"Plant's Genetic Repairs Astound Scientists" -- Bio
"'Plant's Genetic Repairs Astound Scientists' by Joe Palca
"All Things Considered, March 23, 2005 · In a surprising finding that challenges the conventional rules of inheritance, scientists have shown that the cress plant arabidopsis can overwrite the genetic code it inherits from its parents and revert to that of its grandparents or even great grandparents. Scientists say they now hope to learn whether this is just an aberration, or something that could be happening in other plants and even animals."
Hmm. You know where this could prove to be [i]really[/i] important? If you read a book like Redesigning Humans you'll find out that we'll probably be able to modify the genes of embryoes to produce far stronger, smarter, faster, more attractive, etc people.
But gene therapy -- altering the genetic codes of kids and adults -- is more challenging. I wonder if having a plant that can alter its own genetic code could provide clues as to how to enable humans to make that shift.
Of course, it may be the equivalent of the idea of adding an extra pair of easily-modified chromosomes in vitro to humans, and thus having a set of genes that can be tinkered with at will as the child grows older. Still, worth looking into...
And, of course, repairing one's genes always brings up a potential cure for that pesky cancer thing...
"All Things Considered, March 23, 2005 · In a surprising finding that challenges the conventional rules of inheritance, scientists have shown that the cress plant arabidopsis can overwrite the genetic code it inherits from its parents and revert to that of its grandparents or even great grandparents. Scientists say they now hope to learn whether this is just an aberration, or something that could be happening in other plants and even animals."
Hmm. You know where this could prove to be [i]really[/i] important? If you read a book like Redesigning Humans you'll find out that we'll probably be able to modify the genes of embryoes to produce far stronger, smarter, faster, more attractive, etc people.
But gene therapy -- altering the genetic codes of kids and adults -- is more challenging. I wonder if having a plant that can alter its own genetic code could provide clues as to how to enable humans to make that shift.
Of course, it may be the equivalent of the idea of adding an extra pair of easily-modified chromosomes in vitro to humans, and thus having a set of genes that can be tinkered with at will as the child grows older. Still, worth looking into...
And, of course, repairing one's genes always brings up a potential cure for that pesky cancer thing...
posted by Ralph Cerchione | Monday, April 04, 2005
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