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FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE
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Ian Wilmut, Ph.D.
Pioneer of Cloning
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Are the things which may come from something you're thinking of doing beneficial? Very often of course there's a double edge to it, and so it's a question of, does the benefit outweigh any disadvantages that there are? So it is, if you like, a pragmatic judgment that I'm making. And so, if you're thinking of experimenting with animals, that may cause distress and pain to the animal. "Is the distress that you're going to cause justified by the potential benefit in terms of new treatments for human patients?" for example, would be the sort of judgment that we have to make all the time. And, we have to not only make those judgments, but document them to a supervisory system. In terms of human applications of cloning, in terms of application of cloning, essentially the same sort of process. Is this sort of thing which has been thought about beneficial? So that if you're asking the question, for example, "Is it appropriate to think of making a copy of a person?" You have to ask not only, "What is the benefit to the people who are asking for this to be done?" But also, "What's the impact on the child that's going to be produced?" And that last bit I think often gets missed out.
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[ Interview ] Ian Wilmut |
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We are starting a project now to try to make genetic changes in pigs, so that they can be used to provide organs for human patients. Now, if you take a pig organ and put it into a human it's destroyed immediately by an immune response, so we have to find a way of making a genetic change in a pig, so that that particular response is prevented. Now, of course, to some people that whole idea is really appalling. And, I think that it's important that there is discussion about this, so that there can be a social judgment for each country as to whether this is an acceptable thing to do.
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[ Interview ] Ian Wilmut |
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Ian Wilmut: The trick that we introduced to coordinate them was to starve them, to make them inactive, there's a technical name of quiescence. And, there are two reasons why we think that's important. One is it's this process of coordinating the cells cycles, so that they begin to go off at the same time. The other is that they're easier to make go back to the beginning of development. And, I think we need to think about this for a minute, what happens in development is that a single cell will become all of the different tissues of an animal, and it happens by cells dividing and then becoming more and more different. And, what biology said was that this process will become more complex, and more difficult to reverse. Now, what happens when we make a cell go relatively inactive is that we think that there are differences in structure in the nucleus, in the genetic information. Which then allow the factors which are in the egg, which really are the magic ingredients, to act on that nucleus and to bring about the complete reversal of development. Now, we haven't formally proved that and we certainly have no idea how it works, but that is our current hypothesis as to why we produced Dolly.
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James D. Watson, Ph.D.
Discoverer of the DNA Molecule
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Suddenly to see the molecule which is responsible for heredity, and which makes possible human existence, was a very big step in man's understanding of himself in the same sense that Darwin knew that the human species wasn't fixed, that we were changing. It was bound to affect your attitude to everything.
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[ Interview ] James Watson |
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Francis S. Collins, M.D.
Director of the Human Genome Project
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I now think I'm the luckiest guy in science. I have a chance to stand at the helm of a project that I honestly believe is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science. I believe that reading our blueprints, cataloguing our own instruction book, will be judged by history as more significant than even splitting the atom or going to the moon. This is an adventure into ourselves. To figure out, what are the instructions that allow us as human beings to carry out all of our biological attributes? I think all of history, and the history of biology and medicine, will be divided by this stunning achievement. Of what we knew before we knew the human genome sequence, and what we were able to do after that. And for me, this kid from the small farm in Virginia, to have a chance to oversee that is just an astounding thing.
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[ Interview ] Francis Collins |
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I don't know any scientists who have a success rate of their experiments greater than about one in ten. Ninety percent, total flops, learn nothing, something was dreadfully wrong, just wasted time. Of the ten percent that actually succeed, maybe ten percent of those actually contribute in some way to new knowledge, and the rest just sort of confirmed something that was already known. So if one is going to do this -- and don't get me wrong, it's the most exhilarating thing in the world to do if you decide that this is your calling -- that one has to expect failure. If you're doing experiments that work all the time, you're not working on anything very interesting. You're not really at the cutting edge, you're just sort of replicating things that were already known.
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[ Interview ] Francis Collins |
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As a geneticist, I look forward to the time when we can say -- because we'll have all the data -- that race doesn't really exist. It may be a social construct, it may be a cultural construct, but it sure ain't a scientific construct. And I think we already know that in some generalities, but we'll know that in detail pretty soon. And that will be good, because I think that is a chronic sore on our culture that we are unwilling to cope with. And for the 21st century, if we could focus on that as our highest priority, that would be wonderful.
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[ Interview ] Francis Collins |
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Denton A. Cooley, M.D.
Pioneer of Heart Transplants
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One of the most trying times in my career was when we did the first heart transplant. We put it into the patient, and wondered whether it was going to work. Suppose it had not functioned? We weren't certain at all that it would function. So that five or ten minutes, while we were waiting for that heart to regain its function, was one of the most difficult times of my surgical career. And I'm sure it's the same with other surgeons who have followed. Now we know that the heart will start up, and that's just part of the knowledge that we have gained through the years.
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[ Interview ] Denton Cooley |
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Denton Cooley: I think that we are getting closer to solving the problem of malignancies and cancer. And I think that we will probably see some real advances made in that direction in the next decade. I think that, as far as my specialty is concerned, most of the exciting things have been done. We have had so many procedures now to do to the heart, that now we may perfect what we are doing some, but no real exciting breakthroughs like transplantation, open heart surgery, or the artificial heart. I think that most of the publicity and excitement has gone. I think the real practical advances we can look forward to are better methods of diagnosis, enhanced of course, by computers. So computerization pretty soon will be a more standard thing, like x-rays and other things. And it will make the future much better in this field of diagnosis of disease.
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[ Interview ] Denton Cooley |
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Scientist Profile: Research on the Frontiers of Medicine
The four scientists featured in the video segments are Dr. Ian Wilmut, Dr. James D. Watson, Dr. Francis S. Collins, and Dr. Denton A. Cooley. Each is doing cutting-edge scientific research. They are pioneers in new fields of medicine. Their work is both rich with potential benefit and yet often controversial. Cloning, organ transplantation, and genetic manipulation are hot topics and many people are divided over their use and implications. Select one of the featured scientists. Gather information about their lives and their scientific projects and breakthroughs. What makes this scientist a pioneer? What effect has this role had on his life and work? What does he hope to achieve? Use your research to develop a multimedia profile of this pioneering scientist in the field of the medicine.
Cloning Survey Project
In his interview Dr. Ian Wilmut asks: "Is it is appropriate to think of making a copy of a person?" As a research scientist, Dr. Wilmut has been on the forefront of cloning research yet he realizes that this scientific possibility raises many questions. Some questions are medical. Some are ethical. Cloning also raises religious questions. Research this topic further by reviewing Dr. Wilmut's complete interview in the Gallery of Science and by investigating the other listed online resources. Develop a series of questions about the topic of cloning and its implications. Survey your friends, family, and other community members by asking these questions and recording responses. Analyze the results and write a summary that presents your findings.
The Human Genome Project
Dr. Francis Collins states that he is "the luckiest guy in science." He has a chance to "stand at the helm of a project that he believes is the most significant undertaking that we have mounted so far in an organized way in all of science." That is quite a statement since the history of science is rich with amazing and beneficial discoveries. Why is the Human Genome Project so extraordinary and important? What are the potential benefits to human health and society? Research the project by reading Dr. Collins complete interview in the Gallery of Science and by investigating the additional online resources for this topic. Develop a multimedia presentation that presents the Human Genome Project and its potential benefits to your class.
New Discoveries: On the Medical Frontier
The field of medical research is rich in new areas of discovery and development. The four scientists featured in the video segments are pioneers in these areas which include the genetic mapping of humans, cloning, DNA, and organ transplants. Each area of research has opened the door to potential benefits and technologies. Each has also stirred controversy within the scientific community and in the public forum. Review the video segments and the scientists' complete interviews in the Gallery of Science. Conduct additional online research using the listed resources. Assume the role of documentary filmmaker. Use your research to develop an outline and rough storyboards for a documentary that highlights these new frontiers of medicine.
The Cloning Debate
As Dr. Ian Wilmut describes in his interview, the scientific possibilities of some forms of cloning have become realities. But many questions remain that divide public and scientific opinion about the benefits and negative effects related to cloning. For example, would it be beneficial to clone endangered animal species to save them from extinction? Is it beneficial to genetically modify foods to be resistant to disease thereby making more food available to the world's populations? These are important questions, but nowhere is the controversy more heated than in the area of human cloning. Besides medial questions, there are ethical, legal, and societal issues related to cloning a human being. Research these issues further after reviewing Dr. Wilmut's complete interview in the Gallery of Science. Consider issues related to fairness, privacy, psychological impact, societal stigmatization, reproductive issues etc. Use your research information to develop your own opinion and point of view. Write a position paper for a debate focused on the benefits of cloning.
The Passion for DNA
DNA's double helix structure was first discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. In his Gallery of Science interview, Dr. Watson says that to "suddenly see the molecule which is responsible for heredity, and which makes possible human existence, was a very big step in man's understanding of himself...in the same sense that Darwin knew that the human species wasn't fixed, that we were changing. It was bound to affect your attitude to everything." In a recent PBS program, The Gene Hunters, Dr. Watson added that our knowledge of DNA is "good and great, but I'll only be truly happy if we stop cancer or stop schizophrenia." Research the developments in medicine since the discovery of DNA. Create a multimedia timeline that highlights the importance of DNA, medical breakthroughs because of this new knowledge, and the potential advances that could be made in the future.
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