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June 16, 2008

Notes from Ferdy - The Uncontrolled Genetic Engineering that Nobody's Talking About

We all know the very real dangers of genetic engineering. Forward-thinking environmental groups such as Greenpeace have long warned against it, yet some of the most dangerous and uncontrolled genetic experimentation in the history of the planet is taking place right under your very nose, and absolutely nobody is talking about it.

I'm going to give you a new word that describes a frightening concept. If you're at all faint of heart, stop right now and go to a different blog, because once I've explained this word to you, you'll never be able to forget it.

The word is prophaging.

Prophaging is the process of removing genetic material from a bacterium and grafting it into the DNA of another bacterium. Like the genetic engineering of food crops, prophaging has the following associated risks. [Hat tip to the Organic Consumers Association for pointing these out.]

• Imprecise Technology A prophager moves genes from one organism to another. The gene cut from the donor organism is entirely random. In some cases, the entire donor cell is cannibalized, and random hunks of its DNA inserted into randomly-selected hosts. As a consequence, there is a risk that it may disrupt the functioning of other genes essential to the life of the host organism.
• No Long-Term Safety Testing Prophaging uses material from organisms that have never been part of the human food supply to change the fundamental nature of cells that permeate the food we eat. Without long-term testing no one knows if this is safe.
• Toxins Prophaging can cause unexpected mutations in a bacteria which might turn it into a deadly disease. Many scientists believe that the antibiotic-resistant MRSA Staph may have been created by prophaging.
• Problems Cannot Be Traced Prophaging is completely uncontrolled. Harmful mutations from prophaged bacteria could cause terrible damage to food crops, unknown allergic reactions, or even new plagues, and health agencies are powerless to trace such problems back to their source.

The potential for tragedy is staggering.

How does prophaging work? Tiny viruses called bacteriophages invade donor cells and steal their DNA. The stolen DNA is then transmitted to host cells where it is inserted into the host's chromosomes.

Scientists first learned about bacteriophages in the late 1890s. Before they understood the virus's applications to genetic engineering, bacteriophages were used as a medical alternative to antibiotics. Prophage-engineered genes can now be found in soil samples, ocean water, and even in the human intestine. Some scientists even believe that bacteriophages were produced by an unknown intelligent agency 6000 years ago. If so, then by now they completely permeate Earth's fragile biosphere.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "Gosh, Ferdy, what can I do about this uncontrolled and potentially devastating genetic engineering experiment taking place all over the world." I'm glad you asked that question. Here are my proposals.

• Write to the candidates. Both Barack Obama and John McCain claim to be interested in the environment. If that's really the case, why aren't they talking about prophaging?
• Talk to environmental groups. People who worry about gene-splicing in the laboratory need to know about the uncontrolled gene-splicing happening every single second of every single day.
• More money for Bruce's project. The NMPDR genome annotation process has already identified over 4600 bacterial genes produced by prophaging. If Bruce's contract is renewed, they'll be able to find even more.
• More cheese for me. Mozzarella cheese contains cultured milk products. The culturing process involves bacteria that may contain genes affected by prophaging. As a public safety measure, buy all the mozzarella cheese you can find and ship it to me here in Schaumburg so I can analyze it.

Remember, this is serious business: if God had intended the Earth to be a place of constant change where countless species are created and destroyed every single day, he wouldn't have invented the Endangered Species Act.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat

# At Mon 2:18 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (4) | More Notes from Ferdy | Tags: antibiotics bacteria Barack Obama conservative environmentalism evolution genetic engineering Greenpeace humor John McCain medicine metagenomes microbiology mozzarella cheese NMPDR Organic Consumers Association paranoia philosophy prophage satire science staphylococcus aureus

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Comments

Posted by: Michael at June 17, 2008 3:50 PM

Posted by: Ferdy at June 18, 2008 2:43 PM

Posted by: Anonymous at October 24, 2008 3:39 AM

Posted by: Ferdy at October 24, 2008 11:48 AM