Prost,
Martin
Jackson, MS
Quoting "Moontanman_at_aol.com" <Moontanman at aol.com>:
> No one wants to force you to do anything Steffen and we have been
> manipulating the genes of animals for millennia. Since all animals share most
> of their
> genes and we often crossed different species to get the desired qualities in
> our
> animals we did indeed do gene transfer. The difference is just a matter of to
>
> what degree. When certain doctors found that inoculating humans with cow pox
>
> virus gave people immunity to small pox what was known as the popular press
> back then claimed it was unnatural to put cow pox in humans and portrayed
> humans
> with cow parts growing out of their bodies as a result of inoculation. Wide
> spread panic often insued and some doctors were persecuted for even
> suggesting
> people get inoculated. This is another case of uninformed people trying to
> cause similar panic because of something they can't understand. Just like the
>
> movies of the 50's that showed exposure to large doses of radiation causing
> huge
> monsters to grow this portrayal of gene transfer is totally unfair and
> unrealistic. There will be no huge monsters tearing up LA or Tokyo. Viruses
> cause
> gene transfer naturally and genes from rabbits can be found in turtles as
> well as
> other odd crosses. Usually the genes are not expressed. What is it that you
> fear from gene transfer? Glow in the dark rabbits? Food plants that need less
>
> pesticide and fertilizer? Pigs that produce organs that could be transplanted
>
> into humans so humans can live at the pigs expense? Maybe centipede chickens
>
> with ten legs? No harm can come from eating such a chicken no matter how
> gross
> it may seem to us. I do have a problem with food plants that produce
> unnatural
> pesticides in their fruit or grain but reasonable monitoring can and will
> control these things. As I said earlier the real problem lies with the
> possibility
> of producing more virulent strains of bacteria which has been dome for many
> years with little monitoring. This should be very closely monitored but gene
>
> transfer in higher animals poses little or no risk. Probably the best thing
> about gene transfer is that we can gain a more complete understanding of how
> genes
> work and what genes do what. Hmmm then again those giant killer saber toothed
>
> rabbits might not be very cool!
>
> Moon
> "Who died and left you in charge?"
> "Captain Bipto!"
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