most cutting-edge and hottest area in the scientific community.
Cloning technology can be used for organ transplantation for the benefit of humans; it can also improve species and bring benefits to the livestock industry. “Now, almost all mammals can be cloned, not just mammary cells, skin epidermal cells can be. A dissection microscope, a slicing knife, a technician can do two to three hundred new clones each day Cells," Yang Huanming said.
Of the mammals that Academician Yang Huanming said, of course, include humans. Since the so-called cloned people generally violate the principles of bioethics, the mainstream opinions of scientists are firmly opposed.
Step 3: Make Organs
Representative Technology: Artificially Inducing Stem Cells
Stem cells are a type of undifferentiated cells with unlimited ability to divide. It has a developmental pluripotency that can differentiate all tissues and organs of an adult animal. The use of stem cells is very extensive and involves many fields of medicine. For example, using stem cells as seeds can produce human tissues and organs.
"The use of organ transplants as an example, the lack of donors is a worldwide problem, but artificial induction of stem cells may change this situation." Yang Huanming said that by artificially inducing stem cells to form skin and other simple tissues and bladder simple Organs have been technically implemented.
Step 4: Create Life
Representative Technology: Synthetic Biology
On May 20 last year, a group of scientists from the Craig Venter Institute, a private research institute in the United States, announced in the United States "Science" magazine that the world's first artificial life was born. This artificial cell, named "Cynthia," is completely artificially designed, chemically synthesized, and can grow normally. It is the first human-made self-replicating new species on Earth.
Yang Huanming said that starting from this small cell, humans played the role of “God.†This small cell is a big step in synthetic biology, marking that humans have gone from reading sequences to creating sequences, from interpreting the genome to rewriting the genome. Completed the qualitative transformation. The essence of life has become a sequence of data, and "aunts and mothers" have become computers, and life can be designed.
Gene Technology: Angel or Devil?
With the development of gene technology today, amazing progress has been made. Gene technology is changing our lives. Will the full description of "Sore and Comedy" in science fiction and movies be realised?
Hi organ transplantation will no longer be difficult
In the current organ transplantation, the problem of lack of donors has not been resolved. However, Professor Yang Huanming pointed out that there are already many technologies available for providing organs for human transplantation. “For example, transgenic technology can make pig's internal organs transplanted into the human body without being rejected by the body's immune system. By artificially inducing differentiation of stem cells, it is possible to produce a large number of 'output' organs in the future.†Academician Yang Huanming introduced, abroad Even such experiments have been successfully completed. Through gene technology, rats are given two hearts, one of them is removed, and the combination of transgenic and cloning techniques allows the rats to grow up to the heart of a person who is a fake replacement. At present, these "production organs" gene technology is still a long way from application, but it can be imagined that, once realized, the donor organs will no longer be in short supply, and people may even choose their own organs as if they are visiting supermarkets.
Whether Genes Will Become "Divine Scourges"
At the same time as the development of genetic technology, people are also “doubtedly doubtful†about gene technology. Will GM foods hide new toxins? Will cloning technology be abused to humans? ... "From the perspective of human history, every scientific advance has brought convenience to doing bad things, but we cannot therefore refuse to make progress." Yang Huanming said that genetic technology will indeed bring about a series of problems in the genes. In the study of technology, "humanity" is always required to be respected. Genetic technology needs ethical tactics to "trace and escort" and "protect escort." Cheng Shouqin Yang Yan