Solomon Harris

ERH 102-01

Biotechnology Essay 1

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Reflective Tag

In this essay, I discussed one subcategory of biotechnology that I believe will become more prevalent in our society in the future: recombinant DNA technology. This category is described as the combination of DNA from two or more organisms, with the intent of giving one of the organisms specific genes from the other organisms. The purpose of giving other organisms other genes is to give them certain abilities that may be unique to the other organisms. In my essay I give examples of how this method is currently used, additionally noting how it may be used in the future. I reference popular comic book characters and movies to give examples of possibilities that may become feasible through the use and advancement of this technology. After making claims of certain abilities and processes used by the characters and movies, I try to explain how it may become possible in the future by referencing biotech products and concepts that are currently being worked on. I tried to use examples that seemed feasible, especially when compared to current technology and plans for new technology. At the end of the essay, I explained why I used movies and fictional characters as a source of my opinions on what I believe will soon be possible.

Biotechnology and its Potential to Create Superhumans

Imagine being able to crawl on walls like a spider, breath underwater like fish, see in the dark like cats or have the regenerative abilities of a lizard, with any ability of an animal, insect, or other living organisms becoming an ability of humans. The entire concept of this seems unreal, almost like something out of a movie, but with recombinant DNA technology, these things can soon become possible. Recombinant DNA technology, also known as genetic engineering, is defined as “a method that allows the combination of genes in a test tube  to form hybrid DNA”, according to the Application and Current Trends of Biotechnology: A Brief Review. However, I will be defining it as a process of adding and editing genes from different organisms, to grant the organism new abilities and/or characteristics. This form of technology is capable of combining DNA from the same or different organisms, sharing their genes and unique capabilities. As of now, this process has mainly been done between humans and other humans, and animals with other animals. Scientists, however, are working to make it possible that certain animal genes can be shared with humans. Recombinant DNA technology is the future of human advancement because of its capability of making humans into superhumans as illustrated in both movies and by fictional comic book characters.

One current example of recombinant DNA technology being used among animals is with a new process of making “biological steel” from spider silk. (Zyga)  Recombinant DNA technology comes into play, with their method of using goats as a way to mass produce the silk, rather than just spiders. Using spiders directly, is not the ideal method, considering how territorial they are and  just their inability to produce large quantities of it because of their physical size, so scientists found another animal that would be able to carry the silk-producing gene of spiders and be able to produce it in large quantities, goats. Now, in the goats that carry the gene, when they produce milk, they simultaneously produce spider silk, which is later extracted and made into fibers. There is a specific process that scientists use to extract the silk from the milk, but once it is extracted it is just like the silk any spider would produce. Scientists, the military and other groups have a plethora of ideas for spider silk because  of versatility, and physical characteristics: stickiness, light weight, elasticity and strength. It has been said to even be stronger than steel pound for pound, hence why it is sometimes referred to as “biological steel”, being made from a living organism. There are ideas of it not only being used in bulletproof vests and as a reinforcement material because of its strength, but also in the medical field for “making artificial ligaments and tendons, for eye sutures, and for jaw repair” (Zyga). That is just one of the possibilities for genetic engineering in the industrial field, but imagine giving this ability to a human rather than a goat. And then engineering the human’s body so that they can emit the spider silk at will. They would practically be Spiderman, minus the super strength and wall-crawling abilities, which sooner or later scientists will be able to give humans through gene combination.

In the Amazing Spider Man, not only was Spider Man’s abilities a result of gene combination, but also the cause of the villain’s powers. Dr. Curt Connors, later known as “The Lizard”, the movie’s villain, was initially trying to regenerate his dismembered arm using genes from a lizard species that is capable of regenerating its limbs. At first the combination of his DNA and the DNA of the lizard restores his arm, but eventually he becomes a giant lizard because of the genetic modifications he made. In the real world, people can sometimes lose their limbs in an accident for example, or just be born without them. Using the same approach Dr. Connors did, combining human genes with the right lizard genes could very well make limb regeneration a possibility for humans. As for now we are stuck with a slow regenerative process that only heals partial cuts back together, but if we were to gain this ability people who were told they would never be able to walk, could then walk for the first time since birth or whatever event took their limbs. Like Dr. Connors, scientists in the real world are working to find ways of giving humans the capability of limb regeneration, or simply just faster regenerative abilities. To do this they specifically chose the axolotl, a species of salamander with powerful regenerative abilities. Axolotls’ regenerative abilities are capable of reforming entire limbs, or parts of organs including the brain and heart in the event that it may be damaged or partially destroyed (Yale). Scientists are working to find the specific genes that give Axolotls this ability, but because of their enormous genome, 10 times the size of a human’s, recent research hasn’t been able to find much. Scientists have narrowed their search down to a few genes, but still need better gene-sequencing technology, which will likely be available in the future, to find exactly what they are looking for (Yale).

Besides The Amazing Spider Man, there have been many other movies and tv shows that have illustrated the true possibilities that genetic engineering can have when crossing genes between species and organisms. Movies like Star Wars, and Titan utilize genetic engineering to make an advancement in some organism, which gains abilities in the process. In Star Wars, the Jedi Order, and eventually the Sith had the clone troopers under their control. The clone troops, as the name implies, were clones of an infamous and very skilled bounty hunter. His abilities were the reason he was chosen to be cloned on a massive scale. The clones similar to were made to be super-soldiers, with a sole purpose of fighting in war for whoever commanded them. This concept could be used by scientists and military officials alike who would be looking for a dispensable resource to use in battle. Using clones to fight our wars could prevent us from suffering the loss of our people to war. Family and loved ones would no longer have to grieve for fallen loved ones if the clones are utilized in the field. Of course there are major ethical issues revolving around clones and the rights that they should and should not have, but that is for another discussion. In the movie Titan, the Earth was falling apart because of war, poverty, famine, and just about any other unfortunate occurrence that a society could face. Scientists were working to genetically engineer a human so that he would be able to withstand the environment of living on another planet (in this case the moon: Titan). The test subjects underwent several grueling physical changes and experiments to help them adapt to the climate conditions of Titan. One of the most notable procedures consisted of combining specific genes from cats that give them night vision with the subjects’ genes to give them night vision. The night vision was intended to help the subjects see in the dim, low light present on Titan. This ability, on a mass scale, could be very beneficial to just about any human considering that none of us have the ability to see in the dark. 

Fictional comic book characters like Captain America and Aquaman, have abilities that may possibly be feasible through genetic engineering. Captain America, a famous super-soldier, was originally a skinny scrawny kid, until undergoing a gene-altering process that made him superhuman. After his new alterations, he gained abilities such as super-strength, super speed, and heightened senses, along with increased endurance, durability and agility. Even his intelligence was improved to an extent. He literally became the perfect soldier, something that would be in high demand in today’s world, just like the clones in Star Wars, despite Captain America being much better. A soldier with these attributes would be more efficient than a regular human when completing most tasks. In The Real Captain America: Bioengineering  the Super Soldiers of Tomorrow, scientists discuss how “gene-doping” may be the key to creating super soldiers. “ Current science has illuminated several key areas to increase physical performance through gene doping. These include, endurance, strength, pain tolerance, improved energy levels and enhanced vascularity. Each of these areas have benefits to the warfighter” (Stafford). In sports, gene-doping has been used, illegally, to help improve the athletes performance and give them advantages over their competition. As the text implies, if gene-doping were to be used by soldiers they would be able to experience similar physical enhancements that could help them greatly in battle. Erythropoietin, for example, popular in the competitive cycling world, has the capability of increasing the mass of red blood cells in an individual’s blood stream allowing them to produce and carry more oxygen to the muscles, helping them last longer in end (Stafford). Soldiers need endurance in case they ever need to travel long distances by foot and can’t afford to stop, or in the event that they need to get out of an area very quickly. Strength is vital in the case that a hand-to-hand combat fight ensues, or if a comrade is unable to walk himself, another soldier needs to be able to carry the injured individual to cover or a safe area. Energy and pain tolerance are also very important because a soldier needs to always be alert, and ready for anything. Pain tolerance is necessary for a soldier to be able to keep going and push through the pain to continue fighting, despite being shot or injured in some other manner. Modifications to gene-doping drugs, can make them both safer and perhaps even more effective making the military users stronger, faster, etc, compared to them rather just using regular gene-doping methods. 

Aquaman, the King of Atlantis in DC comics, is a human and atlantean hybrid. He has several abilities, but the one that is concerned the most with genetic engineering is his ability to breath underwater. Scientists believe through the use of biotechnology and bioengineering, humans could eventually become able to operate on a single breath of air underwater for hours at a time. The use of synthetic blood is supposedly the key to unlocking this ability. Synthetic blood is comprised of respirocytes, “a theoretical engineering design for artificial red blood cells”. The respirocytes have “an internal pressure of 100 atmsoosphers if compressed oxygen and carbon dioxide……capable of holding 236 times more oxygen and carbon dioxide than our own natural red blood cells. ….An injection of such nanotechnological devices would enable a person to run at top speed for 15 minutes or remain underwater for four hours on a single breath” (Young). Running or holding your breath for those periods of time show how Aquaman may be possible. 

My reasoning behind the belief that some of these advancements will soon be possible through biotechnology, is that when humans imagine things, no matter whether it is an idea or product, they tend to follow through and create it sometime down the line in the future. Many movies and TV shows have displayed this concept, considering that some of the futuristic technology the older moives used is now real. One example is from the 1960s show The Jetsons, one of my mom’s favorite stories as a kid, was about a family who lived far in the future. One of the futuristic pieces of technology that was used in the show was a hi-tech watch, that allowed them to talk to people and watch shows off of. The watches used in the show are very similar to the smartwatches that we use today. Although all the capabilities of the Jetson’s watch have not yet been fully achieved, the general idea of having a watch that can act also as a speaking and communication device has. Another example, is from the movie Demolition Man, released in the early 1990s, starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. This movie, also being set in the future, contained several different futuristic pieces of technology that are now being used in the real world. Self-driving cars, is the one piece of futuristic technology that stuck out the most to me. In the movie, characters had full-on conversations, not having a worry in the world about the car or how it was driving, as the self-automated car took them to their desired destination. An idea that no one at that time would have believed would ever be possible is now on the market ready to be sold to anyone with enough money to buy one. Given these two examples of technology that was imagined in a TV show and movie are now real items used in the present, the idea of humans gaining superhuman abilities through genetic engineering doesn’t seem to unreal anymore, because it is practically already here. One day soon enough, we will be superhuman.

Citations:

Zyga, Lisa. “Scientists Breed Goats That Produce Spider Silk.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 31 May 2010, https://phys.org/news/2010-05-scientists-goats-spider-silk.html. 

Stafford, Jared M., et al. “The Real Captain America: Bioengineering the Super Soldiers of Tomorrow.” Small Wars Journal,  https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-real-captain-america-bioengineering-the-super-soldiers-of-tomorrow. 

Yale University. “Tiny Salamander’s Huge Genome May Harbor the Secrets of Regeneration.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 28 Jan. 2020, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200128114638.htm.

THEnanoAGE, Steve Young -. Respirocytes – Artificial Red Blood Cells – TheNanoAge.com, https://www.thenanoage.com/respirocytes.htm.