Can humanity survive the reckless biotechnology experiments?

 During the last 300,000 years, there have been numerous near-extinction events affecting the entire human population of the planet. These include massive volcanic eruptions like Mount Toba in Indonesia (72,000 years ago) and Taupo in New Zealand (300,000 years ago). They also include tectonic events like the Alika mega slide in Hawaii (120,000 years ago). Climatic changes have also affected human populations like the onset of the late Wisconsin ice age 26,000 years ago and its ending 10,000 years ago. Meteor events have also played a role. One probably caused the younger dryas climate catastrophe 12,900 years ago. Heinrich events, whereby massive icebergs disrupt ocean currents, have also occurred many times.

Award-winning geneticist Professor David Reich of Harvard is an expert in the DNA profiles of ancient human remains. In his 2018 book ‘Who We Are and How We Got Here’, Reich explains that the genetic record of ancient humans that he has examined in the subcontinent demonstrates that in addition to global catastrophes – referred to as Adam and Eve events – local near-extinction events are more common than we previously realised. In other words, natural catastrophes of various sorts can almost wipe out whole populations which must then recover and rebuild from the surviving genetic base.

Reich also found that the particular aspects of the human genome commonly understood to support language acquisition and tool technology are far older than previously thought. They have been with the human race for at least one million years and possibly more than five million years. In other words, the genetic structure and capacity to develop higher functions and capabilities characteristic of humans have survived numerous catastrophes and played their crucial role in saving and rebuilding civilization. 

In fact, the intact preservation of our shared inherited genetic structure is both the foundation of the human race and the guarantee of its survival and continuance. Even successive plagues of global illness throughout the ages such as the plague of Cyprian 250-271, the Black Death 1346-1353, and many others including infectious pandemics, whose causes are now lost in history, did not degrade our genetic structure. Our immune system, guided by our genetics, learns from them and works out how to respond to future threats to health of a similar nature.

With this background, we can begin to understand just how much of a threat genetic manipulation could pose to our long-term survival. Our genetic structure contains our survival toolbox, but this toolbox is like no other. All the tools are connected together in a self-interacting whole fully integrated with the fundamental laws of nature as partially described by physics, chemistry, etc. Moreover, it is an automatic toolbox, it doesn’t require a technologist to open and operate it. DNA repairs and renews itself daily and reproduces its functions through successive generations. Tinker with it at your peril...<<<Read More>>>...