The nascent field of epigenetics is making scientists and pharmaceutical houses drool all over the world. Recent discoveries that DNA is much more than a blueprint for protein building have opened the door to a brand new ATGC playground. Many of the regions formerly considered mere ‘junk’ DNA appear to regulate gene expression through keyed methylation (turning genes on or off). RNA is much more than just a messenger within the cell; microRNA–little bits of RNA–is derived from ‘junk DNA’. MicroRNA acts as molecular police within the cell, protecting our DNA from retroviral insertion and ‘jumping genes’. Even the number of repeats within the ‘junk’ seem to have a purpose beyond that of DNA mapping for CSI episodes. SINES and LINES (Short Interspered Elements and Long Interspersed Elements, respectively) may be crucial to organizational aspects of chromatin and may also help protect the cell from disease.
The big problem with this incredibly interesting new field is that it IS brand new. For nearly a hundred years, geneticists assumed a simple math of one gene equals one protein, but our God-created structure is far more fearfully and wonderfully made! Any tinkering with God’s design risks opening up a mortal, intracellular wound that might never be healed until Christ returns.
As Christians, we’ve been taught to ask God’s blessing before eating our meals. Now, we might need to add a prayer seeking His protection from unwanted cellular disruption from potentially lethal inclusions, courtesy of the bio-pharmers of the world.
- Read all about the latest genetic money game here: Monsanto enters pharmaceutical business, acquires key gene silencing technology for use in humans.
Hello Sharon, I hope you’re feeling better. I find all your articles interesting; but I wondered if you are aware the Masanto Corporation was also involved in the production of Agent Orange back in the 1960s. I had looked up an article and noted the Masanto corporation along with Dow Chemical. I have been interested in the effects of Agent Orange on people as my father had developed lung cancer due to exposure in the Vietnam War. Please keep writing your articles and God Bless you. Debbie Hall.
Hi Deborah! Yes, I did know that Monsanto produced Agent Orange for the US military during the Vietnam ‘era’. They even owned the rights to NutraSweet for a while, though they sold it to Childs and Co. in 2000. Their GMO seeds force farmers into an endless cycle of slavery to their Monsanto Masters.
Sorry about your father. Many of our brave men and women came home with physical and psychological scars from that awful war. Is your father still battling cancer? Has the military health system helped or hurt? Thanks for the note, Deb. May the Lord bless you!