She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers. Perversions,
and Potential of Heredity – Carl Zimmer (2018)
(A quick note on some awesomeness
that has graced this humble book review blog recently. Several weeks ago I received notice that RXTT’s
Intellectual Journey has been included in Feedspot’s Top 200 Book Blogs,
currently found at #193! Amazing! Many
thanks to blog master Mr. Anuj Agarwal, and the good people at Feedspot. BOOKS RULE!)
The past decade has seen the world of
genetic research explode, in both the amount and the scope of what is being
attempted. Researches the world over
have new tools with which to explore the genetic codes that provide the
instructions to make all parts of living organisms. As with all emerging scientific fields, the
general public’s discourse is decades behind the forefront of research. This leads to reactionary angers,
manipulation of the ignorant through fear, and an inability to properly fund
cutting edge research. Carl Zimmer has
done an amazing job corralling the wild and weird history of the human study of
heredity and genetics, and made it truly enjoyable to read.
Humans have been genetically altering
the natural world around us for millennia; way before we knew what drove heredity,
or had any idea about why offspring acquired certain characteristics of their
parents and lost others. These early
genetic experimenters were the early humans that began to cultivate wild
plants. An example of this is the modern
tomato. The original fruit, which is
exceedingly rare to find these days, was basically a tiny, tart and seedy
berry. The humans in the New World (many
of our modern foods were not found in Eurasia, Africa, or Australia) would
choose a plant with slightly lager or sweeter berry, collect those seeds, and
propagate it. Each new generation, the
human would choose the plants with the best fruit, propagate that one, and
dispose of the lesser plants. Over the
centuries, that basic method created whole new species of tomato plants,
capable of producing much bigger, sweeter, and more nutritious food. The same process allowed our New World ancestors
to create what we now call corn, chili peppers, potatoes, and a host of other
vegetables that are ubiquitous in modern diets worldwide. This same process was undergone by early humans
domesticating cattle, goats, swine, etc.
By breeding only the animals whose traits were preferred, more animals
capable of reproducing those traits existed, soon making them the norm.
In spite of the long history of humans
altering the plants and animals around us, it seems that as a species, we
humans have an extremely short memory of our collective past. We allow ideas that have no relation to the
world around us to color how we see the world itself. One of the biggest restraints to developing
the science of heredity and genetics came from organized religion, and the
blind obedience that their dogma requires of their followers. Ideas that are in opposition to religious
dogma are disposed of without exploration, and people are kept blind, ignorant
and happy in their stupidity. For
centuries, the idea that the world was truly static, truly unchanging, was
prevalent in Western culture. This stems
solely from theologians and priests demanding that everyone see their little
collection of stories, history, genealogy, myths, and fables as LITERAL TRUTH,
never to be questioned, never to be doubted.
In this world view, every animal species was perfectly crafted by an
omniscient creator, and these species have remained unchanged since the
beginning of time. This belief depended
on the unchallenged assumption that the world was just over 6,000 years old, an
assumption so stupid and wrong yet strictly dogmatic, that it was unchallenged
for centuries, even causing the execution of people willing to claim otherwise.
It is quite fitting that despite these
idiocies pushed on people by organized religions, it was ordained members of
the clergy who did the most groundbreaking work on genetics. Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar and
abbot, decided he was going to do his own experiments, regardless of the
consequences. He used the common pea
plant, and its many colorful flowers, as his subject. By cross-breeding them over and over, and
carefully observing the results, he developed the idea that the outcome of
reproduction is due to the offspring inheriting some sort of instructions from
both of its progenitors. He showed how,
for these plants, and it turns out, for much of life on Earth, there is a rigid
set of probability controlling which traits are passed on and in what quantity. By selectively breeding only tall plants, an
d then pollinating them with pollen from short plants, he was able to show the
existence of dominant, and recessive, traits.
Dominant traits are those that will
appear in an offspring if only one of its parents carries that trait. Recessive traits can spring up in offspring,
but only if both parents carry the recessive trait themselves. He also determined the ratio in which these
traits would appear, and was vindicated by his experiments. People condemned the man, ignoring his work.
It was only after his death that recognition came, and now Mendel is considered
the father of genetics for his efforts.
Breeders and scientists continued
working in this manner for centuries, through trial and error, until a great
discovery was made. This was the
discovery of the DNA molecule, and how it is found in every single form of life
on the planet, from bacteria to trees to humans. Understanding that this complex and huge
molecule encoded instructions for the creation of all parts of an organism was
something that, even today, many people are not willing to accept. Once this was found out, scientists and
researchers sought to decode what was now called a genome. Some animals have few chromosomes containing
DNA, and others have dozens and dozens.
Each species is different, yet each species carries so much “junk” DNA
(DNA that is left over from previous ancestors or organisms) that looking for
the genes that are actually shaping our bodies was a herculean task. Over the past 30 years much groundbreaking
work has been done in studying genes, what they are responsible for, how to
alter them, and how to use gene therapy to help people suffering from genetic diseases.
Another awesome part of this book
discusses the study of heredity, as it relates to what traits and genes are
passed on to our children. Humans are
pretty selfish and stupid, for the most part, and because of this many people
were convinced that having “bad” parents automatically created “bad”
offspring. This was such a racist and classicist idea, yet it persisted for a long time, because, of course, most “educated”
people canme from the rich white upper crust of society. It allowed people to classify a pecking order
of human quality, with white Europeans on top of the list, and African and
tribal people at the bottom. These
morons made the grievous mistake of assuming that genetics count for everything
in a person’s makeup, and that environment, opportunity, and nutrition had no
bearing. These idiots fought the
hardest, and still fight today, to try and maintain the status quo which keeps
them fat and happy while everyone else deserves their shit lot in life. It has been shown, countless times, that
human achievement and quality is an ongoing process, and results from
everything that shapes a person, from their family life, to their education, to
their nutrition, to where they are born.
Even after these dumb-ass ideas were
discounted, people continued to stick to strict ideas of heredity, ideas which
have no bearing in the real world. In
one example, around the 1920’s, the comedian Charlie Chaplin was sued by a
young lady claiming her son was his illegitimate child. Chaplin sought to have the court accept
scientific evidence (blood type) that the child could not be Chaplin’s, but at
the time the courts were scientifically ignorant, and would not allow it. In recent decades, this mindset has flipped,
and in most courts, only DNA evidence is accepted and it is seen as irrefutable.
The blind stupidity of this is pointed out by the case of a woman with three
children, who, in a custody battle, had blood work done. The blood work showed that her kids did not
share her DNA, so the courts accused her of stealing the babies when they were
young. She tried everything, including
testimony from the doctor that delivered her babies, but had no luck. It was not until several scientists did
extensive work on the lady that it was discovered that she is a chimera. Her body is composed of two distinctly
different sets of DNA. Her blood
contained DNA that did not match her kids, but her muscle and skin contained
matching DNA. Genetic chimeras are quite
common, in fact, it is estimated that most humans are genetic chimeras on some
level. Some of them are formed when two
eggs are fertilized by two sperm I the uterus, and then these two combine into
one embryo, creating one human.
Sometimes these come out hermaphroditic, other times it is seemingly undetectable. Even other people have stripes across their
skin, from two separate genetic pools.
One other seeming insanity I came
across while reading this book is the discovery that human mothers exchange DNA
with their offspring, and vice versa. It
used to be thought that the placenta was a protective barrier, keeping the
fetus separate, but that is not the case.
The mother’s DNA does enter the child, and sometimes the child’s DNA
goes back through the umbilical cord in the form of stem cells and become part
of the mother’s body. In some cases it
was found that the fetus’ stem cells became neurons in the brain of the mother,
sometimes months after the child had been born.
The implications are awesome.
I could write about the amazing stuff
in this book forever. I think it is a
very engaging read, and worth the time it takes, for anyone interested in
heredity, genetics, science history, and the foolishness of man’s assumptions
about our own nature. Highly
Recommended.
(This book can be purchased here: SHE HAS HER MOTHER'S LAUGH )
