Now genetic scientists around the world are studying the genome of humans, animals and plants. The human genome has long been deciphered; scientists recently provided another decipherment - this time, of corn. Of course, work is now underway to study the role of each gene in the genome. Some experiments prove useful. True, some studies look a little strange - that’s what we’ll talk about today.
City of Twins
Probably, many of our readers have heard about the “Angel of Death,” Dr. Joseph Mengele, who served faithfully to the Nazis. This, if I may say so, doctor, or rather, fanatic, ruined thousands of lives by conducting inhumane medical experiments. One of them is an attempt to increase the incidence of twins. For what? Of course, in order to increase the number of people of the Aryan race, carriers of pure blood.
So, it is this experiment of Mengele, who, by the way, was able to avoid punishment by escaping to Latin America, is now bearing fruit. Surprisingly, it is true that in the Brazilian city of Candido Godoi there are a lot of twins. Not just a lot, but a lot - it seems that there are only twins there.
What does Dr. Mengel have to do with this? Moreover, according to local residents, Dr. Mengel visited the town in the 60s of the last century, providing medical services to the women of the city. Now Brazilians have a problem - every fifth woman who gets pregnant gives birth to twins, and the children are blue-eyed and blond. Why? Scientists don't understand this.
They still can’t clarify anything, and Dr. Mengel is unlikely to tell anything, since he died of natural causes in 1979.
Goat spiders
We all know that the web that spiders produce is a very interesting substance. For example, a cobweb is much stronger than a metal thread of the same thickness. Some spiders produce webs that can even be used for weaving, which some tribes do with success. Spider web is a very valuable material, but extracting it in large quantities is a difficult task.
Scientists decided to solve the problem in an unexpected way - by introducing some genes from the spider genome into the goat genome. As a result, the milk of genetically modified goats contains the protein that makes up the spider's web. The milk of such goats can be drunk, and it is unlikely that anyone will distinguish it from ordinary milk. goat milk. But from this milk, after appropriate processing, a protein is released, which is called spider silk.
Cloning a frozen mouse
Scientists managed to clone a mouse that had been frozen for more than 16 years. No, they couldn’t revive the mouse, and they didn’t even try. After several unsuccessful attempts, scientists managed to create a clone of this mouse, which is considered a huge achievement in genetic engineering.
A little more - and mammoths and other extinct animals, whose DNA can still be isolated, will begin to roam the Earth. By the way, they are already starting to talk about cloning people who have bequeathed to freeze themselves after death - you have probably heard about this.
Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to revive frozen bodies, but it is possible to clone “polar explorers.”
Genetically modified mosquitoes
In our country, as well as throughout the CIS, people have almost forgotten about such a disease as malaria. But malaria was once a real “scourge of God” for regions with a large number of swamps. In countries like Brazil, malaria still claims many lives.
Mosquitoes are carriers of infection - blood-sucking insects, in whose bodies malaria pathogens thrive. So, scientists have created a species of mosquitoes whose body resists the pathogens of malaria, so that the bite of such a mosquito is “clean”. Scientists who created the new kind mosquitoes, released several of these insects in order to allow them to reproduce in natural conditions. The authors of the study hope that the anti-malaria gene will be dominant, and in ten years the number of malaria cases will begin to decline.
Women and pink color
Many people believe that the artificial division of men and women into lovers of blue and pink flowers has no basis. As it turned out, has, and what else.
But... no studies of the human genome were carried out; scientists simply conducted a series of computer tests, where a group of volunteers was asked to choose different geometric figures pink and blue flowers. According to the test results, it turned out that women more often choose figures colored pink, while men choose figures colored blue.
By the way, the research results were presented in several reputable medical publications. But it all looks a little strange - after all color preferences are not necessarily determined by the genome; it may well be that they are produced during life. But, be that as it may, scientists know better.
Growing eyes
Geneticists have been trying for quite some time to understand how the body of a nascent creature “understands” where the eye should be, where the tail should be, and where the paw, well, or hand should be. Amphibians are an excellent object for experiments, on which geneticists conduct their experiments.
Thus, in 2007, scientists managed to understand what substances provoke the appearance of eyes in a given place. It turned out that the indicator, the mark, is specific nitrogen-containing molecules. Scientists even managed to achieve the appearance of a third eye by introducing an additional trigger molecule.
Probably, a similar mechanism operates during the formation of eyes in other animals and humans. Now geneticists have advanced so far that they have managed to get amphibians with eyes on their paws and not even their tail (we are talking about salamanders).
Cows and milk
Dutch scientists have managed to raise cows whose genome contains a gene responsible for the content of lactoferrin in milk. This protein is characteristic of woman's milk, and it performs protective function- for example, it very well counteracts various pathogens of pulmonary infections.
Now, if tests show the suitability of such milk, then it can be used as a medicinal drug, and very tasty. Of course, there are opponents of such experiments with cows, but there are still more supporters.
Fast growing trees
Scientists have managed to breed a species of tree that can grow up to 27 meters in just six years. These trees are not created for beauty; scientists are trying to find an alternative type of fuel that is a renewable resource. Actually, it was possible to do this, the trees really grow at a tremendous speed, so there is a chance for a successful outcome of the experiment.
The trees themselves, of course, will not be used in the form of firewood - no, we are talking about alcohol, which scientists are going to obtain from these trees. More precisely, not from them themselves, but from cellulose, which is the main integral part wood. It may well be that ethanol produced from trees will be the fuel of the future.
Genetic engineering is newest tool biotechnology, which allows you to obtain the required qualities of an organism by manipulating genes and introducing them into other organisms. The production of genetically modified crops, vegetables and grains, the production of human insulin, the development of new breeds of animals and new plant species - all these are the results of the use of genetic engineering.
Loud genetic experiments
Eat and get vaccinated against hepatitis B? Indian scientists recently published their work on the creation of this type of banana. At the same time, similar experiments were carried out with other fruits and vegetables, but in the end the choice was made. New variety bananas are a carrier of a weakened strain of the hepatitis B virus. According to scientists, when it enters the body along with a sweet treat, the virus should cause an appropriate reaction in the body and contribute to the formation of immunity.
British researchers have gone even further and are proposing to treat cancer. chicken eggs! A special breed of chicken, whose genes are mixed with human ones, contains in its body a protein that is an anti-cancer drug. Thus, eggs, which mostly consist of this, can completely replace expensive anti-cancer drugs.
It is known that not a single artificial milk formula for infants can replace breast milk, inferior to it in both beneficial and nutritional properties. Chinese geneticists conducted an experiment, which resulted in the appearance of cow's milk, almost identical to the milk of nursing mothers. The addition of cloned human genes to the DNA of a cow embryo was intended to create a new breed of cows that would produce “human” milk.
A cow gives “mother’s” milk, and a goat gives milk with silk! An American scientist isolated a spider gene responsible for creating web threads and crossed it with a goat gene. As a result, the kids born from this goat retained the gene responsible for the production of silk.
Cabbage, which kills insect pests with scorpion venom, is by no means a fiction, but the result of the work of Chinese geneticists. The fish, which is growing by leaps and bounds, is the result of a gene experiment to introduce two genes into the salmon body at once: from the fast-growing chinook salmon and the burbot, which grows at any time of the year. The result is a type of salmon that is twice the size of normal salmon and grows twice as fast, and this type of fish is officially approved for consumption.
All these well-known genetic experiments were designed to make human life better and more convenient, providing him with cheap and easily obtained food and medicine. However, scientists are still debating how much
According to one of the hypotheses humanity was created by aliens. The first people on Earth treated their creators as gods. The most ancient peoples knew about the existence of aliens. This is evidenced by wall paintings left in temples and tombs.
Based on a careful analysis of frescoes in Egyptian temples, researchers concluded that the aliens created an artificial assembly of a person from his parts. For example, some drawings on the walls of tombs show the process of introducing micropipettes into the egg.
According to scientists, this is how the “gods” influenced human genes. If you look at the picture more closely, it becomes clear that the aliens were engaged in genetic experiments. Moreover, in the frescoes, experimenters are shown as tall creatures, and people are shown as short creatures.
Apparently, people were previously used as experimental animals, as they are now modern people rabbits and mice. Professors believe men were created to be for aliens labor force. Now geneticists are confident that the evolution of men and women is complete.
Vigen Geodakyan, Doctor of Biological Sciences, believes that men are responsible for evolution humanity.
IN modern world people are divided into strong and weak half. Is it possible to divide them like this? Men are physically stronger, but women have more energy reserves. Does this indicate that women are more resilient than men? Maybe women were created by genetic experiments to provide for men favorable conditions for work?
Supporters of this hypothesis have an irrefutable fact: in any religion, God is a man, but next to him there is always a Goddess who protects him.
Today, many scientists say that the existence of a woman without a man is impossible. However, as well as vice versa. Of the 23 chromosomes in humans, only one is responsible for gender. For men it is XY, and for women it is XX. It may seem like a small difference, but there are a lot of differences between a man and a woman.
Experts have come to the conclusion that men are inherently genius. These words can be confirmed by the fact that men more often become inventors, discoverers and brilliant scientists. But representatives of the stronger half are in danger of destroying their own male chromosomes, the degradation of which is caused by environmental degradation. To date, representatives of American tribes have preserved the most persistent male chromosome.
For this reason, it is quite possible that in the near future women will give birth to children from Indian machos. But if they fail to cope with this task, hope remains only for high tech. However, such a turn will be dangerous for men, because today conception is possible without their participation. Whether humans are truly the result of genetic experiments conducted by extraterrestrial intelligence is anyone's guess. One way or another, the version is very interesting.
All more countries renounce the sanctity of human embryos and conduct research in the field of genetic manipulation. The first scientific works have appeared from the USA and China, during which modified human embryos have been created. examines whether these experiments will be beneficial, how they threaten humanity and why they were banned.
On August 2, 2017, the journal Nature published an article that revealed the details of the first experiment in US history that posed a serious challenge to advocates of ethics and morality. Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University have used CRISPR technology to alter the DNA of human embryos. Previously, such manipulations were considered unacceptable in America, and in some places in the world, including Russia, they are still prohibited. At the same time, the researchers were guided by a noble goal: to correct a genetic defect that causes death in young people, most often athletes.
The MYBPC3 mutation causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited heart defect that affects one in five hundred people. It is characterized by a violation of the location of muscle fibers in the myocardium, which leads to its hypertrophy. Most often, the disease manifests itself in young or middle age. Its insidiousness lies in the fact that approximately a third of patients do not complain of anything, and the only symptom is sudden death.
Although hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be caused by a variety of mutations, the most common cause is MYBPC3. Scientists decided to test a method that would prevent the transmission of a defective gene from parents to children. If only one of the parents has a heterozygous mutation, 50 percent of children will be new carriers of the defective gene. Researchers have tried to change this by correcting MYBPC3 in embryos so that they are potentially suitable for transfer to the uterus and further development.
CRISPR–Cas9 is a molecular system that allows you to cut out certain sections of DNA, which are then replaced by others. It consists of two main components: the Cas9 protein “scissors” and a primer in the form of a special molecule called guide RNA. The latter attaches to the desired section of DNA and indicates to Cas9 the place where the cut needs to be made. After this, the cell activates mechanisms that “repair” the cut by inserting a new strand of DNA into that place. Using this technology, scientists obtained embryos in which not only MYBPC3 was deleted, but also a normal nucleotide sequence was inserted in its place. At the same time, the researchers did not find mutations in the modified embryos that could become side effect from the use of the CRISPR system.
One of the strict conditions of the experiment is the destruction of the resulting embryos. They were allowed to develop for only a few days. The US government does not allow research that could produce a genetically modified child. This is justified by the fact that the technology is not developed enough to ensure the safety and health of people whose genomes were manipulated. Biotechnological methods, including the CRISPR system, do not work with perfect precision and can lead to unwanted changes.
This is one of the reasons why the work of Chinese researchers was criticized - they became pioneers in the field of genetic modification of human embryos in 2015. Although leading specialist Junjiu Huang took, according to him, non-viable embryos for experiments, he was unable to convince the scientific community of the correctness of his actions. Of the 86 embryos, only four retained the necessary changes, and CRISPR often missed the mark, editing the genome in unplanned areas. In addition, the journals Nature and Science refused to accept his work for publication due to ethical problems associated with modifications of human embryos.
Then Edward Lanphier, president of Sangamo Biosciences, which specializes in DNA editing in adult cells, said that such research should be suspended and a broad discussion should be held about the possibility of experiments with human embryos. He called the Chinese experiment a failure. Junju Huang did not agree with the point of view of the Western scientific community and continued to work to improve his method.
The director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Francis Collins) said that he and his colleagues consider editing the DNA of embryos unacceptable, even for scientific purposes, and the NIH does not intend to allocate any funds for such research.
Two years later, scientists from Oregon achieved the same thing as the Chinese researcher, but they could not test whether the embryos would turn into healthy children. Given the current situation, the clinical application of this method is a matter of the distant future. The problem is that existing US legislation allows experiments with human embryos only if they are funded by non-governmental and private organizations. Congress refuses to allocate budget money for such research, which greatly hampers the development of this area.
The situation around biotechnology and gene modification is complicated by the attitude of some influential individuals and government organizations towards this area. For example, the US National Reconnaissance Office issued an annual bulletin in 2016 in which genome editing tools were included in the section on weapons of mass destruction. This is a sign of growing concern about the rapid technological developments that have been spurred by the use of CRISPR systems.
At the same time this winter, the US National released a report arguing that scientists should be able to edit genes in human embryos for research purposes. It's not about growing ideal people, as shown in the film "Gattaca". First of all, it is necessary to find out in detail how the development of the embryo occurs, what role and at what stage of embryogenesis individual genes play in this process. Treatment of severe hereditary diseases is also allowed in the absence of other reasonable alternatives. Naturally, all this must be carried out under strict control and with public approval.
The proposed recommendations are relevant only if the ban on the creation of genetically modified people is lifted. This will only be possible if a consensus is reached on the safety of this technology. Now public concern is only growing. A lack of understanding of what scientists actually do plays a big role in this. However, the very fact that the study was conducted by scientists from Oregon gives hope that this problem will be solved.
As for other countries, in February 2016, the UK government allowed researchers to conduct experiments on editing the genomes of human embryos. The ultimate goal of scientists is to solve the problem of miscarriages. Experts want to identify the genes that are most active in the first days of a fetus’s life, when the embryo forms the cells that form the basis of the future placenta.
In Russia the situation is much more complicated. It is eloquently illustrated by the fact that since January 1, 2017, in our country it is prohibited to create human embryos for the purpose of producing a biomedical cell product, as well as the use of biomaterial obtained by interrupting (or disrupting) the development process of a human embryo for the development, production and use of biomedical products. cellular products. There is no serious discussion yet about the possibility of genetic modification of human embryos.
The theory of Nazism is based on the chosenness of the so-called Aryan race. To prove this “uniqueness” and the second-class status of other peoples, Nazi scientists conducted various genetic experiments.
"Lebensborn"
IN Nazi Germany believed that only people with blond hair and blue eyes. But since there were still not enough of them, in 1938, on the initiative of Hitler and his associate Himmler, the Lebensborn program was developed, which translated means “Source of Life”.
As part of Lebensborn, German women or women meeting certain racial criteria from occupied territories were encouraged to voluntarily give birth to children of SS soldiers and officers recognized as “one hundred percent Aryans.” If a girl expressed a desire to participate in the program, she was given a total check. They found out whether there were any Jews, gypsies, mentally ill people or criminals in her family. Meetings of candidates with “Aryans” took place in special visiting houses. Before this, the parents of the future “Aryan” usually did not even know each other.
For example, in occupied Norway, about 12 thousand children were born to German soldiers and officers. As a rule, the child was left to be raised by the mother. One of those born under the Lebensborn program was ABBA lead singer Frida Lyngstad. She was born in November 1945, a few months after Norway was liberated from occupation by German troops.
The next part of the program was to select children of "non-Aryan" races, such as those of Slavic or Scandinavian origin, who fit the "Aryan" parameters. Typically, in the occupied territories, eligible children between one and six years of age were taken from their parents and placed in foster families or special shelters. Children received new names, they tried to make them forget their real family, native language and everything that happened to them in their homeland.
Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences Vladimir Mazharov is one of these kids. His mother Zinaida Mazharova met the war in the Latvian city of Liepaja in the last month of pregnancy. During the occupation, Zinaida first went to prison, then went through several concentration camps.
Volodya was lucky - he ended up in a special children's institution near Lubeck, Germany. There the children were taught discipline, the vaunted German order. In 1947, Latvian Irena Astors returned from Germany and worked as a teacher in this orphanage. In the newspaper “Soviet Latvia” she published a list of all the children under her command. Among them was the name of Volodya Mazharov. So, at the age of six, Volodya returned to his homeland and met with his loved ones.
"Mengelata"
The main hobby of Josef Mengele, a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy and Medicine of the University of Munich, was eugenics - the science of racial purity. In May 1943, he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp to conduct some “genetic research.”
Mengele performed vivisections on infants. In a special barracks he housed people with physical defects - for example, dwarfs or freaks. But Mengele was especially interested in twin children. "Mengelet" (as they were called) were kept in relatively good conditions- they weren’t beaten, they weren’t forced to work, they fed them decently... At the same time, the twins were actively used for the most savage experiments.
So, Mengele transfused the blood of one child to another and observed what the result would be. Blood types often did not match, and the children suffered from terrible headaches and feverish symptoms.
Very young children were kept in a cage, their reactions to various stimuli being monitored. Older children were subjected to all sorts of operations, without anesthesia. They were castrated, sterilized, in some cases part of the insides were removed, limbs were amputated, and they were infected with various viruses. All data during the experiments were carefully recorded in “case histories.”
The “doctor” was also interested in whether it was possible to artificially change the color of human eyes, which was inherent in nature. To do this, experimental children were injected with dyes into their pupils. This usually caused severe pain in the eyes, and in severe cases led to sepsis and loss of vision.
Most children died as a result of inhumane experiments. After his death, Mengele cut out the eyes of many of them and pinned them to the wall as “scientific exhibits.”
Experiments on gypsies
The Nazis viewed the Gypsies as members of an “inferior race.” “True Aryans” argued that this is why the gypsies lead a vagabond lifestyle, engage in theft and other unworthy activities.
The persecution of this nation began almost immediately after Hitler came to power. Among other things, Roma women and even girls were often sterilized in a savage way: they were injected into the uterus with an unsterile needle. An infection that entered the uterus often led to infertility, and sometimes to blood poisoning and death. At the same time, the gypsies did not receive any medical care.
Gypsies became the object of various scientific and medical experiments by Nazi scientists. For example, the latter tried to understand why some representatives of this ethnic group are born blue-eyed. In the Dachau concentration camp, such prisoners had their eyes removed and then studied to find out the cause of the phenomenon. There, in Dachau, an experiment on dehydration was performed on 40 gypsies. They were simply not given anything to drink and watched as they died of thirst.
Fortunately, the Nazis did not have modern technologies, allowing artificial modification of the genes of a living organism. Otherwise, the consequences could have been much more severe and widespread. For example, genetically modified soldiers would appear who know no pity, do not feel pain or fatigue, and are obsessed with the idea of establishing world domination of the Aryans.