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Authors: Christian De Duve

Genetics of Original Sin

Genetics of Original Sin

Published in association with Éditions Odile Jacob for the
purpose of bringing new and innovative books to English-
language readers. The goals of Éditions Odile Jacob are to
improve our understanding of society, the discussions
that shape it, and the scientific discoveries that alter its
vision, and thus contribute to and enrich the
current debate of ideas.

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

Éditions 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 Éditions 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. Life—Origin. 2. Life (Biology) 3. Evolution (Biology) 4. Natural selection. 5. Genetics.6. Twenty-first century—Forecasts. I. Patterson, Neil. II. Title.

QH325.D41313 2010
576.8—dc22
2010029161

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).

10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  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.”

—GENESIS 3:6

Contents

Foreword by Edward O. Wilson

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. The History of Life on Earth

Chapter 1. The Unity of Life

Advancing knowledge has swept away “centrisms”

Earth has a history

Life also has a history

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

Chapter 2. The Origin of Life

Life appeared on Earth shortly after the young planet had become physically able to harbor it

The origin of life is not known, but the only scientifically acceptable hypothesis is that it arose naturally

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

Chapter 4. Metabolism

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

We are what our catalysts are

The history of metabolism goes back to the earliest days of life

Chapter 5. Reproduction

Reproduction started with molecular replication

With the appearance of cells, cell division was added to molecular replication in biological reproduction

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

Chapter 6. Development

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

Chapter 7. Natural Selection

At the start lies heredity

Artificial selection exploits the imperfections of heredity for defined purposes

Malthus introduced the notion of the “struggle for life”

Natural selection lets the “struggle for life” choose passively among the diversity created by the imperfections of heredity

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

Certain evolutionary events could be potentially present in genomes and made manifest by favorable 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”?

Part III. The Human Adventure

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

It took six hundred million years for the animal brain to reach, in chimpanzees, a volume of 21.4 cubic inches

In the human line, it took two to three million years for the brain volume to expand from 21.4 to 82.4 cubic inches

The expansion of the human brain went through a number of successive plateaus

Exponential neuron multiplication braked by anatomical constraints probably explains the sigmoid shape of the jumps of brain volume from one plateau to another

Expansion of the human brain was limited by the size of the female pelvis and by the degree of immaturity at birth compatible with survival

Chapter 11. Shaping Our Genes

Hominization involved an astonishingly small number of individuals

Hominization probably started with bipedalism, which was selectively advantageous in the local terrain

Brain expansion dominated the second major stage of hominization

The vagaries of environmental change probably guided the migrations that characterized the third stage of hominization

Hominization: Chance or necessity? Summit or stage?

Chapter 12. The Cost of Success

Taking advantage of the powers of their brains, humans have proliferated beyond all measure and exploited a major part of the planet's resources for their own benefit

The history of humanity is a perpetual succession of wars and conflicts

The inordinate evolutionary success of the human species has been acquired at the expense of a severe deterioration of living conditions on Earth

If it continues in the same direction, humankind is headed for frightful ordeals, if not its own extinction

Chapter 13. Original Sin

Natural selection has indiscriminately privileged all the personal qualities that contribute to the immediate success of individuals

Natural selection has privileged traits favoring cohesion within groups and hostility among different groups

Natural selection has not privileged the foresight and wisdom needed for sacrificing immediate benefits for the sake of the future

Original sin is none other than the fault written into human genes by natural selection

The only possibility of redemption from the genetic original sin lies in the unique human ability to act against 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?

With the advent of humankind, evolution has reached a point where it is no longer a slave to natural selection

Chapter 15. Option 2: Improve Our Genes

Eugenics has become a dirty word

Cloning opens the way to directed evolution

What can cloning be used for?

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

Political and, especially, religious leaders are particularly well placed to propagate the recommendations the world needs

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

What should we do?

Ethics without doctrine is possible

The dialogue between science and religion is desirable but difficult

Religions, through their influence, and the sciences, through their knowledge, must urgently collaborate for the salvation of humanity

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

Nuclear energy: pro or con?

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

Limiting births needs to be encouraged

Epilogue

Index

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