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Tampering with the Engines of Creation
The Sorcerer's
Apprentice?
.
No
traditional breeding method could result in the introduction of a human or pig
growth hormone, for instance, into fish; or of insect genes into plants. As
the experimentation continues and expands, and as increasing investments are
made in this dynamic new field, the risks multiply.
,
There could be big trouble
ahead. Revelation Chapter 9 is just one
Biblical example which presents some pretty weird creatures of the future,
described as "locusts." However, they can't be normal locusts since
they have a king (and Proverbs 30:27 reveals that natural locusts have no
king). Most commentators view them as a demonic horde. Could they be genetic
mutants, brought on to fulfill an apocalyptic destiny? Rather wild. Who knows?
by
Chuck Missler
The search to decipher DNA and the
development of drugs which could address the causes of diseases such as cancer,
rheuma toid arthritis, and heart disease is accelerating.
Designer
Genes
Each of the human body's 75 trillion cells,
except for the red blood cells, has a full complement of chromosomes in its
nucleus.
Each nucleus has 46 chromosomes in 23
pairs.
In each chromosome is a wadded-up strand of
DNA, which includes hundreds of millions of base pairs.
Stretched out straight, it would measure
anywhere from three to nine feet long and about 20 atoms across.
The DNA code is universal, whether it be
human, rat, bat, mouse, worm, fruit fly, or microbe. (All codes of life came
from the same "software house.")
The Human Genome Project, a $3 billion
international effort to map the entire genome, was launched in 1990 and
involves 350 labs. It isn't expected to complete its task until 2005.
One of the leading organizations, Human
Genome Sciences, has 135 scientists using the most advanced computer, laser,
and scientific technologies deciphering and decoding the molecular sequences
making up the human genome.
Human Genome Sciences, along with its
associated research foundation, the Institute of Genomic Research, is expected
to have isolated and deciphered most of the important human genes within two
years. (It is a public company with the backing of drug giant SmithKline
Beecham.)
Designer
Animals
Lambs are now being born on a farm in
Scotland which have had their genetic construction so altered that they will
produce a drug called Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) in their milk.
Clinical tests of this drug will begin in
late 1995 on humans suffering from lung disorders.
Genzyme Transgenics hopes that its
anti-thrombosis drug, anti- thrombin-III (AT-III), produced in the milk of
genetically engineered goats, will be ready for clinical trials in early 1995.
GenPharm International (Mountain View,
California) has just produced the first progeny from a Dutch biotech bull in
the hopes of producing drug-manufacturing cows with a milk yield ten times that
of goats or sheep.
In Britain, researchers at the
government-backed Roslin Institute are reporting progress in breeding
genetically engineered chickens which will be capable of producing drugs and
vaccines in their eggs.
Giant
Business Opportunities
The potential economic stake is enormous.
Genzyme Transgenics (Cambridge, Massachusetts) anticipates that the market for
milk- produced drugs alone will be worth over $1 billion per year within the
next decade.
New start-up companies as well as the big
drug "giants" are rushing to build in-house gene-hunting
capabilities.
Organ
Factories
There are also organs being produced for
eventual transplant into humans.
Researchers at the British company Imutran
estimate that hearts and other organs produced from genetically altered pigs
could be transplanted into humans within three years.
The first litter of suitably adapted pigs
was born last month (June
1994).
Estimates suggest that more than 100,000 patients a year could receive such pig
organs.
Are
Concerns Justified?
The proponents of genetic engineering claim
that they have learned from the development of nuclear power, and environmental
legislation is now being introduced to control potential damage.
However, no laboratory security, no matter
how effective, can deal with unforeseen post-release effects.
Controls designed to protect high-security farming
of genetically manipulated farm animals can't deal with the damage that would
follow the release of genetically manipulated plants, fish, or animals.
The areas of risk include: the escape of an
introduced gene by crossing it with wild relatives; unexpected alterations of
normal characteristics in different environments; and, unexpected advantages
conferred by genetic manipulation which could lead to the establishment and
persistence of an organism.
There are already many examples where the
introduction of exotic species to a new environment has caused the displacement
of indigenous fauna and flora without the added ingredient of genetic
manipulation.
Rabbits in Australia, zebra mussels in
North America, and rhododendron in parts of north Wales are but a few examples.
There are some scientists and doctors who
believe that the AIDS virus was the result of a government genetic experiment
that went out of control.
They point to some combinative aspects of
the HIV virus which suggest that it was engineered in a laboratory. (See the
Strecker Memorandum reference at the end of this article.)
Supporters of genetic engineering say that
it is no different in concept from traditional breeding methods.
This is misleading, since no traditional
breeding method could result in the introduction of a human or pig growth
hormone, for instance, into fish; or of insect genes into plants.
The instinctive shudder that passes down
one's spine is not limited to uninformed laymen; some scientists share these
same misgivings. There is little doubt that these efforts could lead to
adverse, possibly catastrophic, consequences.
"These are the risks of disturbing the integrity
of nature."
As the experimentation continues and
expands, and as increasing investments are made in this dynamic new field, the
risks multiply.
As the new "Sorcerer's
Apprentices" continue to tamper with the "engines of Creation,"
no one can predict the results. There could be big trouble ahead.
It seems ironic that the vigorous and
talented pursuit of solutions to relieve human suffering and misery might also
be leading to some major, perhaps global, tragedies for mankind.
Apocalyptic
Implications?
Revelation Chapter 9 is just one Biblical
example which presents some pretty weird creatures of the future, described as "locusts."
However, they can't be normal locusts since
they have a king (and Proverbs 30:27 reveals that natural locusts have no
king).
Most commentators view them as a demonichorde.
Could they be genetic mutants, brought on
to fulfill an apocalyptic destiny? Rather wild. Who knows?
In this rapidly changing world, as we see
the deterioration of morality, the increasing corruption at the highest levels
of government, and the increasing risks in the unbridled application of only
partially understood technologies, isn't it reassuring that God is in control
of your life?
Or is He? Have you put Him in control, or
are you "winging it" yourself?
If you are gambling your eternity that the
Bible is wrong, you've got more guts than I have. Think about it.
Charles W. Missler was an American
author, evangelical Christian, Bible teacher, engineer, and former businessman.
He was the founder of the Koinonia House ministry based in Post Falls, Idaho.
Koinonia Institute is dedicated to
training and equipping the serious Christian for ministry in today’s world.
For
several decades the ministry of Koinonia House has been to create, develop, and
distribute educational materials for those who take the Bible seriously as the
inerrant Word of God.
As
an affiliated ministry, the Koinonia Institute is focused on three supporting
areas:
To
provide instructional programs to facilitate serious study of the Bible among
thinking Christians;
To
encourage and facilitate both individual and small group weekly study programs
for personal growth; and
To
develop an international cadre of believers who answer God’s unique calling on
their lives, especially as they see prophetic trends unfold and discern what is
really happening in the world.
The
Institute is committed to accomplishing these goals through a program of
lifelong learning – exploiting the Internet in order to achieve the “training
and equipping” in our mission statement.
Koinonia
Institute is formed around three tracks — The Berean, The Issachar, and The
Koinonos. For information about each track, please see the Student Handbook.
https://www.khouse.org/articles/1994/55/
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