Genetics of Original Sin
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Authors: Christian De Duve
Genetics of Original Sin
Published in association with Ãditions Odile Jacob for the
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Genetics of
Original Sin
The Impact of Natural Selection
on the Future of Humanity
CHRISTIAN
DE
DUVE
WITH NEIL PATTERSON
FOREWORD BY
EDWARD O. WILSON
Yale
UNIVERSITY PRESS
New Haven & London
Ãditions Odile Jacob
Paris
Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of
Philip Hamilton McMillan of the Class of 1894, Yale College.
Translated from
Génétique du péché originel,
by Christian de Duve,
published by Ãditions Odile Jacob in 2009.
Copyright Odile Jacob, 2009;
ISBN 978-2-7381-2218-6.
English-language translation copyright © 2010 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any
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Set in Minion type by Integrated Publishing Solutions.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
De Duve, Christian.
[Génétique du péché originel. English]
Genetics of original sin : the impact of natural selection on the future of humanity /
Christian de Duve with Neil Patterson; foreword by Edward O. Wilson.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-300-16507-4 (clothbound : alk. paper) 1. LifeâOrigin. 2. Life (Biology) 3. Evolution (Biology) 4. Natural selection. 5. Genetics.6. Twenty-first centuryâForecasts. I. Patterson, Neil. II. Title.
QH325.D41313 2010
576.8âdc22
2010029161
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48â1992 (Permanence of Paper).
10Â Â 9Â Â 8Â Â 7Â Â 6Â Â 5Â Â 4Â Â 3Â Â 2Â Â 1
ALSO BY CHRISTIAN DE DUVE
A Guided Tour of the Living Cell,
Scientific American Books (New York: W. H. Freeman, 1984)
Blueprint for a Cell: The Nature and Origin of Life
(Burlington, NC: Neil Patterson, Publishers, 1991)
Vital Dust: Life as a Cosmic Imperative
(New York: Basic Books, 1995)
Life Evolving: Molecules, Mind, and Meaning
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Singularities: Landmarks on the Pathways of Life
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
To Janine
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
âGENESIS 3:6
Part I. The History of Life on Earth
Advancing knowledge has swept away “centrisms”
All living beings share a number of basic properties
The history of life is written into molecular sequences
Biological evolution is an established fact 11
Opposition to evolution on religious grounds is widespread
Life appeared on Earth shortly after the young planet had become physically able to harbor it
The building blocks of life arise spontaneously throughout the universe
Earth formed a “cauldron” in which cosmic building blocks could interact
The first steps in the origin of life were chemical in nature
The appearance of RNA was a key step in the origin of life
Chapter 3. The Evolution of Life
Microbes have left few fossil vestiges but many other traces of their long duration on Earth
Bacteria separated into two main groups
Atmospheric oxygen was a major contribution of life to Earth
The birth of eukaryotic cells inaugurated a new living world
Endosymbiosis was a key phenomenon in the development of eukaryotes
Protists are the ultimate champions of unicellularity
Multicellularity allowed division of labor
Born in water, plants were the first multicellular organisms to invade land
The evolution of animals developed around the alimentary function
Marine invertebrates inaugurated animal life
Body segmentation opened the way to vertebrates
Several distinct animal lineages moved from water to land
Dinosaurs gave rise to birds and mammals
Part II. The Mechanisms of Life
Living cells are chemical factories
Living cells extract the energy they need from their surroundings
Thousands of specific catalysts are involved in metabolic reactions
Metabolic pathways form networks of enormous complexity
The history of metabolism goes back to the earliest days of life
Reproduction started with molecular replication
Multicellular beings reproduce by way of single mother cells
The mother cell of multicellular beings arises from two parental cells by sexual reproduction
Chromosome doubling caused by sexual reproduction is corrected by meiosis during gamete maturation
Sexual reproduction is the laboratory of evolution
Male and female gametes differ
Plant reproduction involves spores
Seeds and fruits harbor, until germination, the plant embryos issued from fertilized eggs
Fungi also reproduce by way of spores
In animals, parent mobility favors union between spermatozoa and oocytes
The fertilized egg of vertebrates has always developed in an aqueous medium
The first accounts of embryological development were purely descriptive
Experimental embryology began to decipher developmental mechanisms
Development is ruled by transcriptional gene control
Genes are organized by transcription into a hierarchy dominated by master genes
Homeotic genes are master genes of central importance
Evolution and development are intimately linked
Artificial selection exploits the imperfections of heredity for defined purposes
Malthus introduced the notion of the “struggle for life”
Natural selection acts under our very eyes
The mutations subjected to natural selection are accidental events devoid of finality
The role of chance in evolution is limited by stringent constraints
Cases of optimizing selection are more frequent than long believed
Evolution is largely molded by environmental conditions
Chapter 8. Other Evolutionary Mechanisms
Lamarck advocated the heredity of acquired characters
DNA cannot be a vector of Lamarckian heredity
Cases of Lamarckian heredity that do not involve DNA exist
Genetic drift accompanies evolution without selection
Self-organization could theoretically drive evolutionary events
Were some key evolutionary steps guided by “intelligent design”?
Chapter 9. The Emergence of Humans
Africa is the cradle of humankind
They were not yet human, but they already made stone tools
Prehumans started out of Africa for the first time some two million years ago
A second wave of migrations started once again out of Africa
The acquisition of language was a crucial step in hominization
Cro-Magnon inaugurated modern humans
What happened to the Neanderthals?
Modern humans remain the only survivors from the adventure out of which they were born
Chapter 10. Making the Human Brain
The brain is constructed with neurons
The cerebral cortex is the mysterious site of conscience
The expansion of the human brain went through a number of successive plateaus
Hominization involved an astonishingly small number of individuals
Brain expansion dominated the second major stage of hominization
Hominization: Chance or necessity? Summit or stage?
Chapter 12. The Cost of Success
The history of humanity is a perpetual succession of wars and conflicts
Original sin is none other than the fault written into human genes by natural selection
Part IV. The Challenges of the Future
Chapter 14. Option 1: Do Nothing
If nothing is done, humanity is headed for disaster
The extinction of humankind, if it occurs, will be due, not to its failure, but to its success
Could a “superhuman” species succeed the human species?
Life has up to five billion years left before Earth becomes incapable of harboring it
What could happen in a brain even more developed than the human brain?
Chapter 15. Option 2: Improve Our Genes
Eugenics has become a dirty word
Cloning opens the way to directed evolution
Human cloning provokes heated ethical debates
Whatever happens, humanity will not be saved by cloning
Chapter 16. Option 3: Rewire the Brain
The wiring of the brain is an epigenetic phenomenon
Education starts in the cradle
Chapter 17. Option 4: Call on Religions
Churches could play an exceptional role in saving humankind
Religions are founded on beliefs, not on rational thought
Many religions present themselves as defenders of the truth
Religious doctrines have a major impact on ethical directives
Hopes for a future life could hamper efforts in favor of present life
Are religions to be fought, or can they be enlisted?
Churches are engaged in many valuable activities
Ethics without doctrine is possible
The dialogue between science and religion is desirable but difficult
Chapter 18. Option 5: Protect the Environment
Protecting the environment is a very recent human concern
Ecology has penetrated daily human life
Ecology has become the source of major controversies
A basic discovery opened the way to revolutionary applications
GMO: an acronym that ignites passions
Are GMOs an assault against the sacredness of nature?
Environmentalism has a crucial role to play
Chapter 19. Option 6: Give Women a Chance
Combativeness is primarily a male character
In most civilizations, women are treated as inferior to men
The social rise of women in the modern world is an encouraging change
Chapter 20. Option 7: Control Population
The crisis foreseen by Malthus has struck
Culling is not a tolerable solution to the population problem
One way or another, the birthrate must be reduced
