Microcosm (30 page)

E. COLI
AND OTHER BACTERIA ARE LOCKED IN AN EVOLUTIONARY RACE:
Peschel and Sahl, 2006.

FLOYD ROMESBERG, A CHEMIST AT SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE:
Cirz et al., 2005.

JOHN CAIRNS, THEN AT HARVARD:
Cairns, Overbaugh, and Miller, 1988.

SUSAN ROSENBERG OF BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE:
Ponder, Fonville, and Rosenberg, 2005.

NATURAL SELECTION, TENAILLON PROPOSES:
Tenaillon, Denamur, and Matic, 2004.

ANTIBIOTICS MAY ALSO DRIVE THE RISE OF HIGH MUTATORS:
Denamur et al., 2005.

WHEN NOTHING OF THE SORT HAS TAKEN PLACE:
Roth et al., 2006.

SUSAN LINDQUIST OF THE WHITEHEAD INSTITUTE FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH:
Queitsch, Sangster, and Lindquist, 2002.

ICHIRO MATSUMURA, A BIOLOGIST AT EMORY UNIVERSITY:
Patrick et al., 2007.

OTHER SPECIES MAY DEPEND ON THE SAME POTENTIAL:
Francino, 2005.

SOME OF THESE EXTRA GENES:
Myllykangas et al., 2006; Roth et al., 2006.

FEW SCIENTISTS OUTSIDE JAPAN:
Watanabe, 1963.

IN A SURVEY OF
E. COLI
LIVING IN THE GREAT LAKES:
Bartoloni et al., 2006.

EIGHT: OPEN SOURCE

AND IN HIS INTESTINES:
Fricker, Spigelman, and Fricker, 1997.

LAWRENCE AND OCHMAN ESTIMATED:
J. G. Lawrence and Ochman, 1998.

IN 2006, OCHMAN AND SEVERAL OTHER COLLEAGUES:
Wirth et al., 2006.

SCIENTISTS COULD THEN COMPARE IT:
Perna et al., 2001.

HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER MIGHT HAVE IMPORTED A FEW GENES:
Wirth et al., 2006.

OF ALL THE
E. COLI
GENES SCIENTISTS HAD NOW IDENTIFIED:
Welch et al., 2002.

THE LIST OF GENES SHARED:
Binnewies et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2006.

IT’S UP TO 11,000 GENES NOW:
David Ussery, personal communication.

VIRUSES IN THE OCEAN TRANSFER GENES TO NEW HOSTS:
Sullivan and Baross, 2007.

OPEN-SOURCE EVOLUTION:
Frost et al., 2005.

JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE GENES
SHIGELLA
GAINED:
Casalino et al., 2005.

SCIENTISTS WHO STUDY
E. COLI
O157:H7:
Wick et al., 2005.

THEY SPECULATE THAT O157:H7’S TOXINS STIMULATE:
Ferens, Cobbold, and Hovde, 2006.

WHEN PROTOZOANS ATTACK
E. COLI
COLONIES:
Meltz Steinberg and Levin, 2007.

THEY FOUND GENES FOR CELL-KILLING FACTORS:
Hejnova et al., 2005.

IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THE BACTERIA BENEFIT:
Gamage et al., 2003, 2004, 2006; Shaikh and Tarr, 2003; Zhang et al., 2006.

ICHIZO KOBAYASHI, A GENETICIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO:
Kobayashi, 2001.

NINE: PALIMPSEST

“
THE COMPLETE GENOME SEQUENCE OF
E. COLI
K-12”:
Blattner et al., 1997.

MY FAVORITE IS AN OLD BATTERED BOOK:
Chong, 2006.

CARL WOESE, A BIOLOGIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS:
Woese and Fox, 1977.

W. FORD DOOLITTLE, A BIOLOGIST AT DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY:
Doolittle, 2000.

THE TREE OF LIFE STILL STANDS:
Ge, Wang, and Kim, 2005.

HOWARD OCHMAN CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION:
Lerat et al., 2005.

AT THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL IS THE LAST COMMON ANCESTOR:
Ciccarelli et al., 2006.

CHRISTOS OUZOUNIS AND HIS COLLEAGUES:
Ouzounis et al., 2006.

FOUR BILLION YEARS AGO, EARTH WAS REGULARLY DEVASTATED:
Battistuzzi, Feijao, and Hedges, 2004.

OTHERS LIVE ON THE SIDES OF UNDERSEA VOLCANOES:
Hou et al., 2004.

BUT SOME SPECIES, INCLUDING THE ANCESTORS OF
E. COLI:
Raymond and Segre, 2006.

TODAY
E. COLI
CAN STILL SWITCH BACK AND FORTH:
Tomitani et al., 2006.

TODAY BACTERIA HAVE AN IMPRESSIVE RANGE OF DEFENSES:
Matz and Kjelleberg, 2005; Matz et al., 2005.

THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE IN HARRISBURG:
My account of
Kitzmiller v. Dover
is based on several sources, including Humes, 2007; Talbot, 2005; and TalkOrigins Archive, 2006.

“
WE WOULD PREDICT THAT WE’D SEE”:
Bliss, 1981.

“
TO THE MICROMECHANICIANS OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS”:
Lumsden, 1994.

BIOLOGISTS AND MATHEMATICIANS ALIKE:
Van Till, 2002.

“
SUCH SYSTEMS SIMPLY DEFY DARWINIST EXPLANATIONS”:
Hartwig, 2002.

“
A SINGLE SYSTEM COMPOSED OF SEVERAL WELL-MATCHED, INTERACTING PARTS”:
quotations from Behe, 1996, p. 39.

“
IF IT LOOKS DESIGNED, MAYBE IT IS”:
quoted in “Intelligently Designed Apparel and Merchandise,”
CafePress.com
,
http://www.cafepress.com/accessresearch/982234
; accessed June 27, 2007.

IN 2005, MARK PALLEN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM:
Ren et al., 2005.

PALLEN AND NICHOLAS MATZKE:
Pallen and Matzke, 2006.

E. COLI’
S CONTROL NETWORKS HAVE AN ANCIENT HISTORY OF THEIR OWN:
Cosentino Lagomarsino et al., 2007.

IN 2006, M. MADAN BABU, A BIOLOGIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE:
Babu and Aravind, 2006.

ONE OF THE SIMPLEST MEANS:
Zinser and Kolter, 2004.

E. COLI’
S NETWORK GREW IN A SIMILAR WAY:
Zhou, Carlson, and Doyle, 2005.

“
THE RNA WORLD”:
Gesteland, Cech, and Atkins, 2006.

IN THE 1990S, RONALD BREAKER, A BIOCHEMIST AT YALE:
Barrick and Breaker, 2007.

HE PROPOSES THAT THE PROFOUND SPLIT:
Zimmer, 2006.

TEN: PLAYING NATURE

A $75 BILLION INDUSTRY:
S. Lawrence, 2007b.

NOW 250 MILLION ACRES OF FARMLAND:
S. Lawrence, 2007a.

A NEW KIND OF GENETIC ENGINEERING CALLED SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY:
Baker et al., 2006.

BIOTECHNOLOGY WAS BORN MANY TIMES:
Bud, 1993.

THE FIRST NEOLITHIC BIOTECHNOLOGISTS WERE MANIPULATING MICROBES:
Mira, Pushker, and Rodriguez-Valera, 2006.

BY BOMBARDING THE MOLD THAT MAKES PENICILLIN:
Adrio and Demain, 2006.

J.B.S. HALDANE INDULGED IN SOME SCIENCE FICTION:
Haldane, 1923.

AND THOSE TOOLS WOULD EVENTUALLY BE USED:
My account of the history of genetic engineering is based mainly on Hall, 2002; Jackson and Stich, 1979; Krimsky, 1982; Rogers, 1977; Singer, 2001; Wade, 1977; Watson and Tooze, 1981; Wright, 1994; and Zilinskas and Zimmerman, 1986.

SOMEONE HAD ISOLATED GENES:
Shapiro et al., 1969.

“
THE STEPS DO NOT EXIST NOW”:
quoted in Reinhold, 1969.

“
ARE WE WISE ENOUGH TO BE TAMPERING”:
quoted in Krimsky, 1982, p. 35.

“
I DIDN’T WANT TO BE THE PERSON”:
quoted in Krimsky, 1982, p. 31.

“
NEW STRAINS OF LIFE—OR DEATH”:
Cavalieri, 1976.

“
IT WAS NEVER THE INTENTION”:
Watson and Tooze, 1981, p. ix.

“
SCIENTISTS ALONE DECIDED TO IMPOSE A MORATORIUM”:
quoted in Jackson and Stich, 1979, p. 101.

“
BY THE YEAR 2000 VIRTUALLY ALL THE MAJOR HUMAN DISEASES”:
quoted in Dutton, Preston, and Pfund, 1988, p. 200.

IN 1977, THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HELD A PUBLIC FORUM:
National Academy of Sciences, 1977.

“
FROM THE POINT OF PUBLIC HEALTH”:
quoted from Cavalieri, 1976.

“
AN IRREVERSIBLE ATTACK ON THE BIOSPHERE”:
Chargaff and Simring, 1976.

“
NIGHTMARISH AND DISASTROUS”:
Berg and Cohen quoted in Watson and Tooze, 1981, p. 389.

“
WE WERE JACKASSES”:
Watson and Tooze, 1981, p. 437.

“
I’M AFRAID THAT BY CRYING WOLF”:
Watson and Tooze, 1981, p. 155.

HUMULIN, ITS MICROBE-PRODUCED INSULIN:
Figure from Eli Lilly and Company, “Humulin,”
http://www.lillydiabetes.com/product/humulin_family.jsp?reqNavId=5.3
; accessed June 27, 2007.

“
THE FIRST SYNTHETIC LIFE FORM”:
Service, 2003, p. 640.

SCIENTISTS HAVE ADDED OVER THIRTY MORE UNNATURAL ACIDS:
Wang, Xie, and Schultz, 2006.

MICHAEL ELOWITZ AT CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY:
Elowitz and Leibler, 2000.

THE SECOND REPORT CAME FROM THE LABORATORY OF JAMES COLLINS:
T. S. Gardner, Cantor, and Collins, 2000.

IN 2004, STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO:
Levskaya et al., 2005.

THE DRUG, KNOWN AS ARTEMISININ:
M. C. Chang and Keasling, 2006.

SINCE 2001, DREW ENDY AND THOMAS KNIGHT OF MIT HAVE BEEN BUILDING:
Endy, 2005.

GEORGE CHURCH AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE DRAWN UP A LIST:
Forster and Church, 2006.

ALBERT LIBCHABER TOOK AN EVEN SIMPLER APPROACH:
Noireaux et al., 2005.

“
BIOTECH HAS ALREADY IGNITED WORLDWIDE PROTESTS”:
quoted in ETC Group, 2006.

THEY FOUND THAT THE BACTERIA RAPIDLY DISAPPEARED:
Bogosian and Kane, 1991; Heitkamp et al., 1993.

STUDIES SUGGEST THAT EVEN IF AN ALIEN GENE GAVE BACTERIA A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
Nielsen and Townsend, 2004.

THE INCIDENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES HAS DOUBLED:
Statistics from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Diabetes Data & Trends,”
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/prev/national/figpersons.htm
; accessed June 27, 2007.

CASES OF DIABETES WORLDWIDE HAVE INCREASED TENFOLD:
World Health Organization, Media Centre, “Diabetes,”
http://www.who/int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs312/en/’
accessed June 27, 2007.

E. COLI
HAS PROVIDED INSULIN:
Eli Lilly Company, “Humulin,”
http://www.lillydiabetes.com/product/humulin_family.jsp?reqNavId=5.3
; accessed June 27, 2007.

THAT SUGAR COMES INCREASINGLY FROM HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP:
Crabb and Shetty, 1999.

THE COMPANY HAD TO PAY $50 MILLION TO SETTLE CHARGES:
Nordenberg, 1999.

WE MUST RESIST EMPTY FEAR AND EMPTY HYPE:
Avise, 2004.

“
THE AFFLUENT NATIONS CAN AFFORD”:
Borlaug, 2000, p. 489.

GOLDEN RICE, A STRAIN OF RICE ENGINEERED:
Babili and Beyer, 2005.

“
THIS RICE COULD SAVE A MILLION KIDS A YEAR”:
Nash, 2000.

“
IN FIGHTING AGAINST ‘GOLDEN RICE’ REACHING THE POOR”:
Potrykus, 2001, p. 1160.

IT MAY NOT BRING MUCH BENEFIT AT ALL:
Krawinkel, 2007.

VITAMIN A HAS TO BE CONSUMED ALONG WITH DIETARY FAT:
Schnapp and Schiermeier, 2001.

ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF ALL THE TRANSGENIC CROPS:
Service, 2007.

STUDIES INDICATED THAT FARMERS WHO GREW THE TRANSGENIC CROPS:
Raney, 2006.

FARMERS BEGAN TO NOTICE HORSEWEED AND MORNING GLORY:
Owen and Zelaya, 2005.

AND ONCE THE WEEDS EVOLVED THEIR RESISTANCE:
Zelaya, Owen, and VanGessel, 2007.

THEY HAD ENGINEERED PLANTS WITH GENES THAT MAKE THEM RESISTANT:
Behrens et al., 2007.

FARMERS CAN RESORT TO OLD-FASHIONED METHODS:
Sandermann, 2006.

“
WE CAN NOW TRANSFORM THAT EVOLUTIONARY TREE”:
quoted in Jackson and Stich, 1979, p. 97.

THE MIT BIOLOGIST JONATHAN KING DECLARED:
quoted in Hall, 2002, p. 51.

“
THE GENETIC STRUCTURES OF LIVING BEINGS”:
Silver, 2006, p. 287.

“
LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH GRASS”:
Gen. 1:11-24 (King James version).

“
THOU SHALT NOT LET THY CATTLE”:
Lev. 19:19 (King James version).

“
NEITHER SHALT THOU LIE”:
Lev. 18:23 (King James version).

“
USING HUMAN PROCREATION”:
Jones, 2006.

“
REPUGNANCE MAY BE THE ONLY VOICE LEFT”:
Kass and Wilson, 1998, p. 19.

PRESIDENT BUSH CALLED FOR A BAN:
Bush, 2006.

“
RESPECT FOR HUMAN DIGNITY AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE HUMAN SPECIES”:
U.S. Congress, 2005.

“
A THING EITHER IS OR IS NOT A WHOLE HUMAN BEING”:
George and Gomez-Lobo, 2005, p. 202.

E. COLI
STARVES AND SUFFERS:
Chou, 2007.

EACH KIND HAS ITS OWN ESSENCE:
Gelman, 2004.

“
THE THING IS AN ABOMINATION”:
Wells, 1896.

CONSIDER A GENE CALLED MICROCEPHALIN:
Evans et al., 2006.

“
IN A WORLD WHOSE ONCE-GIVEN NATURAL BOUNDARIES”:
Kass, 1997.

AND SOME CHIMERAS WILL PROBABLY BE BANNED:
Scott, 2006.

ELEVEN:
N
EQUALS 1

“
BUT ITS DOMAIN HAS BEEN LIMITED”:
Lederberg, 1963.