Nel 1953 veniva scoperto "Il segreto della vita"

70 anni fa scoprivamo la struttura del dna: ecco come ci ha cambiato la vita. Ripercorriamo le tappe che hanno preceduto questo importante risultato e il modo in cui ha rivoluzionato il futuro della genetica con l’aiuto dello storico della medicina. La scoperta della struttura del dna ha 70 anni. Il 28 febbraio 1953 è passato alla storia come il giorno in cui un inglese e un americano entrarono in un pub e annunciarono di aver risolto un enigma su cui buona parte della comunità scientifica dell’epoca si scervellava ormai da decenni. I due uomini in questione erano naturalmente James D. Watson e Francis Crick e la scoperta a cui si riferivano riguardava nientemeno che “il segreto della vita”. Erano più di cinquant’anni che medici, fisici e biologi si interrogavano riguardo l’esistenza e la natura dei geni. Perciò, quando i due studiosi avanzarono una teoria che contemplava un codice della vita basato su un “alfabeto” di quattro “lettere” disposte in una struttura a doppia elica (scoperta che valse loro e al fisico Maurice Wilkins il premio Nobel per la medicina nel 1962), si posero le basi per una vera e propria rivoluzione copernicana nel campo della biologia e per un cambio di paradigma che avrebbe orientato il futuro della ricerca biomedica, aprendo la strada a possibilità di intervento terapeutico fino ad allora impensabili. I passi della scoperta La scoperta del Dna ha 70 anni e noi ripercorriamo le principali tappe che hanno preceduto e reso possibile questo risultato e il modo in cui esso ha cambiato la storia della medicina insieme ad Andrea Grignolio, docente di storia della medicina presso l’Università Vita-Salute S. Raffaele di Milano e di bioetica presso il Cnr, Centro Interdipartimentale per l’Etica e l’Integrità nella Ricerca CID-Ethics. “All’inizio del Novecento vennero riscoperte le leggi di Mendel sull'ereditarietà dei caratteri e la comunità scientifica iniziò perciò a interrogarsi sulla natura del gene e, eventualmente, su quale fosse il suo sostrato chimico”, racconta Grignolio. “Nei primi anni del secolo scorso vennero condotti, in particolare, due importanti esperimenti che indirizzarono biologi, medici e chimici nella giusta direzione. Il primo fu quello del biologo Thomas Hunt Morgan che grazie allo studio della drosofila (il moscerino della frutta) dimostrò come i geni fossero disposti sui cromosomi; il secondo fu quello di Hermann J. Muller, che scoprì che l’esposizione ai raggi X aumentava il tasso di mutazione di alcune cellule riproduttive”. Nonostante questo, fino all’inizio degli anni Cinquanta, ovvero pochissimo tempo prima della scoperta di Watson e Crick, ancora si discuteva per capire se i geni fossero composti dalle proteine o dagli acidi nucleici (come di fatto è, ndr). Com’era già noto allora, i “mattoni” che formano le proteine, ovvero gli aminoacidi, sono di venti tipi differenti, al contrario degli acidi nucleici, che sono costituiti dalla combinazione di sole quattro basi azotate. In altre parole, un alfabeto di venti lettere sembrava più adatto a codificare progetti di sviluppo di interi organismi complessi, rispetto a uno di quattro. I momenti chiave Per dirimere la questione fu rilevante l’esperimento di Avery del 1944. Il medico canadese Oswald T. Avery intervenne su alcune cellule infettate dal batterio dello pneumococco privandone alcune delle proteine, altre dei polisaccaridi, e altre del dna. Appurò quindi che fosse quest’ultimo a detenere la capacità che lui chiamò “principio trasformante”, ovvero quella di ricevere il materiale genetico proveniente dal batterio. Infatti, solo nelle cavie le cui cellule ancora contenevano dna e rna avveniva il contagio veicolato dal batterio. Dopo pochi anni, nel 1950, il celebre biochimico austriaco Erwin Chargaff condusse alcuni esperimenti che dimostrarono che il rapporto tra le quattro basi azotate che compongono il dna fosse molto più sofisticato di quanto sembrasse. Scoprì infatti che in ogni molecola di dna il numero di basi A (Adenina) corrispondeva a quello del numero di basi T (Timina) e che il numero di basi C (Citosina) corrispondeva a quello delle basi G (Guanina), nonché che la composizione in basi del DNA variava da una specie all'altra e non era modificata in base all'età. Alcuni conclusero che le 4 basi potessero costruire un “codice” con le istruzioni necessarie per portare le informazioni genetiche”. Parallelamente a tutte queste ricerche condotte nell’ambito della biologia, traguardi altrettanto importanti furono raggiunti grazie al lavoro dei fisici, che a partire dagli anni Trenta contribuirono a gettare le prime basi per lo studio della biologia molecolare. “Uno dei protagonisti di questo filone di studi fu il fisico austriaco Erwin Schrödinger che nel 1944 scrisse What is life, il primo best seller della biologia molecolare”, prosegue Grignolio. “In quest’opera Schrödinger ipotizzava, in maniera geniale, che il gene assomigliasse a un “cristallo aperiodico”, la cui struttura chimica doveva essere molto stabile (proprio come quella di un cristallo) ma allo stesso tempo irregolare, e che contenesse al suo interno una sorta di “codice morse” composto di pochissimi elementi di base in grado però, combinandosi, di trasmettere molte informazioni”. La svolta (e una grossa scorrettezza) E arriviamo così a Watson e Crick. “Negli anni Cinquanta in Inghilterra vi erano due laboratori in cui si lavorava con la spettroscopia a raggi X, una tecnologia sviluppata durante la rivoluzione industriale per analizzare i tessuti artificiali e successivamente applicata all’indagine della materia vivente”, spiega Grignolio. “Il primo era quello del King's College di Londra, dove sotto la direzione di Maurice Wilkins lavorava anche Rosalind Franklin, la chimica che per prima sarebbe riuscita a fotografare con precisione una molecola di dna; l’altro era il Cavendish laboratory dell’università di Cambridge. Fu qui che si incontrarono e iniziarono a collaborare James D. Watson, che si era da poco trasferito dal King’s College – continuando le sue ricerche di dottorato dirette dal medico e genetista italiano Salvatore Luria – e Francis Crick”. Watson e Crick si misero al lavoro per cercare di mettere insieme, come i pezzi di un puzzle, tutti quei risultati scientifici cui abbiamo accennato e che erano stati acquisiti nel corso degli ultimi decenni in ambiti di ricerca differenti. È interessante ricordare che i due studiosi riuscirono a costruire il loro modello sulla struttura del dna senza condurre alcun esperimento. Ciò non toglie nulla alla loro genialità, che permise loro di unire tutte quelle informazioni “sparse” in un’unica teoria coerente”. Va anche ricordato, però, che la conferma definitiva della loro teoria avvenne in seguito a una delle più famose scorrettezze ai danni di una donna nella storia della scienza. Fu infatti Wilkins a rubare a Franklin la celebre fotografia 51, in cui la chimica era riuscita a immortalare una molecola di dna di cui era possibile distinguere la struttura a doppia elica, e a mostrarla a Watson. “La mossa di Wilkins fu certamente scorretta”, commenta Grignolio “e altrettanto sbagliato fu non riconoscere fin da subito a Franklin il dovuto merito per il suo lavoro – ciò invece avvenne solo dopo il 1968, grazie al racconto autobiografico della scoperta da parte di Watson con il suo best seller La doppia elica. Detto ciò, va comunque rimarcato che la fotografia in questione, la famosa 51, fu senza dubbio molto utile, ma comunque non essenziale alla scoperta di Watson e Crick, i quali, oltre alla foto, raccolsero e riordinarono i risultati tratti da almeno altre otto ricerche per completare quel rebus”. Nell’articolo che pubblicarono su Nature il 25 aprile del 1953 per comunicare la loro scoperta, Watson e Crick avanzarono, con una elegante frase tipica dell’understatement britannico (“Non è sfuggito alla nostra attenzione”) anche l’ipotesi che l'alternanza delle basi azotate probabilmente nascondesse la complessità dell’informazione genetica. Questo, però, fu dimostrato in seguito: fu infatti nel 1961 che i biochimici Marshall W. Nirenberg e J. Heinrich Matthaei scoprirono l’esistenza dei codoni, ovvero di quelle triplette di basi azotate che codificano i diversi aminoacidi. Le basi per il nostro futuro Nei decenni successivi, la scoperta del codice genetico, identico dalle drosofile sino ad Einstein, ha permesso l’esplosione della biologia molecolare e anche dell’ingegneria genetica. Quando infatti venne scoperta all’inizio degli anni Settanta l’esistenza degli enzimi di restrizione, capaci di tagliare e sostituire pezzetti di dna, si iniziò a discutere della possibilità di intervenire sul genoma umano per alterare artificialmente la trasmissione dell’informazione genetica. Per la prima volta nella storia si apriva per gli esseri umani la possibilità di modificare a proprio piacimento il piano di sviluppo di un organismo vivente e nel 1975, durante la Conferenza di Asilomar, la comunità scientifica si ritrovò per discutere i possibili pericoli e le sfide etiche che si prospettavano all’orizzonte. Oltre ai pericoli derivanti dalle possibilità di applicazione dell’ingegneria genetica, fu presto chiaro anche il potenziale terapeutico di una tecnologia in grado di manipolare il dna. “All’epoca era già ben nota l’esistenza di quelli che il medico ottocentesco Archibald Garrod aveva definito inborn errors (“problemi congeniti”), ovvero di determinate malattie ereditarie la cui frequenza familiare non poteva essere altro che genetica”, ricorda Grignolio. “Nel 1949 la scoperta delle basi genetico-molecolari dell’anemia falciforme da parte di Linus Pauling, premio Nobel per la chimica nel 1954, lasciò intuire che l’individuazione delle cause genetiche delle malattie ereditarie avrebbe permesso, in futuro, di applicare l’ingegneria genetica a fini terapeutici per cercare di correggere a monte le mutazioni del dna associate all’insorgenza di alcune patologie. Diverse scoperte successive confermarono questa idea che a metà anni Ottanta prese il nome di Progetto genoma umano, il cui ambizioso obiettivo era quello di mappare l’intero codice genetico degli esseri umani per cercare di individuare e di eliminare i geni difettosi e di comprendere i maccanismi di molte altre malattie, tra cui il cancro. Non a caso, con un celebre articolo del 1986 su Science, uno dei promotori del Progetto genoma umano fu l’italiano Renato Dulbecco, premio Nobel nel 1975 per gli studi sugli oncogeni. “Come sappiamo, ci sono voluti quindici anni per portare a termine la prima fase dell’impresa, ma il sequenziamento del genoma umano ha consentito, negli ultimi decenni, lo sviluppo delle più avanzate terapie geniche, cellulari e tissutali (specialmente quelle a base di cellule staminali) attualmente disponibili. Grazie ad esse è oggi possibile trattare malattie che fino a pochi anni fa erano incurabili, come molti tumori del sangue infantili e malattie genetiche, e ricostruire e rigenerare interi tessuti in pazienti in vita”. Read the full article

CELLXRENEWAL REVIEWS: IS IT A SCAM OR LEGIT? Should SEE SHOCKING 30 DAYS RESULTS BEFORE BUY!

Consider the possibility that one was informed there was a method for reinforcing the body’s cells, increment strong and joint strength, seem more youthful, and live longer. Furthermore, imagine a scenario where they were informed that all they needed to do was take a nutrient consistently to accomplish this. That gives off an impression of being a sensible proposition. That is precisely exact thing CellXRenewal, another dietary enhancement showcased as an enemy of maturing and cell revival supplement, gives. While these cases might seem unrealistic, the science behind the item shows that it could be feasible to work on the personal satisfaction and reduce the pessimistic impacts of maturing by joining nutrients and minerals that battle coronary illness and inability to burn calories. Yet, does it really work? Furthermore, how did this all become — assuming that it could possibly do? (Exceptional OFFER) Buy CellXRenewal For an Unbelievable Low Price Today! What precisely is CellXRenewal? It’s generally smart to investigate any item that professes to “pause and converse the maturing system,” and they generally encourage the perusers to do a broad review into any item that professes to further develop life prior to setting high expectations for it. In one review into CellXRenewal, they found that few of the constituents had been displayed in clinical tests to lessen aggravation, further develop heart wellbeing, and clear pores in the skin. While CellXRenewal won’t make one more youthful (that would be inconceivable), it can work on the personal satisfaction when joined by sound way of life decisions, causing one to feel more vivacious and seem more youthful. CellXRenewal Ingredients Yet, what components are consolidated in CellXRenewal that put it aside from other wellbeing supplements? The CellXRenewal site accentuates the excellent of the embellishments as being above or more what different enhancements give. CellXRenewal contains seven synthetics that are planned to address a medical problem that its client might insight. D-Ribose, MSM, Marine Phytoplankton, Shiajat, Vitamin D3 and Ecklonia Cava. They give a special and critical advantage. 2-AEP calcium In view of its supposed enemy of maturing properties, Alex alludes to this as the “Life span Mineral.” Calcium 2-AEP, or calcium 2-aminoethylphosphate, is a basic part in the cosmetics of cell layers in human bodies, as per Wikipedia. Erwin Chargaff, a noticeable organic chemist, found it in 1941 as a calcium salt of phosphorylethanolamine. Its consequences for cells have been all around read up for a long time. As per reports, when it is infused into the body, it expands every cell’s capacity to retain supplements while dispensing with infections, waste, and poisons that assault the body. MSM It further develops skin versatility, immovability, and hydration. It diminishes the actual signs of face maturing by 38%! Why Choose CellXRenewal? Shopper Report Released Here D-Ribose This is a characteristic sugar contained in the heart that works on the heart’s capacity to siphon blood without weakness. The vast majority experience the trouble as they age in light of the fact that their D-Ribose supply diminishes, making it more hard to get the 13 pounds each day that it needs to work. Supplements that support D-ribose have been utilized to assist people who with having had cardiovascular failures further develop their blood stream and oxygen levels. Shilajit Shilajit, while hard to say, is a characteristic and successful nootropic, or cerebrum enhancer, that further develops memory and mind capability and invigorates the mind’s different nerve associations. It very well might be found profound inside the Himalayan good countries and has been utilized by local people for more than 10,000 years. Another review distributed in the timesofindia.com supported up these strong statements. The expansion of this powerful mineral to the body is said to eradicate cerebrum haze and further develop thinking lucidity without creating any hurtful secondary effects. Phytoplankton in the Sea These microalgae are known to be strong. It’s high in bioactive omega 3 unsaturated fats and assists with reinforcing the safe framework while bringing down irritation. When consumed by the body, it goes to work, upgrading the body’s normal T-cell creation, which is basic in the resistant reaction and cell recovery. Cava Ecklonia Ecklonia Cava is a kelp that is consumable. It’s been named the “Marvel Plant of the Sea,” and it’s been widely contemplated, including a $39 million drive directed by South Korean researchers. D3 (calcium iodide) Nutrient D3 is a powerful nutrient that has been displayed to reinforce the resistant framework, lessen nervousness and emotional episodes, and keep the bones sound areas of strength for and. While it is normally found in the skin when presented to daylight, the people who live in colder environments or who can’t take off from the house will regularly find that the increase in this nutrient present in Cell X Renewal will fundamentally work on their body’s stock of it. (Select OFFER) View Pricing and Availability of CellXRenewal How Does Cell X Renewal Prevent Aging? CellXRenewal is said to help with the maintenance or potentially inversion of cell harm. As indicated by those behind this enhancement, when individuals age, their resistant frameworks start to decline. During this time, cell walls start to corrupt, bringing about tears and holes. Cell openings just become bigger with age. At this stage, such holes welcome aggressors inside the cell structures, bringing about more DNA harm. These modifications initiate the maturing framework, affecting the appearance and generally strength of the body. Considering this, CellXRenewal is accounted for to have life span components that can repress the previously mentioned messes while recovering cells generally all through the body. Instructions to Purchase CellXRenewal CellXRenewal must be acquired on the Cell X Renewal official site. They give three buying options in contrast to the enhancement, each with an unconditional promise. Choice 1: The Starter Package — This incorporates a one-month supply of CellXRenewal, one container of the enhancement, and 60 cases to be taken two times day to day. This container costs $69 USD. Choice 2: The Best Seller — For $180, get a three-month supply of CellXRenewal, three containers, and a three-month supply of CellXRenewal. Each container is $59 USD. Choice 3: The Most Economical — This bundle incorporates a six-month supply of CellXRenewal as well as six jugs and expenses $300. Each jug is $49 USD. Discount Policy Each jug of CellXNatural bought accompanies a 365-day unconditional promise. Clients are urged to contact client assistance at: Phone: (877) 207–9935 Email: [email protected] to become familiar with the discount strategy’s rules and regulations, where they ought to return their product(s), and how lengthy it will take for the discounted cash to show up in their records. Alongside the CellXRenewal buy, no matter what the expense, one will get two selective advantages esteemed at $39.90 free of charge. CellXRenewal is by and by being presented with three phenomenal FREE rewards: The main FREE extra, worth $19.95, is: Step by step instructions to Keep the Brain Young to 100 and Beyond! This is the most right clarification for the cerebrum’s purported solidifying, which debilitates the capacity to acquire new abilities and information and builds the opportunity of dementia. This study makes sense of how one might shield the psyche and invigorate synapses basically rapidly. This report is additionally expected to assist one with recollecting things all the more strikingly by growing the memory. Stop The Pain Naturally (Valued at $19.95) is the second FREE reward. This is a stand-out report on the most proficient method to quit enduring normally, recover control of life, and be blissful! On account of torment, prescriptions will just guide a specific sum; the rest really depends on one. Whether one has a sensitive throat, a throbbing back, or an enlarged knee, standard torment treatment approaches normally fall flat. To stay away from inconvenience, look fresh, in a manner of speaking, and find out about torment easing light treatment, old stretches, and different strategies. With protected and productive home grown cures, one is guaranteed help from sciatica, headaches, and lower back torment. On the off chance that one purposes these straightforward life tips, one can bring down the pressure by 56%. Moreover, there are no dangers or unfriendly impacts. Realize the reason why the a throbbing painfulness aren’t completely in the head and how to shield wellbeing by not becoming dependent on pain killers. On the off chance that one doesn’t utilize it, one will lose it. This free report uncovers how one can keep the mind youthful at whatever stage in life. It makes sense of why the cerebrum turns out to be less reliable with age and how to keep the psyche sharp by utilizing mental activities and techniques to further develop mind execution. Regular Pain Relief This free eBook talks about how to keep away from undeniable annoyance, back, knees, and different joints regardless of whether one use supplements. It likewise makes sense of what makes agony and how try not to take pain killers when one encounters unforeseen joint agony. Additionally READ: CellXRenewal Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Does It Work For Everyone? FAQs Here are a few often posed inquiries about this item: How might CellXRenewal be taken? Grown-ups can require two tablets each day with water or normal juice. How long should CellXRenewal be utilized? CellXRenewal ought not be supposed to produce results inside a set time period. As such, the client can utilize it however long they pick. Purchasers, then again, could give it a 90-day time for testing, as per the firm. This arrangement isn’t fitting for anybody younger than 18, nor is it suitable for breastfeeding or nursing moms. At long last, individuals who are taking meds can examine potential medication collaborations and unfavorable impacts with their medical care experts. Could sensitivity victims at any point utilize CellXRenewal? CellXRenewal is a sans gluten, additive free, and without gmo supplement fabricated completely in the United States. Besides, the maker guarantees that it has no allergens by any means. At last, each cluster is accounted for to have been tried for Prop 65 consistence. What sort of results could CellXRenewal at any point give? Learn More……

In the old times, the knowledge of biology was perhaps similar to what could be made out in a very large, very dark house. Many objects could be more felt than seen with equal dimness, once the eyes got used to the darkness; and scientists were conscious of the limiting conditions under which they worked. In our time, however, a few very powerful and very narrow beams of light have been thrown into a few corners of this dark house, and several things can be seen in clarity and illumination that almost distort their significance. But at the same time we have lost our dark-adaptation; and since we all have a tendency to follow the light, we have moved into these cozy corners, to the detriment of the rest, which still is, by far, the major part of nature. In pointing this out one runs the risk of being accused of trying to spread the darkness.

Erwin Chargaff, Essays on Nucleic Acids

In 1945, I proved a sentimental fool; and Mr Truman could safely have classified me among the whimpering idiots whom he did not wish admitted to the presidential office. I felt that science, in … sharpening the knife … had incurred a guilt of which it will never get rid.

Erwin Chargaff, Heraclitean Fire

Bilim, kitabı mı okuyor, kağıdı hakkında mı konuşuyor?

Bu bir yazı sayılmaz. Daha çok 'bir ilginçlik.' Belki başkalarına da ilginç gelir diye bu sûrette not alındı. Efendim, şuradan başlayayım, Constantin Von Barloewen'ın Bilgiler Kitabı'nı okuyorum bugünlerde. Kitabın altbaşlığı şöyle: Çağımızın Önemli Düşünce İnsanlarıyla Söyleşiler. Işık Ergüden çevirmiş. Aylak Kitap'tan çıkmış. Her neyse. Bu kısmı hızlı geçeyim. Eserde söyleşi yapılan isimlerden birisi de biyokimyacı Erwin Chargaff (1905-2002). Kendisi DNA'ya dair büyük keşiflerin de sahibi. Sadece bir biyokimyacı değil üstelik. Bilimin felsefesiyle de meşgul bir düşünür. Bir filozof. Ama âsilerden. Modern bilime dair endişeler dillendiren bir 'istenmeyen adam.' Evet. Bunu kendisi de itiraf ediyor. Nobel alamayışını da mezkûr tutumuyla ilişkilendiriyor. Söyleşi boyunca da zaten saklamadığı bu yanını apaçık görüyorsunuz.

Bana ilginç gelense söyleşi boyunca dillendirdiği bazı tenkidlerin Bediüzzaman'ın kimi beyanlarıyla benzerlik taşıması. Mesela: 12. Söz'ü bilirsiniz. Mürşidim orada "Hikmet-i Kur'âniye ile hikmet-i fenniyenin farklarına şu gelecek hikâye-i temsiliye dürbünüyle bak..." diye başlayan bir hikayecikle seküler bilim eleştirisi yapıyor. Daha doğrusu: Seküler bilimin yarı yarıya kör felsefesini eleştiriyor. Alıntılayalım:

"Bir zaman hem dindar, hem gayet san'atkâr bir hâkim-i namdar istedi ki, Kur'ân-ı Hakîmi, maânîsindeki kudsiyetine ve kelimâtındaki i'câza şayeste bir yazı ile yazsın, o muciznümâ kamete harika bir libas giydirilsin. İşte, o nakkaş zat, Kur'ân'ı pek acip bir tarzda yazdı. Bütün kıymettar cevherleri yazısında istimal etti. (...) Sonra o hâkim, şu musannâ ve murassâ Kur'ân'ı, bir ecnebî feylesofa ve bir Müslüman âlime gösterdi. Hem tecrübe, hem mükâfat için emretti ki, 'Herbiriniz bunun hikmetine dair bir eser yazınız.' (...) Feylesofun kitabı, yalnız harflerin nakışlarından ve münasebetlerinden ve vaziyetlerinden ve cevherlerinin hâsiyetlerinden ve tarifatından bahseder, mânâsına hiç ilişmez. Çünkü o ecnebî adam Arabî hattı okumayı hiç bilmez. Hattâ o müzeyyen Kur'ân'ı, bilmiyor ki bir kitaptır ve mânâyı ifade eden yazıdır. Belki ona münakkaş bir antika nazarıyla bakıyor. Lâkin, çendan Arabî bilmiyor, fakat çok iyi bir mühendistir, güzel bir tasvircidir, mahir bir kimyagerdir, sarraf bir cevhercidir. İşte o adam bu san'atlara göre eserini yazdı. Amma Müslüman âlim ise, ona baktığı vakit anladı ki, o, Kitâb-ı Mübîndir, Kur'ân-ı Hakîmdir. İşte bu hakperest zat, ne tezyinat-ı zahirisine ehemmiyet verdi ve ne de hurufun nukuşuyla iştigal etti. Belki öyle birşeyle meşgul oldu ki, milyon mertebe öteki adamın iştigal ettiği meselelerinden daha âli, daha galî, daha lâtif, daha şerif, daha nâfi, daha cami'... Çünkü, nukuşun perdesi altında olan hakaik-ı kudsiyesinden ve envâr-ı esrarından bahsederek gayet güzel bir tefsir-i şerif yazdı."

Uzatmayayım. Sonra her ikisi de yazdıklarını Hâkim'e götürdüler. Hâkim, filozofun hakiki manayı ıskalamasından kızdı, kovdu. Âlimi ise tebrik etti. Sonra mürşidim temsili hakikat bahsine şöyle taşıdı: "Eğer temsili fehmettinse, bak, hakikatin yüzünü de gör: Amma o müzeyyen Kur'ân ise şu musannâ kâinattır. O hâkim ise Hakîm-i Ezelîdir. Ve o iki adam ise; birisi, yani ecnebîsi, ilm-i felsefe ve hükemâsıdır. Diğeri Kur'ân ve şakirtleridir." Detaylarına meraklananları kaynağına havale edeceğim bu okumada anlatılansa özetle şudur: "Amma, ilm-i hikmet dedikleri felsefe ise, huruf-u mevcudatın tezyinatında ve münasebatında dalmış ve sersemleşmiş, hakikatin yolunu şaşırmış. Şu kitab-ı kebirin hurufatına 'mânâ-yı harfî' ile, yani Allah hesabına bakmak lâzım gelirken, öyle etmeyip 'mânâ-yı ismî' ile, yani mevcudata mevcudat hesabına bakar..."

İşte, ilginçlik, Chargaff da söyleşisinde bilimi aynı misalle eleştiriyor:

"Bilim insanlarını tek tek karşınıza alıp 'Hayat nedir?' diye sorsanız, hayatı ortaya çıkaran şeyi, hayatın yansıdığı tepkime ve formülleri anlatırlar. Bu aşağı-yukarı 'Kitap nedir?' diye sorup şu cevabı almaya benzer: Kitabın yapısını ayrıştırıyoruz. Kağıdı analiz ediyoruz. Harflerin neye benzediğine ve hangi mürekkeple basıldıklarına bakıyoruz. Ama gerçekte kitabın içinde ne olduğunu bilmiyoruz. Bu doğa bilimleri için de geçerlidir. Onlar da bunu bize söyleyemezler. Hiçbir bilim insanı, hiçkimse, hayatın ne olduğunu bilmiyor. (...) Hayatın kendisi, umarım sonsuza dek, bir esrar olarak kalır. Gaz mı sıvı mı? Döllenmeden hemen sonra, yumurtacık kapandığında, ne olmaktadır? Niçin daha sonra emriyo aniden yaşamaya başlamakta? Bu olay bir köşede, mekaniğin metafiziğe geçtiği ara bir uzamda, olup bitmektedir. Bunun üzerinde hiçbir etkimiz yok. Bunu deşifre edemiyoruz. En güçlü bilgisayarları kullansak da olmuyor. Bizim keşfedeceğimiz şey hayat değil. Yalnız hayatın bazı öğeleri ve bazı koşulları, bu bilginin de gerçekten yararlı olup olmadığını bilmiyoruz. (...) Benim bakış açımdan bilime çok büyük önem atfetmemek gerekir. İlginçtir. Ama ille de yaşamsal değildir."

Üstelik, bilimin yüzeyselliğinin, hakikat yoksunluğunun 'kitap misaliyle' anlatılmasının dışında Chargaff'ın hayata dair söylediklerinin de Bediüzzaman'ın beyanlarıyla bir uyumu var. Çünkü mürşidim de 'hayatın perdesizliğini' sıklıkla nazarımıza veriyor: "Kâinatta en mühim hakikat ve en kıymettar mahiyet nur, vücut, hayat, rahmettir ki, bu dört şey perdesiz, vasıtasız, doğrudan doğruya kudret-i İlâhiye ve meşiet-i hassa-i İlâhiyeye bakar. Sair masnuatta zâhirî esbab kudretin tasarrufuna perde oluyorlar."  Yani, evet, hayatın aslında neyden yaratıldığını bilmiyoruz. Çünkü perdesi yok. Biz ancak perdeleri okuyabiliyoruz. Chargaff da perde üzerine konuşmakla hakikati konuşmanın farkına dikkat çekiyor.

Bu yazı gibi olmayan yazıyı, yine Chargaff'tan, evrim üzerine bir eleştiriyle bitirelim: "Evrim teorisi kuşku verici öğeler içermektedir. Sosyal darwincilik en güçlünün ayıklanmasını savunduğunda yıkıcı etkileri olur. Uyanık bazı biyologların bu açıdan evrim teorisinin kesinliğini tartışma konusu ettiklerini hayal edebilirim. Ama bundan açıkça sözetmeye cesaret edemezler. Çünkü kariyerlerine zarar verebilir. Üzerinde öylesine köklü bir şekilde anlaşılmış şeyler vardır ki sonunda tanınmaz hale gelirler. İlk başta darwinci teori fazla yandaş bulamamıştı. Fakat belli bir andan itibaren bilimin entelektüel yapısına egemen oldu. Ve böylece kısmen bir iman konusu oldu. Benzer bir olgu moleküler biyolojide meydana geldi. Benzer eğilimler önceki dönemlerde de görülür: Ortaçağda hristiyan olmayan hiçbirşey elde edemez. Kimi durumlarda odun yığınları hariç. Ama yeni gelenler ille de bu kadar saf değildi."

As with all things in life, we must start with Erwin.

My Biology teacher, 3/16/21, talking about Erwin Chargaff

Are we not...

Are we not in this sense parts of a greater organism, kept alive through the ever more vividly circulating blood of an enormous past?

~ Erwin Chargaff,  Heraclitean Fire: Sketches from a Life Before Nature (Rockefeller University Press; June 1978)

Erwin Chargaff

being a biology major isn't about "gel electrophoresis" or "learning protein structures" it's actually about getting your non-bio friends to vote whether erwin chargaff is hot or not

Did the ancients somehow know about DNA?

Conventional history tells us that the double-helix structure and base-pairing characteristic of the DNA molecule was not "discovered" until the twentieth century, based upon the work of scientists Rosalind Franklin, Raymond Gosling, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Erwin Chargaff, primarily in the 1950s and 1960s.

Erwin Chargaff (1905-2002) in particular was responsible for the insight that DNA molecules contain roughly equal proportions of adenine and thymine (one of the "base pairs" in the DNA molecule) and of guanine and cytosine (the other "base pair").  Since that time, high school students everywhere have had to memorize the letters A-T and G-C in conjunction with their introduction to the molecular structure of DNA.

It is fascinating to note that the first four signs of the zodiac wheel after the ecliptic "crossing" of the celestial equator at the spring equinox (shown in the diagram above) are Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer (readers who astutely note that the motion of precession has long ago "delayed" the sky and moved the constellation Pisces into the heliacal rising position once occupied by the constellation Aries during the Age of Aries should note that in astrological terms, the "signs" are considered to remain in the positions shown above, for cogent reasons that are beyond the scope of this particular post).

Is it mere "coincidence" that the base pairs of the DNA molecule begin with the same four letters as the first four signs in the zodiac (A, T, G and C), and that they actually "pair" in a manner consistent with the order of the zodiac signs (A with T, and G with C, just as Aries is next to Taurus and Gemini next to Cancer)?

Of course, skeptical readers will note that the names for the DNA nucleobases were generally given by different researchers operating in different decades during the mid- to late-1800s, and that their names almost certainly were not chosen in order to relate in any way to the zodiac signs (adenine, for example, was named after the pancreas, from which the first samples in which adenine was isolated were taken and which organ in Greek is named aden, while guanine is apparently named after the word for bird droppings or guano).  And so it would seem on the surface that the connection between the zodiac and our modern understanding of the DNA molecule and its structure and base pairing is purely coincidental.  

Nevertheless, even if no plausible argument can be made for an actual connection between the letters A-T-G-C in the DNA molecule, and the letters A-T-G-C in the first four constellations of the zodiac cycle, it certainly seems to be a singular example of serendipity, synchronicity, or the collective unconscious working itself out over the course of thousands of years.

Further, while the letters A-T-G-C may not be among the evidence which argues for ancient understanding of the DNA molecule long before the work of Franklin and Gosling, Watson and Crick, and that of Erwin Chargaff, there is in fact other evidence which suggests that the ancients did in fact display flashes of insight which make us wonder whether they might somehow have had inexplicable knowledge of the importance of the DNA molecule, and even the structure of DNA.

One oft-cited example is the fact that the ancient symbol of the caduceus features two intertwined serpents very reminiscent of the double-helix structure of DNA.  Further, some ancient art including the images from ancient Sumer and Babylon depicted on this page (disregard the discussions of "Nibiru," "Planet X," and the "Annunaki" as outside the scope of this particular post as well) clearly seem to be very suggestive of modern understanding of the structure of DNA.

Jeremy Narby, author of Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge has an interview on the web located here in which he discusses a theory which attempts to explain how the mankind may have acquired knowledge of the importance of DNA and its helictical structure long before the advent of "modern science."  He believes that it is very possible -- and that in fact there is evidence to conclude -- that shamanic techniques can give human beings access to knowledge which modern scientific methods only confirmed much later, in recent decades.  In fact, he notes that shamans regularly describe visions involving intertwining serpents, and associate these serpents with something shared by all the multifarious life-forms in our world. In the interview, he makes the assertion that:

Both shamans and molecular biologists agree that there is a hidden unity under the surface of life's diversity; both associate this unity with the double helix shape (or two entwined serpents, a twisted ladder, a spiral staircase, two vines wrapped around each other); both consider that one must deal with this level of reality in order to heal.  One can fill a book with correspondences between shamanism and molecular biology.

Note that in an image about four-fifths of the way down that long web page, Dr. Narby includes an image from the tradition of western alchemy which he believes has clear resemblance to chromosonal DNA, and which certainly predates the work of Franklin, Gosling, Watson and Crick by centuries.

There is other evidence, particularly from ancient sacred traditions and mythology, which strongly suggest that mankind somehow knew far more about the importance of DNA than we moderns have been led to believe. This evidence will be addressed in my next book.

This evidence has nothing (directly) to do with the synchronicity involving the letters A-T-G-C and the first four signs of the zodiac, although the ancients clearly taught that mankind reflected the cosmos on a "microcosmic" level, a concept discussed in previous posts such as "

The extra-zodiacal decans in macrocosm and microcosm," "

More on macrocosm and microcosm

Human internal organs connected to solar system planets?

Okeanos

The judgement of Paris

Giordano Bruno, 1548-1600

If each strand of our DNA is composed of base pairs whose initials reflect the initials of those first four zodiac signs (each of which is considered the "leader" of a grouping of three other signs, categorized as the Earth, Air, Fire, and Water signs of the zodiac), then we can truly say that -- however the serendipitous confluence came about, the naming of the DNA base pairs symbolizes on a profound level the fact that each of us embodies a tiny cosmos.

addendum:

DNA has the geometry of ten interpenetrating dodecahedra spiraling along the helix. It requires ten Phi spirals to create the top view of DNA. The basic geometry of DNA is that of a dodecahedron. Since Daniel Winter assumes that the universe is one huge super hologram and that everything in the universe is connected with everything else by means of Golden waves, he believes that DNA is electro-magnetically coupled with the Earth grid and the Zodiac by means of the fractal dodecahedron shapes of energy.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=DNA: the secret of life

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=DNA: the secret of life

Watch the video and answer the questions , no outside resources 1. Why were Crick and Watson kicked off the team in 1951? 2. What information did Crick and Watson get from Erwin Chargaff and another team that was crucial in their discovery? 3. Who stated that science shouldn’t be kept in a bag any more than cats? How did this attitude help contribute to the success of Crick and Watson? 4.…

View On WordPress

When I look back on my early way in science, on the problems I studied, on the papers I published — and even more, perhaps, on those things that never got into print — I notice a freedom of movement, a lack of guild-imposed narrowness, whose existence in my youth I myself, as I write this, had almost forgotten. The world of science was open before us to a degree that has become inconceivable now, when pages and pages of application papers must justify the plan of investigating, “in depth,” the thirty-fifth foot of the centipede; and one is judged by a jury of one’s peers who are all centipedists or molecular podiatrists. I would say that most of the great scientists of the past could not have arisen, that, in fact, most sciences could not have been founded, if the present utility-drunk and goal-directed attitude had prevailed. [...] What I remember of my beginnings is the truly lyrical shudder with which I contemplated nature. I am not sure that I even knew what I meant by nature. It was the blood and the bones of the universe, its dawn and dusk, flowering and decay, firmament and graveyard. The alterations of the spiritual and the material tides, the oscillations between future and past, the mysterious fates of everlasting stone and short-lived fly: they filled me with admiration and reverence. Nature, it seemed to me, was almost the entire non-I, the entire non-small-boy… A small boy begins by being unable to explain the explainable, but when he grows old he often looks away from what cannot be explained. I am grateful that fate has preserved me from this form of blindness. Surrounded by a surfeit of solved riddles, I am still struck by how little we understand.

Erwin Chargaff, Heraclitean Fire

¿Qué es?

“Se llama ingeniería o manipulación genética a una serie de técnicas que permiten la transferencia programada de genes entre distintos organismos.”

Se puede describir como la formación de nuevas combinaciones de genes por el aislamiento de un fragmento de ADN, la creación en él de determinados cambios y la reintroducción de este fragmento en el mismo organismo o en otro.

Actualmente, a la modificación genética se refiere al proceso mediante el cual se insertan genes de una especie a otra mediante sofisticadas técnicas genéticas.

Se han hecho muchos experimentos de modificación genética al paso de los años, utilizando mamíferos, insectos, microorganismos, plantas, entre otras.

Algunos de los científicos que han aportado a la genética y su modificación son:

Gregor Mendel

Friedrich Miescher

Walther Flemming

Eduard Strasburger

Edouard Van Beneden

Walter Sutton

William Bateson

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Alfred Sturtevant

Ronald Fisher

Frederick Griffith

Jean Brachet

Edward Lawrie Tatum

George Wells Beadle

Oswald Theodore Avery

Colin MacLeod

Maclyn McCarty

Erwin Chargaff

Barbara McClintock

Rosalind Franklin

James D. Watson

Francis Crick

Joe Hin Tjio y

Albert Levan

Howard Temin

Estructura del ADN

En cuanto a su estructura, el material genético está formado por macromoléculas de ADN (Se le llama así porque es de mayor tamaño que una molécula simple), los llamados cromosomas. El número de cromosomas es diferente dependiendo de cada especie

Un polímero de ADN tiene dos cadenas de moléculas simples que se llaman monómeros y que se ordenan una detrás de otra, recibiendo el nombre de nucleótidos al estar en conjunto. Los nucleótidos están formados por un azúcar (desoxirribosa), un grupo fosfato y cuatro bases nitrogenadas que son la adenina (A), timina (T), guanina (G) o citosina (C).

Antes de ver su organización primero debemos saber de que elementos se componen los 4 compuestos químicos.

La Adenina es la base componente de los ácidos ribonucleicos y desoxirribonucleicos. Y su fórmula es C5H5N5.

La timina es una base orgánica nitrogenada con formula C5H6N2O2.

La guanina también es una base orgánica nitrogenada y su fórmula es C5H5N5O.

Por ultimo la citosina que es una base orgánica nitrogenada que tiene de formula C4H5N3O.

Regresando al tema de la estructura Las bases C y T se llaman pirimidinas porque solo tienen un anillo, mientras que las bases A y G, por tener dos anillos se llaman purinas.

Hay algunas reglas o observaciones que están relacionadas con la estructura del ADN, fueron proporcionadas por el bioquímico Erwin Chargaff, Las cuales fueron que:

A, T, C y G no se encuentran en cantidades iguales. 

La cantidad de bases varía entre especies, pero no varía entre los individuos de la misma especie.

Siempre la cantidad de A será igual a la de T y la de C igual a la de G.

Who is the speaker? If it is memory, then why does it sometimes whisper, sometimes shout, often chatter, and mostly remain in sullen silence?

If we could not forget, we could not remember; just as only the trembling balance can weigh. There are nights with a rose tint, there are days black with clouds, a groan from a deathbed, a hand on my hair, a voice out of the pyre of forgottenness. The ashes do speak, but it is a broken murmur. Brief reflections of brightness, as from a shattered mirror, play over the blackness of an ever-present past.

I tell what I am told. Who is the speaker? If it is memory, then why does it sometimes whisper, sometimes shout, often chatter, and mostly remain in sullen silence?

~ Erwin Chargaff,  Heraclitean Fire: Sketches from a Life Before Nature (Rockefeller University Press; June 1978)