"Gene research identifies the cause of diseases. Parkinson's Disease
is now understood and a therapy has been developed and is in clinical
testing."

Read the above at the end of this article...

Anybody know 'bout this?? .......... murray

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Coralville, Iowa, Scientist Makes Case for Continuing Genetic
Engineering

March 18, 2003 12:12pm

Mar. 17--CORALVILLE, Iowa--The science of tinkering with genetics is
like a black hole to some people.

They don't understand it, and the lack of knowledge causes fear, so
they condemn it.

But if they did understand more about genetic engineering, they
wouldn't fear it, said Eric Devor, a senior research scientist at
Integrated DNR Technologies Inc. in Coralville.

The company is a leading manufacturer of synthetic DNA for research.

Devor, 53, talks publicly to groups to educate people about genetic
research. He also conducts classes for people within the industry to
advance their knowledge.

He earned a doctoral degree at the University of New Mexico and has
published 80 papers and the book "Molecular Applications in
Biological Anthropology."

"Every technological advance, even the light bulb, has caused
anxiety. Some questioned the health risk of electricity," Devor said.
"There are enormous benefits with genetic engineering, but it comes
with the responsibility to understand the technology."

The benefits will come in three major waves this century, he said.

First, we're already seeing advances in human and veterinarian
medicine through a high number of drug discoveries. These will be
developed at a lower cost than in the past, with the aid of genetic
engineering, which could make the drugs available at lower prices.

Second, we're seeing the beginnings of agricultural biotechnology.
These applications can go two ways: to enhance food or to modify
plants to do something they weren't doing.

An example of the first is more flavorful tomatoes or faster growing
salmon.

An example of the latter is corn that fights rootworms.

"Even more valuable is genetically engineered drought resistance in a
food plant that produces starch granules made to encapsulate
vaccines," Devor said. Think of corn that's drought resistant and
delivers vaccines to developing countries.

"As Gov. (Tom) Vilsack says, that's when biotechnology will be the
great humanitarian ef fort of the 21st century. I wholeheartedly
agree with that."

The third wave of genetic engineering advancement, bioremediation,
may come by the end of this decade.

"Already we know some bacteria will eat oil," Devor said.

"We can engineer bacteria that will degrade plastics. Already, we
have a bacterium that will degrade 2,4-D in Agent Orange (a strong
herbicide).

"Think what it would mean to genetically engineer some thing that
could go into Love Canal and reclaim that with organisms otherwise
totally innocuous and at a fraction of the clean up cost."

Yet genetic engineering has its naysayers.

"They just make noise. They haven't stopped anything," Devor said.
"The biotech industry is alive and healthy and, for the most part, in
the hands of sensible people. With the exception of the Raelians, who
claim they cloned people.

"I draw a distinct line between genetic engineering and that level of
whole-organism cloning."

The cloning of Dolly, a sheep, revealed much about the unknowns of
whole-organism cloning, he said. Dolly had lung problems and
premature aging.

She died young.

"A genome doesn't exist in a vacuum but in a context that's self-
correcting. You have no idea what's going to happen," he said. "We do
cloning with frogs and bacteria, but with mammals, you just don't
know.

"There's a line you don't cross, and it's between one gene and one
genome, an entire being. That's not difficult for me to see."

Stopping research on genes is not an answer to avoiding possible
negative results. If research had been stopped, as protesters
insisted, on recombinant DNA in the 1970s, scientists would not have
developed a readily accessible insulin for diabetics, Devor said.

Bacteria is now used to produce vats of insulin. Formerly, animals
were slaughtered for their pancreas glands to make insulin through a
costly process.

Devor could easily make Ebola, a deadly virus.

"But that's not enough reason to throw something out because it could
be misused," he said.

Gene research identifies the cause of diseases. Parkinson's Disease
is now understood and a therapy has been developed and is in clinical
testing.

"Once a gene for cystic fibro sis was mapped, the cause was obvious
and the root to treat ing it was obvious. Same with muscular
dystrophy," Devor said.

With any luck, he said, these diseases will go the way of polio,
something people have heard of but don't experience anymore.

To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.gazetteonline.com

Copyright © 2003 The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

http://hoovnews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews&doc_id=NR2003031
81180.3_247600196a7d7a60

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