CRISPR-Cas9 & BECs
As a young boy, I remember sitting in front of this little box with funny-looking “rabbit ears” on a Saturday morning. At exactly 9:00 I would excitedly push the “ON” button and turn the dial to one of only three channels. Suddenly, there before my eyes (in black and white), appeared the Lone Ranger, riding his white stallion and shooting silver bullets at some presumed bad guy. My generation was on the cutting edge of a new and stimulating technology – television. Seventy years later I look back on that technology and yawn, after all, it’s ancient history.
Similarly, today’s youth are growing up in the age of CRISPR-Cas9 and BECs. Bet you didn’t know that titbit if trivia. And do you care? Before you click out of this blog, allow me to explain how these two discoveries will have a massive impact on civilization for centuries to come. Just imagine:
Wouldn’t it be a service to humanity if mosquitos could be modified to be incapable of spreading deadly diseases, or if pigs could grow real human (not pig) organs for transplant harvest, or if most forms of cancer could be eradicated for both you and your descendants, or if yeast could produce enough biofuels to eliminate the need for fossil fuels? Such technology is already available to us today by combining the two molecules, CRISPR + Cas9. CRISPR, short for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Pelindromic Reports”, is a specialized family of DNA sequences in bacteria. Cas9 is a molecule of protein enzyme produced from common yeast. In combination, these two molecules become “molecular scissors” suitable for a process called “gene editing”. Gene editing is the insertion, deletion, or replacement of DNA at a specific site of an organism or cell. It’s basically a cut-and-paste operation.
Let’s switch from molecular biology to quantum physics. All are familiar with the three states of matter: gas, liquid, and solid. Fewer know of a fourth state of matter, plasma, existing only in the super-hot cores of stars. But recently, scientists have discovered what was once only a theoretical ‘fifth’ state of matter - BEC, short for Bose-Einstein Condensate. Using state-of-the-art laser technology, researchers have been able to create hyper-cold temperatures in a lab, only billionths of a degree above “absolute zero”. At such a low temperature, normally active atomic particles come to a screeching halt, condensing into superfluid drops of amorphous atoms. BEC technology help scientists understand the origins of our universe, the nature of gravity, and the behavior of black holes. Amazingly, researchers have been able to slow down light photons from their normal speed of 186,000 miles per second, down to less than an inch per second, and then re-start it back to normal velocity. Such technology could someday make it possible for astronauts to travel through space at the speed of light!
Wait! Aren’t we trying to “play God”? In a way, yes. But in another way, aren’t we simply glorifying our Creator by expressing “made in God’s Image” that separates humanity from the rest of creation? With the mandate to “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish and the birds and every living creature” comes awesome responsibility. Such knowledge has potential for incredible good or unbelievable harm. That’s why emerging fields like bioethics become so important; we’ve got to get it right.
These days mankind is exploring the wonders of creation like never dreamed. Let me leave you with these thoughts: 1) our Creator is far more elegant with his creation than anyone could have imagined, 2) no matter how far we probe into the mind of God, we are barely scratching the surface of discovery, and 3) man’s ability to ‘discover’ is a testimony to being made in His Image; we truly do reflect our Creator.
As a young boy, I remember sitting in front of this little box with funny-looking “rabbit ears” on a Saturday morning. At exactly 9:00 I would excitedly push the “ON” button and turn the dial to one of only three channels. Suddenly, there before my eyes (in black and white), appeared the Lone Ranger, riding his white stallion and shooting silver bullets at some presumed bad guy. My generation was on the cutting edge of a new and stimulating technology – television. Seventy years later I look back on that technology and yawn, after all, it’s ancient history.
Similarly, today’s youth are growing up in the age of CRISPR-Cas9 and BECs. Bet you didn’t know that titbit if trivia. And do you care? Before you click out of this blog, allow me to explain how these two discoveries will have a massive impact on civilization for centuries to come. Just imagine:
Wouldn’t it be a service to humanity if mosquitos could be modified to be incapable of spreading deadly diseases, or if pigs could grow real human (not pig) organs for transplant harvest, or if most forms of cancer could be eradicated for both you and your descendants, or if yeast could produce enough biofuels to eliminate the need for fossil fuels? Such technology is already available to us today by combining the two molecules, CRISPR + Cas9. CRISPR, short for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Pelindromic Reports”, is a specialized family of DNA sequences in bacteria. Cas9 is a molecule of protein enzyme produced from common yeast. In combination, these two molecules become “molecular scissors” suitable for a process called “gene editing”. Gene editing is the insertion, deletion, or replacement of DNA at a specific site of an organism or cell. It’s basically a cut-and-paste operation.
Let’s switch from molecular biology to quantum physics. All are familiar with the three states of matter: gas, liquid, and solid. Fewer know of a fourth state of matter, plasma, existing only in the super-hot cores of stars. But recently, scientists have discovered what was once only a theoretical ‘fifth’ state of matter - BEC, short for Bose-Einstein Condensate. Using state-of-the-art laser technology, researchers have been able to create hyper-cold temperatures in a lab, only billionths of a degree above “absolute zero”. At such a low temperature, normally active atomic particles come to a screeching halt, condensing into superfluid drops of amorphous atoms. BEC technology help scientists understand the origins of our universe, the nature of gravity, and the behavior of black holes. Amazingly, researchers have been able to slow down light photons from their normal speed of 186,000 miles per second, down to less than an inch per second, and then re-start it back to normal velocity. Such technology could someday make it possible for astronauts to travel through space at the speed of light!
Wait! Aren’t we trying to “play God”? In a way, yes. But in another way, aren’t we simply glorifying our Creator by expressing “made in God’s Image” that separates humanity from the rest of creation? With the mandate to “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish and the birds and every living creature” comes awesome responsibility. Such knowledge has potential for incredible good or unbelievable harm. That’s why emerging fields like bioethics become so important; we’ve got to get it right.
These days mankind is exploring the wonders of creation like never dreamed. Let me leave you with these thoughts: 1) our Creator is far more elegant with his creation than anyone could have imagined, 2) no matter how far we probe into the mind of God, we are barely scratching the surface of discovery, and 3) man’s ability to ‘discover’ is a testimony to being made in His Image; we truly do reflect our Creator.
