In this blog post, we will look at the possibility of maximizing human capabilities through genetic engineering and the scientific and ethical issues that arise from it.

 

Introduction

Spider-Man, who flies freely through the skyscrapers of New York like Tarzan, pulling out webs, is still a superhero in the movies that gives me a thrill. In the movie The Amazing Spider-Man, the main character, Peter, is bitten by a genetically engineered spider and gains the ability to climb walls like a spider, to have enhanced reflexes, and to have greatly improved muscle strength. He uses these abilities to develop a device called the Web-Shooter, which allows him to weave his way through the skyscrapers. Another genetically mutated character, Dr. Curtis Connors, appears in the movie. Dr. Connors injects himself with a lizard-derived serum to regenerate his severed arm, but he eventually suffers a catastrophe that transforms his entire body like that of a lizard. This film is based on the possibility of using genetic engineering technology to give the characteristics of one creature to another.
Genetic engineering and biotechnology may remain confined to movies and novels, but their technological potential is so great that they are receiving the second-largest investment among the six new technologies, after the IT sector. If the imagination in the movies becomes a reality, we may be able to insert genes from zebrafish, which have excellent regenerative abilities, into brain cells to treat Alzheimer’s dementia, or actually cause physical changes like those of a whale-human. In the era of the 100-year life, humanity is now focusing on disease prevention and improving quality of life beyond simply saving lives. A lot of effort is being put into treating genetic diseases that were previously incurable. Therefore, in this article, I will look at the realistic possibilities of genetic engineering in movies and give my opinion on the pros and cons of this technology.

 

Genetic manipulation is possible

Genetic manipulation is possible and is already being used in various fields. However, there are limitations to expressing certain characteristics in organisms with large and complex body structures like humans, and the complete understanding of the human body’s metabolism has not yet been achieved. Nevertheless, there are three representative examples of genetic manipulation being used in real life.
The first is insulin supplements provided to diabetics. Insulin is a protein, and it has the characteristic of being difficult to mass-produce chemically. Therefore, scientists insert insulin-producing genes into bacteria or mini-pigs so that they can produce human insulin, and mass-produce insulin through this. Bacteria are often used for genetic engineering because they have a relatively simple structure. If a gene that produces human insulin is inserted into a bacterium through a plasmid (circular DNA that exists separately from the chromosomes in a cell), the bacterium will accept this gene with a certain probability and produce insulin. This can be seen as an example of modifying the metabolism of living organisms.
The second example is GMO foods. These are developed to create plants that are superior to existing plants by combining the best traits of different plants. A typical example is the “fish tomato.” This tomato was made to grow well at low temperatures by receiving genes from fish living in deep waters, especially the “cold-tolerant gene” of flounder. Introducing the characteristics of other organisms to change the characteristics of a specific living organism is an example of genetic engineering.
The third example is GloFish, which was created by injecting GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) derived from jellyfish into fish embryos to produce fluorescent fish that glow brightly in ultraviolet or white light. In the early days, only fish with a green glow existed, but now fluorescent fish of various colors are being created using jellyfish and coral genes. These examples of genetic manipulation suggest that transformation, such as that of fluorescent humans or cold-resistant humans, may be theoretically possible. As can be seen in the three examples above, genetic transformation through genetic manipulation is not impossible.

 

Genetic manipulation is not possible

However, there are still claims that it is impossible to manipulate human genes at will. This is because of the ethical problem of challenging the realm of God, as well as the fact that there is not enough understanding of the genes themselves. The Human Genome Project, which revealed the entire sequence of human genes, was completed in 2003, but this is just a chemical sequence. The research is still ongoing to determine which specific genes encode which proteins and how they interact. For example, to create fluorescent humans, it is necessary to thoroughly control the process of cell differentiation and development so that the fluorescent protein is produced only in the skin. Both differentiation and pattern formation are involved in the expression of traits. In order for fluorescent DNA to be expressed only in skin cells and suppressed in other cells, a specific protein is required, and there must be another gene that produces that protein. As such, gene manipulation is not just a matter of inserting DNA, but involves very complex theoretical work.
Even if all the relevant genes are found and manipulated at the embryonic stage, problems can arise. With current technology, injecting genes into an embryo can cause the cells to reject the genes or cause the cells themselves to die. Even if the genes are inserted into the cells, it is unknown whether this DNA will be stably established in the cells and expressed as a protein.
In addition, it is even more impossible to acquire the characteristics of multiple species at once, as in the movie Spider-Man. For example, in order to have fine hairs for climbing walls, fast reflexes, and strong muscles, multiple genes must be manipulated at the same time, and this is likely to significantly change the original human body shape. Strengthening reflexes requires changes in the neural structure, which may be unrelated to spider genes. After all, human genes have evolved to their optimal state over a long period of time, so it is not easy to make such large-scale changes.

 

Conclusion

There is little chance that beings like Spider-Man or Lizard Men from the movies will ever appear in reality. There are very few traits that humans and spiders share genetically, and a creature must undergo adaptation and evolution for genetic changes to alter its fundamental nature. Gene expression does not simply result from the production of proteins, but only when various factors work together. Therefore, a great number of scientific challenges must be overcome before a “genetically modified human” can be created.
Even if technology advances and a superhero-like being is created, it will face ethical issues. If these abilities are used to oppress the weak, all of humanity may need to undergo genetic modification for fairness. However, not everyone will want such a modification.
If the manipulation of genes is done within the human basic genes, there will be less ethical controversy and it will not be a dangerous experiment. Manipulation within the basic genes means manipulation to restore the function lost due to genetic modification. For example, it is beneficial to the health to make insulin that is taken orally in vitro and then directly in the body. It also corresponds to medical genetic manipulation, such as the treatment of cystic fibrosis caused by genetic modification. Since entertainment is emphasized more than scientific accuracy in movies, we will have to do our best as medical scientists to discover real-life problems and to conduct genetic manipulation that is beneficial to society.