Evolution

If you have followed the recent science news, you know that scientist have created life. Not just cloning, they have created an independent DNA strand. This new life survived. DNA the strand of life that is unique and distinctive in each of us.

Tom and I are fascinated with this creation. In school the Theory of evolution is not taught as a theory. It is not called "Theory". It is called just "evolution". We discuss the implications after dinner. The argument has been that if not evolution then God created life. An either or argument. Now the door is open for more choices. Aliens? Meteors from other planets? A time loop? The theories could be endless and limited only by our imagination.

We have made life. The argument for Evolution is that there was no interference in the creation of life. Lightning struck and green scum grew. From that scum came amoebas and then the oceans grew varieties of life. Some crawled out on the shores and developed on land. Until eventually time passes and brings us to intelligent humans. No interference of higher intelligence from slime to man.

The Bible says God created the earth and all on it, including man. It's in Genesis. Now scientists have created life in that independent strand of life DNA. This is bigger than cloning, which is duplicating what is already here. To make something unique and new that did not ever exist before is fascinating. It opens all sorts of questions. It is no longer either evolution or God. Now there is interference to be considered.

Did you ever wonder about the amazing differences between whales and elephants. Sharks and lions, each predators in their own environment. Did we develop from monkey's or some one's petri dish. Where did God come from?

Science fiction has often mirrored the future. What if this is a giant matrix and we are in a giant computer playing some game. Star Trek had an episode where highly intelligent brains put Captain Kirk through tests so they could watch his reactions and study him. If we can create life, Do we get to do it over and over again. Tom suggests it is like a ride, Total Recall. We paid a token to be a middle class family. If we had paid less for our ride we would have been reborn in Pakistan or some third world country.

Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Depending how you lived this life lets you move up the evolutionary scale, or not. you could be reborn a worm. Who tweaked the DNA? Would you want to live forever? In talking to really old people, they are content to be ready to go. They have outlived their friends. their bodies are failing them. They can't do the things they used to do and they don't like it. Do we get another trip? Can the DNA be changed to get better results.

As scientists start to identify each strand of DNA they get that much closer to being able to adjust it. Bone marrow transplant is amazing in that the stem cells of a stranger are injected into the body of a sick person. They naturally know how to find the marrow area they are supposed to go to and reproduce, like salmon going upstream, but they weren't born there. What is the sent that draws them to the right place.

I see a future where scientists will be able to tweak the DNA strand of diseases and the whole body will clone the change and the disease will disappear. No surgery or chemotherapy necessary. Insurance wont cancel or refuse to carry someone because of a pre existing condition. Will we grow old at all? Robert Heinlein wrote a series of books about a man Lazareth Long. He didn't age. He lived centuries. He saw space exploration. Are we now at that birth?

It wont be overnight. It probably took 50 years to find the way to make DNA from scratch.
Our children may see cures of cancer as old people, if they are lucky. But we are intelligent people. We will keep up the explorations. I just hope political interferences doesn't slow us down. I am a science fiction buff because the writers have imagination to see the future before it happens. If you pick the optimistic view points, we will solve our problems and explore the universe. We already have unmanned probes exploring for us. Imagine sending out DNA as a seed. Did someone do it to us? We now know its possible, we did it ourselves.