Although we have had Separation of Church and State for about two hundred years, there is still some cross-contamination between the two. Science and religion are like oil and water; two things that no matter how hard you try will never mix. Though there have been attempts to have the two topics co-exist peacefully, I have come to realize that will never happen.
In How to Teach Science to the Pope by Michael Mason, the topic of religion versus science is discussed. In his article, Mason talks about the history, members and purpose of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In my opinion, this “independent and remarkably influential body” (Mason), is not as independent as it may seem. It sounds to me as if they aren’t allowed to publish everything they find just in case it will upset the Pope, or anyone else for that matter.
For instance, the topic of stem cell research has been a controversial one for many years. Recently there has been some talk about the Vatican asking science to “protect human dignity.” What about protecting human lives? Isn’t a person’s life more important than a person’s dignity? At least that’s how I feel about it.
This video, entitled Vatican Calls on Science to Protect Human Dignity discusses the creation of a new document that states, "The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses a great yes to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research" (Vatican).
On a more positive note, there have been many pieces of satire written about religion and science. One that really caught my interest was Genesis Revisited: A Scientific Creation Story by Michael Shermer. Shermer re-writes the Creation story with a little “science-y” twist. He adds many scientific terms and describes the creation of different kinds of scientists and ends it on a humorous note (Shermer). I found this particularly interesting, religion was taking the hit; something you don’t see very often.
So while there have been strides made in the fight of religion versus science, I feel as though the two will never be in cahoots with one another and they will always be fighting for who is right.
Mason, Michael. "How to Teach Science to the Pope." Discover Magazine. August 18, 2008. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope
Shermer, Michael. "Genesis Revisited: A Scientific Creation Story." in Darwin. 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001. Vatican Calls on Science to Protect Human Dignity. YouTube. Rome Reports, 1 Apr. 2009. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-KtF0z25g.
"What if you could have genetic perfection? Would you change who you are, if you could?"This quote from Repo: The Genetic Opera is also a moral dilemma that, chances are, our society will be asking ourselves in the next five to fifty years. This idea begs many questions, the answers of which can be confusing, frightening, and possibly recursive. Should we allow scientists to abnormally extend life? Or what about forced evolution; should or should we not be able to control our own genetic destination? Lastly – and easily the most frightening – should we allow genetic or surgical procedures as a possible fashion statement? With these implications on the horizon, we may just see a revolution in genetics similar to the technological revolution of the eighties.
Before we begin, let us discover what gene therapy is and how it worksin a general sense. According to the Human Genome Project,gene therapy is "a technique for correcting defective genes responsible for disease development."When it comes to performing this technique there are several approaches. To quote the project;
A normal gene may be inserted into a nonspecific location within the genome to replace a nonfunctional gene,
An abnormal gene could be swapped for a normal gene through homologous recombination,
The abnormal gene could be repaired through selective reverse mutation, which returns the gene to its normal function,
The regulation (the degree to which a gene is turned on or off) of a particular gene could be altered
Now that we have a basic understanding, let's move on the issues at hand.
Most prominently, gene therapy is advertised to be the cure all of diseases, such as genetic disorders as well as cancer and many others.Recently there have been breakthroughin the cure for AIDS and leukemia using gene therapy. However, one of the side effects of this would be increasing the maximum age level of almost everyone.Wouldn't it be nice to live forever, and be able to tell your great great grand children about life in the late nineties? Well with advent of gene therapy, this may be a possibility. However there's a down side to this; what happens when the population continues to grow and no one is dying. If this is the case there may be a potential crisis on our hands, anywhere from housing to food shortages. Our only solutions would be space colonization or self population control .
Another concern that could be brought about with the advent of gene therapy and the genetic revolution could be forced human evolution. What if you could adjust you genes so that you are specifically good at something? For instance, adjusting your eyes to see at night. Or altering vocal chords to produce a nicer singing voice. These are just the beginnings of things that could be possible if we manipulate our own genes to suit our environment. Right now many scientists believe that humans have stopped evolving,]. If this is true, than in the future in order for our species to continue to survive, this may become a necessity. But when will we know if we have gone too far?
The last, and the by far the most terrifying in my opinion, would have to be gene therapy as a cosmeticprocedure. While this may be a quite a way off, seeing as gene therapy is not perfected, but imagine what would happen in our society culturally and physically. Say you were born with brown eyes and wanted blue. Well for a small fee and quick injections it could be yours. Along these lines are the potential for things that humans aren't suppose to have; anything from third arms, to having horns as a fashion statement. This is a very scary use of gene therapy.
In conclusion, gene therapy has much to offer us as a society, and as the human race as a whole. With the advent of curing disease we will be able to virtually eliminate death caused by anything from common ailments to complex disorders . With control of our genes we will be able to continue humanities evolutionary track as we see fit. Finally, we will have complete control over the way or bodies look and behave. So I will leave you with this quote;
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
I was flipping through my latest copy of Wired magazine when I found a very interesting article about placebos. As I read through the article I found myself intrigued by the neuroscience and medical science that was involved in the studies. It immediately made me think of James Linden’s book “The Accidental Mind”. I knew that Wired is a very credible magazine for cutting edge stories in technology and science. They also market the magazine to interest and intrigue people like myself, who are very interested in the advancements in sciences. They have always been very credible and back up all of their stories with testimonials, research and experts. The amount of information that was being conveyed really opened my eyes to how capable our bodies are at fixing themselves. The placebo effect. For those of you who are unsure a placebo is a faux drug, something fake with no real substance that is used to trick the mind or body into believing it is taking a real drug. The idea of the placebo has been around for a very long time and has been used for many things. The concept of using a placebo was actually born out of necessity. Although the topic is debated the general consensus says that placebo usage began in World War II. A nurse was assisting an anesthesiologist by the name of Henry Beecher. They were in charge of assisting the wounded who were under heavy German bombardment while storming the beaches in southern Italy. As their supply of morphine began to run shockingly low the Beecher’s nurse replaced her syringe of morphine with a syringe of salt water. She assured the soldiers that they were being injected with morphine and the injection of salt water relieved the soldier’s pain and stopped the onset of shock. After the war Beecher decided to continue his studies in the field of medicine at Harvard University. Using his nurse’s tactics as a backbone for his research he created a method to test new drugs to see whether the medicine was truly effective. Eventually in 1955 Beecher submitted a paper called “The Powerful Placebo” to The Journal of the American Medical Association. Beecher’s focus for the paper was how the placebo was able to destroy the results of over a dozen trials of drugs whose results were actually due to the placebo effect not the medicine itself. As I said before this is a very old topic so how can it possibly be considered contemporary science? Well new studies are out saying that the placebo response is becoming stronger. This is where the studies become very interesting. The human brain has the ability to release analgesics (painkillers) into the body via opioids. These are typically released under conditions of stress or anxiety to help calm the body. through many years of study and documentation it is found that our body’s natural painkillers can help with much more than just pain, for example they can help modulate heart rate and blood pressure and even relieve depression. Another product in the brain caused by the consumption of placebos is dopamine. This release of dopamine can help with anything from increasing motor skills in Parkinson’s patients, relieve insomnia, cure depression, improve digestive disorders, and also limit the secretion of stress related hormones like insulin or cortisol. After learning this information I decided to delve further into my topic. I went online and searched for more stories about this and what it means for the world of medicine. I found a great article on the MSNBC website (which can be found here) that goes into detail about how the modern doctor is tapping into the power of the placebo. It also covers how science and technology is using what we know to tap into our body’s own healing powers. This article was written to be informative and for the general public so it is easy to understand and explain and it is backed up by professionals working in the field. The first page of this article offered the same anecdotal type information about the general practices of the placebo. After that came the very interesting portion about how neuroscientists are examining the brain waves of people under the effects of a placebo to better understand how the brain functions. In the case study cited patients were given placebos for about a week, being told they were antidepressants. They were then switched to more placebo or actual medication. What was found was that the people who got the most benefit from the medication had a specific type of brain wave pattern when they were being treated with the placebos. This is really valuable information to know for prescribing anti-depressants. The article mentioned how they wanted to utilize the data in such a way that they could test patients prior to diagnosing a solution, cutting down on incorrect or mistaken prescriptions. The candidates would only have a specific pattern of brain waves so it would be easy and very functional to diagnose. Furthermore there was a case where a group of people are taking the idea of the placebo to a new level. They are teaching the art of self healing. The old mantra of “if you think you will get better, you will get better” is being employed here. The idea behind the self healing is to get the benefits of a placebo without ever taking the pill. It is tapping into the body’s ability to heal itself without the use of any outside force. The news in both sources is very accurate and both make great sense. The reporting was done very well and I feel like the two had a similar, journalistic style. The science seems very sound and the studies are remarkable. The results that are being uncovered are simply amazing and I find the information to be both cutting edge and relevant to our studies. The scientists that are cited in the stories are well renowned and the further I delve into the subject the more credible the information becomes. Below there is a link for the Stanford Institute of Medicine about the effects of a placebo and the results are just as interesting. This is becoming a big story and I believe will change the medical field. This is going to matter to all of us. In relation to this class we started the year by talking about how society reacts to technology. Well this could very well change modern medicine completely and thus change our society. The body is a very capable unit that can heal itself if given the right nudge. If we can grasp how to exactly make our bodies react to a certain placebo essentially eliminating the use of drugs from our culture. With that happening the entire economy, healthcare system and giant pharmaceutical companies will have to completely evolve. Placebos are cheap, easy to make and are just as effective as most brand name drugs. Taking the time to fully understand this can completely evolve our culture and how we heal, can make the economy either tank or bulge depending on how these are marketed and we can overall be a healthier society. When you combine all of those results and realize it is from a simple little sugar pill and some neuroscience that is something pretty revolutionary in my mind. Other useful links: Wiki, things the pharmacies don't want you to knowThe Wired Article
I just wanted to let everyone know that Dresden Codak's brainchild, Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day, is going on this Saturday, September 12. Although the main event is going to be in Portland, OR, everyone is invited to join in on the fun. Here's a link to Dresden Codak's site for more information, and check this out to see some of what they've done in the past!
