gene splicing

[blainedeyoung]

I consider this an open letter to Eric Wujcik on the occasion of reading the opening words of the 2000 edition of After the Bomb. Let me begin by saying that I'm a long-time fan. I bought the original After the Bomb when I was in junior high. In the intervening years, I went and got myself a Master's in Bioinformatics. This hardly qualifies me as an expert in genetics, but it does give me enough of a background to comment on how deeply misguided most of the things that people say about genetics are. And, sadly, that is my motivation in writing to you.

You're writing science fiction books with themes deeply involved with genetics. You began the book with a discussion of a real scientific case. A reasonable person might get the impression that you know what you're talking about. It seems to me that gives you an obligation to be careful about what you say. You wouldn't want to help further the spread of harmful misinformation, would you? It contaminates populations like super viruses.

Your language suggests that you object to scientists and politicians allowing the release of a genetically engineered virus into the environment, and that's what I take issue with. You're talking about something with real world consequences. You think doing this was "stupid." You believe "we should be talking about" this. I couldn't agree more. The problem is that discussion should be grounded in a clear understanding of the science, and this passage appears in a piece of writing where you describe a world full of anthropomorphized animals as "plausible" and wonder how we "stumbled" on the technology to take a gene from one species and insert it into another species's genome. (Incidentally, there are 25,000 genes in the human genome. That 350,000 number you heard was the number of unique mRNAs.)

The essential concepts for you to understand about taking one species's genes and inserting them into another species are: restriction endonucleases, the polymerase chain reaction, and you might want to know about heat shocking cell membranes. It's not magic. Exposure to neither gamma rays nor radioactive spiders is necessary. No demonic agencies were contracted with and no animals sacrificed. It did not make them "super viruses," and that is why releasing them was not "stupid."

The concern you express is the common concern I hear in all such cases: They might evolve to do something they weren't built to do. This idea is carried to its illogical conclusion in the movie "Mimic." A genetically engineered insect is released into New York City to kill cockroaches. In three years it evolves into a human-sized creature vaguely resembling an insect that hunts people in the subways. Well, what they released were genetically engineered super-insects, right?

Whatever! It's no more likely for genetically engineered organisms to evolve these preternatural traits than it is for any naturally occurring organism to do the same. Insects have been around for 300 million years. None of them have ever grown to human size. Why would anyone think this species would? Because they don't have any idea what's actually happening, and all kinds of entertainment (and some politicians and dare I mention churches) have been filling their heads with ideas about genetics and evolution that bear no resemblance to reality for decades.

You're concerned about viruses with scorpion genes? You better stay away from the equator then. Anywhere you find scorpions, you're going to find viruses with scorpion genes. You're also going to find that the people around there have scorpion genes. It's called "lateral gene transfer." It's done by retroviruses, and we're only beginning to understand what a large role it played in evolution long before people "stumbled" on the ability to do it.

There are lots of valid concerns about genetically-engineered organisms, and the best people to address those concerns are the scientists who made them. The discussion going on public is a nightmare about giant bats with heat vision. I don't object to exploring the nightmare scenarios. It gets people thinking about it. Furthermore, Palladium games generally seem to present an optimistic attitude about science and specifically genetics. Who wouldn't love to meet a teenage mutant ninja turtle? Robotech: science is awesome! You seem to be with the program already. Bio-technology is going to revolutionize the way that humans live in a way that nothing has since the invention of fire. Nature gave us trees and we are going to build ships, ships that fly to the stars. We're taking baby steps toward that and you can bet that there will be mishaps along the way, but let there be no mistake about it this technology is the future. Its potential is too great to ignore.

Please inform yourself. Explore the ideas. Get excited about it. Use your platform to spread the good news.

[kennethk]

A very well thought out and informative piece about genetics and bio-engineering. Thank you for that.

I must ask though, why are you taking Eric to task on something that was written over 17 years ago? It seems a bit late now.

[Jack Burton]

Erick passed away in 2008.

[kennethk]

I forgot he had passed away. Even more reason this is unneeded.

[Jack Burton]

I can't speak for Erick, but I can draw from my own personal experiences when it comes to how one's profession is portrayed in fiction or pop culture. It can be frustrating when you know the ins and outs of the subject matter and see it conveyed to the public with certain artistic liberties applied to it. I would try and keep that in mind when seeing something that is written for entertainment purposes or with the intent of creating a rich backstory, yet you know it is not accurate. I know nothing about genetics, but do realize that it should be taken with a grain of salt if it is a part of an RPG.

Again, not to represent Erick's intent, but the man was a great storyteller and boy, did he tell stories through his written works! My guess is that his TMNT writings were meant as a way to paint a picture for the 99.9% of readers who know nothing of genetics and provide flavor for the setting, not as a way to try and educate the public on what gene splicing really is about. That's a big reason why I really enjoy Palladium's books. Accurate or not, the settings are detailed and really do a great job of sucking you into the world of the game.

My advice is to maybe set TMNT aside and enjoy one (or more!) of the other Palladium genres of the Megaverse. Game on!

[The Beast]

Protip: If Erick answers, the zombie apocalypse has begun.