Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

[Courtesy of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

More than 7,500 tons of abalone are consumed annually in South Korea. However, it's not easy for abalone farmers to keep their prized product alive during summer as the shellfish die easily when the sea temperature rises above 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit). To increase the production of abalone by increasing survivability in warm water temperatures, some farmers in China and other countries use genetic modification.

Temperatures of the sea around the Korean peninsula showed abnormality due to global warming, rising on an average of 0.44 degrees Celsius every year over the last decade, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Abalone farmers lost more than 13.6 billion won ($10 million) in 2018 due to high sea temperatures.

The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS), a scientific body operated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said in a statement that it has found a selective breeding method that involves no genetic engineering by using genetic markers. The institute will commercialize the method after a pilot project at actual abalone farms.

"With the recent trend of rising sea temperature, the future of abalone farms depends on developing breeds that can survive in places where the water temperature varies greatly," NIFS researcher Nam Bo-hye was quoted as saying.

Based on the institute's 2014 finding that a certain breed of abalone is capable of staying alive in seas warmer than 32 degrees Celsius, NIFS researchers have analyzed genetic characteristics, which are genetic markers, of the more heat-tolerant breed. Abalone farmers can check genetic markers to sort out the heat-tolerant breed in a simple and quick manner.

Read more here:
Researchers find new selective-breeding method for heat-tolerant abalone without genetic modification - Aju Business Daily

NEW YORK, May 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Viral Vector and Plasmid Manufacturing Market to Reach $5.86 Billion by 2030

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05902571/?utm_source=PRN

Market Report Coverage - Viral Vector and Plasmid Manufacturing

Market Segmentation

Vector Type Plasmid DNA and Viral Vector Viral Vector Type Adenovirus, Adeno-Associated Virus, Retrovirus, Lentivirus, Vaccinia Virus, and Other Viral Vectors Disease Type Cancer, Genetic Disease, Infectious Disease, Cardiovascular Disease, and Other Diseases Application Gene Therapy, Cell Therapy, Vaccinology, and Other Applications

Regional Segmentation North America U.S., Canada Europe Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific China, Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, and Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Rest-of-the-World Latin America and Middle-East and Africa

Growth Drivers Rising Prevalence of Cancer, Genetic Disorders, and Infectious Diseases Rapid Uptake of Viral and Plasmid Vectors for the Development of Innovative Therapies Increasing Number of Clinical Studies for the Development of Gene Therapy Favorable Funding Scenario for Vector-Based Therapies

Market Challenges Unaffordable Cost of Gene Therapies High Manufacturing Costs of Viral Vectors and Plasmids Complications Associated with Large-Scale Production of Vectors

Market Opportunities Rising Demand for Synthetic Genes Emergence of Next-Generation Vectors

Key Companies ProfiledFUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, GENERAL ELECTRIC, Lonza, Merck KGaA, MolMed S.p.A., Novasep Holding, Oxford Biomedica plc, Catalent, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., GenScript, Boehringer Ingelheim, Wuxi AppTec Co., Ltd., Sartorius AG, Takara Bio Inc., and Aldevron, L.L.C.

Key Questions Answered: What is a vector, and what is its importance in the medical industry? What are the major characteristics and types of vectors? What are the areas of application of vectors? What are the major advancements in the viral vector and plasmid manufacturing sector? What are the key trends of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? How is the market evolving and what is its future scope? What are the major drivers, challenges, and opportunities of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? What are the key developmental strategies implemented by the key players of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market to sustain the competition of the market? What is the percentage share of each of the key players in different key developmental strategies? What is the regulatory scenario of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? What are the initiatives implemented by different governmental bodies and guidelines put forward to regulate the commercialization of viral vector and plasmid manufacturing products? What are major milestones in patenting activity in the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? What was the market size of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market in 2019, and what is the market size anticipated to be in 2030? What is the expected growth rate of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market during the period between 2020 and 2030? What is the global market size for manufacturing plasmids and different types of viral vectors available in the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market in 2019? What are the key trends of the market with respect to different vectors and which vector type is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period 2020-2030? What are the different disease areas where plasmids and viral vectors are employed in the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? Which disease type dominated the market in 2019 and is expected to dominate in 2030? What are the different applications associated with viral vector and plasmid manufacturing? What was the contribution of each of the application areas in the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market in 2019, and what is it expected in 2030? Which region is expected to contribute the highest sales to the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market during the period between 2019 and 2030? Which region and country carry the potential for significant expansion of key companies in the viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market? What are the leading countries of different regions that contribute significantly toward the growth of the market? Which are the key players of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market, and what are their roles in the market? What was the market share of the key players in 2019?

Market OverviewThe ability of vectors to carry out genetic modification through the introduction of therapeutic DNA/gene into a patient's body or cell has enabled its application in a wide range of modern therapies, including cell and gene therapies.Growing prominence of these therapies in different medical applications has therefore resulted in an increased demand for both viral and non-viral vectors.

Vector-based therapies are currently being used for the treatment of a large number of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, genetic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, among others.Viral vectors and plasmid reduce the cost of treatment and help in decreasing repeated administrations of medications.

Moreover, vectors are also increasingly being used in the field of vaccinology for the development of vaccines owing to the advantage offered by them in inducing a wide range of immune response types. Several players, including biopharmaceutical companies, research institutes, contract manufacturing organizations, and non-profit organizations, have therefore focussed their interest on the development and production of viral vectors and plasmids.

Our healthcare experts have found viral vector and plasmid manufacturing industry to be one of the most rapidly evolving markets, and the global market for viral vector and plasmid manufacturing is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 16.28% over the forecast period of 2020-2030. The market is driven by certain factors, which include success of vector-based cell and gene therapies in treating various therapeutic conditions, increasing number of clinical studies in the field of gene therapy and availability of funding for vector-based gene therapy development, technological advancements in the biomanufacturing sector, and growing investments for expanding vector manufacturing facilities.The market is favoured by the rising prevalence of genetic disorders, cancer, and infectious diseases that has raised the demand for advanced therapeutics and increasing acceptance for comparatively newer treatment options in developing countries.However, the growth of the market is also affected by several factors.

Exorbitant manufacturing cost and highly regulated processes for large-scale vector production are the key challenges cited by industry experts.In addition, lack of required infrastructure and the shortfall of expertise in terms of scale, complexities, and quality assurance for vector production are some of the factors restraining the market growth.

However, rise of contract manufacturers has effectively addressed the above-articulated manufacturing challenges by offering a wide range of vector manufacturing services that offer lucrative opportunities for the growth of the market. Further, increase in research and developmental activities in vector engineering offers strong promise to drive the growth of the viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market in the upcoming years.

Within the research report, the market is segmented on the basis of vector type, application, disease, and region. Each of these segments covers the snapshot of the market over the projected years, the inclination of the market revenue, underlying patterns, and trends by using analytics on the primary and secondary data obtained.

Competitive LandscapeThe exponential rise in the application of viral vector and plasmid in various therapies on the global level has created a buzz among companies to invest significantly in viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market.The market is highly competitive, marking the presence of several contract manufacturing organizations and biopharmaceutical companies, who are engaged in in-house vector manufacturing.

Among the different players of the market, Lonza and Thermo Fisher Scientific hold majority of the market share. Other companies contributing significantly toward the growth of the global viral vector and plasmid manufacturing market include GE Healthcare, Fujifilm Holding Corporation, Merck KGaA, Oxford Biomedica plc, Sartorius AG, and Catalent, Inc., among others. On the basis of region, North America holds the largest market share, while Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

Countries Covered North America U.S. Canada Europe U.K. Germany France Spain Italy Switzerland Belgium Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific China Japan Australia South Korea India Singapore Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Rest-of-the-World

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05902571/?utm_source=PRN

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

__________________________Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.comUS: (339)-368-6001Intl: +1 339-368-6001

View post:
global market for viral vector and plasmid manufacturing is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 16.28% over the forecast period of 2020-2030 - Salamanca...

She just wanted to be somewhere safe, somewhere familiar, where people looked and spoke like her and she could stand to eat the food. Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

Midnight Robber (2000) is about a woman, divided. Raised on the high-tech utopian planet of Touissant, Tan-Tan grows up on a planet populated by the descendants of a Caribbean diaspora, where all labor is performed by an all-seeing AI. But when she is exiled to Touissants parallel universe twin planet, the no-tech New Half-Way Tree, with her sexually abusive father, she becomes divided between good and evil Tan-Tans. To make herself and New Half-Way Tree whole, she adopts the persona of the legendary Robber Queen and becomes a legend herself. It is a wondrous blend of science fictional tropes and Caribbean mythology written in a Caribbean vernacular which vividly recalls the history of slavery and imperialism that shaped Touissant and its people, published at a time when diverse voices and perspectives within science fiction were blossoming.

Science fiction has long been dominated by white, Western perspectives. Vernes tech-forward adventures and Wells sociological allegories established two distinctive styles, but still centered on white imperialism and class struggle. Subsequent futures depicted in Verne-like pulp and Golden Age stories, where lone white heroes conquered evil powers or alien planets, mirrored colonialist history and the subjugation of non-white races. The civil rights era saw the incorporation of more Wellsian sociological concerns, and an increase in the number of non-white faces in the future, but they were often tokensparts of a dominant white monoculture. Important figures that presaged modern diversity included Star Treks Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols. Nichols was the first black woman to play a non-servant character on TV; though her glorified secretary role frustrated Nichols, her presence was a political act, showing there was space for black people in the future.

Another key figure was the musician and poet Sun Ra, who laid the aesthetic foundation for what would become known as the Afrofuturist movement (the term coined by Mark Dery in a 1994 essay), which showed pride in black history and imagined the future through a black cultural lens. Within science fiction, the foundational work of Samuel Delany and Octavia Butler painted realistic futures in which the histories and cultural differences of people of color had a place. Finally, an important modern figure in the decentralization of the dominant Western perspective is Nalo Hopkinson.

A similarly long-standing paradigm lies at the heart of biology, extending back to Darwins theoretical and Mendels practical frameworks for the evolution of genetic traits via natural selection. Our natures werent determined by experience, as Lamarck posited, but by genes. Therefore, genes determine our reproductive fitness, and if we can understand genes, we might take our futures into our own hands to better treat disease and ease human suffering. This theory was tragically over-applied, even by Darwin, who in Descent of Man (1871) conflated culture with biology, assuming the Wests conquest of indigenous cultures meant white people were genetically superior. After the Nazis committed genocide in the name of an all-white future, ideas and practices based in eugenics declined, as biological understanding of genes matured. The Central Dogma of the 60s maintained the idea of a mechanistic meaning of life, as advances in genetic engineering and the age of genomics enabled our greatest understanding yet of how genes and disease work. The last major barrier between us and our transhumanist future therefore involved understanding how genes determine cellular identity, and as well see, key figures in answering that question are stem cells.

***

Hopkinson was born December 20, 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica. Her mother was a library technician and her father wrote, taught, and acted. Growing up, Hopkinson was immersed in the Caribbean literary scene, fed on a steady diet of theater, dance, readings, and visual arts exhibitions. She loved to readfrom folklore, to classical literature, to Kurt Vonnegutand loved science fiction, from Spock and Uhura on Star Trek, to Le Guin, James Tiptree Jr., and Delany. Despite being surrounded by a vibrant writing community, it didnt occur to her to become a writer herself. What they were writing was poetry and mimetic fiction, Hopkinson said, whereas I was reading science fiction and fantasy. It wasnt until I was 16 and stumbled upon an anthology of stories written at the Clarion Science Fiction Workshop that I realized there were places where you could be taught how to write fiction. Growing up, her family moved often, from Jamaica to Guyana to Trinidad and back, but in 1977, they moved to Toronto to get treatment for her fathers chronic kidney disease, and Hopkinson suddenly became a minority, thousands of miles from home.

Development can be described as an orderly alienation. In mammals, zygotes divide and subsets of cells become functionally specialized into, say, neurons or liver cells. Following the discovery of DNA as the genetic material in the 1950s, a question arose: did dividing cells retain all genes from the zygote, or were genes lost as it specialized? British embryologist John Gurdon addressed this question in a series of experiments in the 60s using frogs. Gurdon transplanted nuclei from varyingly differentiated cells into oocytes stripped of their genetic material to see if a new frog was made. He found the more differentiated a cell was, the lower the chance of success, but the successes confirmed that no genetic material was lost. Meanwhile, Canadian biologists Ernest McCulloch and James Till were transplanting bone marrow to treat irradiated mice when they noticed it caused lumps in the mices spleens, and the number of lumps correlated with the cellular dosage. Their lab subsequently demonstrated that each lump was a clonal colony from a single donor cell, and a subset of those cells was self-renewing and could form further colonies of any blood cell type. They had discovered hematopoietic stem cells. In 1981 the first embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from mice were successfully propagated in culture by British biologist Martin Evans, winning him the Nobel Prize in 2007. This breakthrough allowed biologists to alter genes in ESCs, then use Gurdons technique to create transgenic mice with that alteration in every cellcreating the first animal models of disease.

In 1982, one year after Evans discovery, Hopkinson graduated with honors from York University. She worked in the arts, as a library clerk, government culture research officer, and grants officer for the Toronto Arts Council, but wouldnt begin publishing her own fiction until she was 34. [I had been] politicized by feminist and Caribbean literature into valuing writing that spoke of particular cultural experiences of living under colonialism/patriarchy, and also of writing in ones own vernacular speech, Hopkinson said. In other words, I had models for strong fiction, and I knew intimately the body of work to which I would be responding. Then I discovered that Delany was a black man, which opened up a space for me in SF/F that I hadnt known I needed. She sought out more science fiction by black authors and found Butler, Charles Saunders, and Steven Barnes. Then the famous feminist science fiction author and editor Judy Merril offered an evening course in writing science fiction through a Toronto college, Hopkinson said. The course never ran, but it prompted me to write my first adult attempt at a science fiction story. Judy met once with the handful of us she would have accepted into the course and showed us how to run our own writing workshop without her. Hopkinsons dream of attending Clarion came true in 1995, with Delany as an instructor. Her early short stories channeled her love of myth and folklore, and her first book, written in Caribbean dialect, married Caribbean myth to the science fictional trappings of black market organ harvesting. Brown Girl in the Ring (1998) follows a young single mother as shes torn between her ancestral culture and modern life in a post-economic collapse Toronto. It won the Aspect and Locus Awards for Best First Novel, and Hopkinson was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

In 1996, Dolly the Sheep was created using Gurdons technique to determine if mammalian cells also could revert to more a more primitive, pluripotent state. Widespread animal cloning attempts soon followed, (something Hopkinson used as a science fictional element in Brown Girl) but it was inefficient, and often produced abnormal animals. Ideas of human cloning captured the public imagination as stem cell research exploded onto the scene. One ready source for human ESC (hESC) materials was from embryos which would otherwise be destroyed following in vitro fertilization (IVF) but the U.S. passed the Dickey-Wicker Amendment prohibited federal funding of research that destroyed such embryos. Nevertheless, in 1998 Wisconsin researcher James Thomson, using private funding, successfully isolated and cultured hESCs. Soon after, researchers around the world figured out how to nudge cells down different lineages, with ideas that transplant rejection and genetic disease would soon become things of the past, sliding neatly into the hole that the failure of genetic engineering techniques had left behind. But another blow to the stem cell research community came in 2001, when President Bushs stem cell ban limited research in the U.S. to nineteen existing cell lines.

In the late 1990s, another piece of technology capturing the public imagination was the internet, which promised to bring the world together in unprecedented ways. One such way was through private listservs, the kind used by writer and academic Alondra Nelson to create a space for students and artists to explore Afrofuturist ideas about technology, space, freedom, culture and art with science fiction at the center. It was wonderful, Hopkinson said. It gave me a place to talk and debate with like-minded people about the conjunction of blackness and science fiction without being shouted down by white men or having to teach Racism 101. Connections create communities, which in turn create movements, and in 1999, Delanys essay, Racism and Science Fiction, prompted a call for more meaningful discussions around race in the SF community. In response, Hopkinson became a co-founder of the Carl Brandon society, which works to increase awareness and representation of people of color in the community.

Hopkinsons second novel, Robber, was a breakthrough success and was nominated for Hugo, Nebula, and Tiptree Awards. She would also release Skin Folk (2001), a collection of stories in which mythical figures of West African and Afro-Caribbean culture walk among us, which would win the World Fantasy Award and was selected as one ofThe New York Times Best Books of the Year. Hopkinson also obtained masters degree in fiction writing (which helped alleviate U.S. border hassles when traveling for speaking engagements) during which she wrote The Salt Roads (2003). I knew it would take a level of research, focus and concentration I was struggling to maintain, Hopkinson said. I figured it would help to have a mentor to coach me through it. That turned out to be James Morrow, and he did so admirably. Roads is a masterful work of slipstream literary fantasy that follows the lives of women scattered through time, bound together by the salt uniting all black life. It was nominated for a Nebula and won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award. Hopkinson also edited anthologies centering around different cultures and perspectives, including Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction (2000), Mojo: Conjure Stories (2003), and So Long, Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy (2004). She also came out with the award-winning novelThe New Moons Arms in 2007, in which a peri-menopausal woman in a fictional Caribbean town is confronted by her past and the changes she must make to keep her family in her life.

While the stem cell ban hamstrung hESC work, Gurdons research facilitated yet another scientific breakthrough. Researchers began untangling how gene expression changed as stem cells differentiated, and in 2006, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University reported the successful creation of mouse stem cells from differentiated cells. Using a list of 24 pluripotency-associated genes, Yamanaka systematically tested different gene combinations on terminally differentiated cells. He found four genesthereafter known as Yamanaka factorsthat could turn them into induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and he and Gurdon would share a 2012 Nobel prize. In 2009, President Obama lifted restrictions on hESC research, and the first clinical trial involving products made using stem cells happened that year. The first human trials using hESCs to treat spinal injuries happened in 2014, and the first iPSC clinical trials for blindness began this past December.

Hopkinson, too, encountered complications and delays at points in her career. For years, Hopkinson suffered escalating symptoms from fibromyalgia, a chronic disease that runs in her family, which interfered with her writing, causing Hopkinson and her partner to struggle with poverty and homelessness. But in 2011, Hopkinson applied to become a professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside. It seemed in many ways tailor-made for me, Hopkinson said. They specifically wanted a science fiction writer (unheard of in North American Creative Writing departments); they wanted someone with expertise working with a diverse range of people; they were willing to hire someone without a PhD, if their publications were sufficient; they were offering the security of tenure. She got the job, and thanks to a steady paycheck and the benefits of the mild California climate, she got back to writing. Her YA novel, The Chaos (2012), coming-of-age novelSister Mine (2013), and another short story collection, Falling in Love with Hominids (2015) soon followed. Her recent work includes House of Whispers (2018-present), a series in DC Comics Sandman Universe, the final collected volume of which is due out this June. Hopkinson also received an honorary doctorate in 2016 from Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K., and was Guest of Honor at 2017 Worldcon, a year in which women and people of color dominated the historically white, male ballot.

While the Yamanaka factors meant that iPSCs became a standard lab technique, iPSCs are not identical to hESCs. Fascinatingly, two of these factors act together to maintain the silencing of large swaths of DNA. Back in the 1980s, researchers discovered that some regions of DNA are modified by small methyl groups, which can be passed down through cell division. Different cell types have different DNA methylation patterns, and their distribution is far from random; they accumulate in the promoter regions just upstream of genes where their on/off switches are, and the greater the number of methyl groups, the lesser the genes expression. Furthermore, epigenetic modifications, like methylation, can be laid down by our environments (via diet, or stress) which can also be passed down through generations. Even some diseases, like fibromyalgia, have recently been implicated as such an epigenetic disease. Turns out that the long-standing biological paradigm that rejected Lamarck also missed the bigger picture: Nature is, in fact, intimately informed by nurture and environment.

In the past 150 years, we have seen ideas of community grow and expand as the world became more connected, so that they now encompass the globe. The histories of science fiction and biology are full of stories of pioneers opening new doorsbe they doors of greater representation or greater understanding, or bothand others following. If evolution has taught us anything, its that nature abhors a monoculture, and the universe tends towards diversification; healthy communities are ones which understand that we are not apart from the world, but of it, and that diversity of types, be they cells or perspectives, is a strength.

Kelly Lagor is a scientist by day and a science fiction writer by night. Her work has appeared at Tor.com and other places, and you can find her tweeting about all kinds of nonsense @klagor

Continue reading here:
On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic: Part 18 Nalo Hopkinson and Stem Cell Research - tor.com

A recent market study on the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market reveals that the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market is expected to reach a value of ~US$ XX by the end of 2029 growing at a CAGR of ~XX% during the forecast period (2019-2029).

The CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market study includes a thorough analysis of the overall competitive landscape and the company profiles of leading market players involved in the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market. Further, the presented study offers accurate insights pertaining to the different segments of the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market such as the market share, value, revenue, and how each segment is expected to fair post the COVID-19 pandemic.

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Market Report @ https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2649968&source=atm

The following doubts are addressed in the market report:

Key Highlights of the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes Market Report

The presented report segregates the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market into different segments to ensure the readers gain a complete understanding of the different aspects of the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market.

Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry [emailprotected] https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2649968&source=atm

Segmentation of the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market

Competitive Outlook

This section of the report throws light on the recent mergers, collaborations, partnerships, and research and development activities within the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market on a global scale. Further, a detailed assessment of the pricing, marketing, and product development strategies adopted by leading market players is included in the CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market report.

Sales and Pricing AnalysesReaders are provided with deeper sales analysis and pricing analysis for the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market. As part of sales analysis, the report offers accurate statistics and figures for sales and revenue by region, by each type segment for the period 2015-2026.In the pricing analysis section of the report, readers are provided with validated statistics and figures for the price by players and price by region for the period 2015-2020 and price by each type segment for the period 2015-2020.Regional and Country-level AnalysisThe report offers an exhaustive geographical analysis of the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market, covering important regions, viz, North America, Europe, China and Japan. It also covers key countries (regions), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc.The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by each application segment in terms of sales for the period 2015-2026.Competition AnalysisIn the competitive analysis section of the report, leading as well as prominent players of the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market are broadly studied on the basis of key factors. The report offers comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on sales by the player for the period 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on price and revenue (global level) by player for the period 2015-2020.On the whole, the report proves to be an effective tool that players can use to gain a competitive edge over their competitors and ensure lasting success in the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market. All of the findings, data, and information provided in the report are validated and revalidated with the help of trustworthy sources. The analysts who have authored the report took a unique and industry-best research and analysis approach for an in-depth study of the global CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes market.The following manufacturers are covered in this report:Caribou BiosciencesAddgeneCRISPR THERAPEUTICSMerck KGaAMirus Bio LLCEditas MedicineTakara Bio USAThermo Fisher ScientificHorizon Discovery GroupIntellia TherapeuticsGE Healthcare DharmaconCRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes Breakdown Data by TypeGenome EditingGenetic engineeringgRNA Database/Gene LibrarCRISPR PlasmidHuman Stem CellsGenetically Modified Organisms/CropsCell Line EngineeringCRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes Breakdown Data by ApplicationBiotechnology CompaniesPharmaceutical CompaniesAcademic InstitutesResearch and Development Institutes

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.marketresearchhub.com/checkout?rep_id=2649968&licType=S&source=atm

Read more from the original source:
COVID-19: Responding to the business impacts of CRISPR And CRISPR-Associated (Cas) Genes Market 2019 Trends, Size, Segments, Emerging Technologies and...

Astrobiologist Kendi Lynch spoke about the original problem of the colonization of Mars by humans. Astronauts can change DNA to adapt to life on the red planet.

In 2030, NASA plans to begin the first phase of the colonization of Mars. However, the journey to the red planet itself and breaking it can be overwhelming for the average person. To cope with this problem, the researchers plan to alter the DNA of the astronauts, making them more resilient. All crew members will transfer experiments on himself, because only some people will stay on Mars and the main group will return to the Earth. Experts on genetic engineering has already begun to conduct experiments on human cells. To increase their stamina scientists have introduced genes in the DNA of tardigrades, the most resilient beings on the planet. In the result cells promoted radiation resistance and could continue to properly perform its functions.

Such experiments will allow to make a man able not only to live on Mars, but also to have children. Kendi Lynch is confident that the technology can be applied in practice, if the scientists guarantee the safety of astronauts.

Read the rest here:
Astronauts can change DNA for the colonization of Mars - The Times Hub

Global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology Market Growth Projection

The new report on the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market is an extensive study on the overall prospects of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market over the assessment period. Further, the report provides a thorough understanding of the key dynamics of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market including the current trends, opportunities, drivers, and restraints. The report introspects the micro and macro-economic factors that are expected to nurture the growth of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market in the upcoming years and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology . In addition, the report offers valuable insights pertaining to the supply chain challenges market players are likely to face in the upcoming months and solutions to tackle the same.

The report suggests that the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market is projected to reach a value of ~US$XX by the end of 2029 and grow at a CAGR of ~XX% through the forecast period (2019-2029). The key indicators such as the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth and CAGR growth of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market are discussed in detail in the presented report. This data is likely to provide readers an understanding of qualitative and quantitative growth prospects of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market over the considered assessment period.

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Market Report @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2667007&source=atm

The report clarifies the following doubts related to the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market:

Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry [emailprotected] https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2667007&source=atm

Segmentation of the Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology Market

Regional and Country-level AnalysisThe report offers an exhaustive geographical analysis of the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market, covering important regions, viz, North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America. It also covers key countries (regions), viz, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, etc.The report includes country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by each application segment in terms of revenue for the period 2015-2026.Competition AnalysisIn the competitive analysis section of the report, leading as well as prominent players of the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market are broadly studied on the basis of key factors. The report offers comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for the period 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on price and revenue (global level) by player for the period 2015-2020.On the whole, the report proves to be an effective tool that players can use to gain a competitive edge over their competitors and ensure lasting success in the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market. All of the findings, data, and information provided in the report are validated and revalidated with the help of trustworthy sources. The analysts who have authored the report took a unique and industry-best research and analysis approach for an in-depth study of the global Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology market.The following players are covered in this report:Sigma-AldrichSangamo TherapeuticsLabomicsThermo Fisher ScientificGileadZinc Finger Nuclease Technology Breakdown Data by TypeCell Line EngineeringAnimal Genetic EngineeringPlant Genetic EngineeringOtherZinc Finger Nuclease Technology Breakdown Data by ApplicationBiotechnology CompaniesPharmaceutical CompaniesHospital Laboratory and Diagnostic LaboratoryAcademic and Research InstitutesOthers

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=2667007&licType=S&source=atm

Vital Information Enclosed in the Report

Read the original here:
Potential impact of coronavirus outbreak on Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology Market: Opportunities and Forecast Assessment, 2019-2027 - Jewish Life...

If you say ma in Mandarin, you could be saying mother, hemp, horse or scold, depending purely on your pitch.

This so-called lexical tone is used in around half the worlds languages, including Thai and Cantonese, yet tones are meaningless in other languages such as English.

A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, suggests that subtle genetic differences play a role in how these language differences evolve.

More than 7000 languages are spoken around the world, with a diverse range of features including click consonants, whistling, variable word order and use of sound to convey meaning. Yet, little is known about what drives these differences.

Population studies have suggested genetic diversity could shape language; for instance, people in countries of sub-Saharan Africa and East and Southeast Asia with tone languages are more likely to have certain genes, but as yet there has been no direct evidence.

To investigate the role of gene expression in pitch perception ability, Patrick Wong, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues recruited 400 adult native Cantonese speakers aged 18 to 27.

The volunteers performed a range of tasks related to lexical tone, rhythm and pitch in music and general cognition, to control for musical backgrounds and education, and provided saliva samples for genetic testing.

Results showed that around 70% of participants had a pair of T alleles representing the TT genotype of the ASPM gene, which was previously found to be more prevalent in countries with tone languages

It has also been associated with the auditory cortex, and individuals with the gene had higher tone perception ability.

Those with a different genotype were less proficient with Cantonese tones, but not with other aspects of language or cognitive functions, confirming that the identified genotype is likely associated with tonal ability.

The researchers note that other genes are likely to be involved, but the study opens doors to explore further genetic underpinnings of language evolution.

The finding could have clinical applications; for instance, tone perception is a key marker for communication disorders in Chinese speakers.

Intriguingly, previous research by Wongs team found that tone perception was strongly associated with musical training, and in the present study, musical ability did improve tonal ability in individuals without the ASPM genotype.

This aligns with other work by the group that found native English-speaking adults with a musical background were better at learning a tone language.

So, if you do want to visit Asia, musical training might help avoid embarrassing mispronunciations.

See the original post here:
Genes linked to evolution of languages - Cosmos

Dublin, May 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Food Enzymes Market - Forecast (2020 - 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The food enzymes market is bifurcated by type into variants such as carbohydrates, lipases, and proteases. Innovation has enabled the players to exploit several end-user industries such as bakery, dairy, beverages, meat products, and confectionery, consequently triggering the opportunities in the food enzymes market to be progressing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.90% during the forecast period 2019-2025.

The base year of the study is 2018, with forecast done up to 2025. The study presents a thorough analysis of the competitive landscape, taking into account the market shares of the leading companies. It also provides information on unit shipments. These provide the key market participants with the necessary business intelligence and help them understand the future of the food enzyme market. The assessment includes the forecast, an overview of the competitive structure, the market shares of the competitors, as well as the market trends, market demands, market drivers, market challenges, and product analysis.

The market drivers and restraints have been assessed to fathom their impact over the forecast period. This report further identifies the key opportunities for growth while also detailing the key challenges and possible threats. The key areas of focus include the various types of application industry in global food enzyme market, and their specific advantages.

The booming trend of fast-food in North America has augmented the trade of cheese, indirectly impacting the market of protease food enzyme. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2016, one out of three Americans (36%) consumed a meal at fast-food eateries on any given day. Some of the leading fast-food chains across the U.S are McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza and Burger Kings. Application of cheese in these F&B giants can be indicated by the fact that Leprino Foods, a leading market player, often rated as America's all-time monopolist, manages to converge an annual revenue of $3 billion by supplying mozzarella cheese to Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's

Similarly, McDonald's for their buns claims to apply enzymes such as amylases. And KFC, the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain is now operating in 135 countries with more than 22,000 restaurants globally. Hence, the trend of processed food supplemented by retail outlets in North America is projecting the food enzyme market towards exponential growth.

Food Enzymes Market Trends and Growth Drivers:

Some of the key players operating in the global food enzyme market are Royal DSM N.V, EI DuPont DE Nemours & Co., Novozymes A/S, Chr Hansen A/S, Biocatalyst limited, AB enzymes GMBH, Kerry group PLCAum Enzymes, Amano Enzyme Inc., and Enmex SA DE CV.

Key Questions Addressed in the Food Enzyme Market Report

A few focus points of this Research are given below:

Key Topics Covered:

1. Food Enzymes Market - Overview1.1. Definitions and Scope

2. Food Enzymes Market - Executive summary2.1. Market Revenue, Market Size and Key Trends by Company2.2. Key Trends by type of Application2.3. Key Trends segmented by Geography

3. Food Enzymes Market 3.1. Comparative analysis3.1.1. Product Benchmarking - Top 10 companies3.1.2. Top 5 Financials Analysis3.1.3. Market Value split by Top 10 companies3.1.4. Patent Analysis - Top 10 companies3.1.5. Pricing Analysis

4. Food Enzymes Market Forces4.1. Drivers4.2. Constraints4.3. Challenges4.4. Porters five force model4.4.1. Bargaining power of suppliers4.4.2. Bargaining powers of customers4.4.3. Threat of new entrants4.4.4. Rivalry among existing players4.4.5. Threat of substitutes

5. Food Enzymes Market -Strategic analysis5.1. Value chain analysis5.2. Opportunities analysis5.3. Product life cycle5.4. Suppliers and distributors Market Share

6. Food Enzymes Market - By Type (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)6.1. Market Size and Market Share Analysis 6.2. Application Revenue and Trend Research6.3. Product Segment Analysis6.3.1. Introduction6.3.2. Amylases6.3.3. Catalases6.3.4. Lactases6.3.5. Proteases6.3.6. Lipases6.3.7. Rennet6.3.8. Cellulase6.3.9. Others (Actinidin, Bromelain, Ficin, Lypoxygenase, Invertase, Raffinase & Others)

7. Food Enzymes Market - By Source (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)7.1. Introduction 7.2. Plant-Based Enzymes7.3. Animal-Based Enzymes7.4. Microorganism-Based Enzymes7.4.1. Bacterial7.4.2. Fungal7.4.3. Yeast

8. Food Enzymes Market - By Application (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)8.1. Introduction 8.1.1. Bakery8.1.1.1. Bread8.1.1.2. Cakes8.1.1.3. Crackers & Cookies8.1.2. Dairy 8.1.3. Beverages8.1.4. Meat Products8.1.5. Confectionery8.1.6. Fruits & Vegetables Processing8.1.7. Oil & Fats8.1.8. Starch Processing8.1.9. Inulin & Others

9. Food Enzymes - By Geography (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)9.1. Food Enzymes Market - North America Segment Research9.2. North America Market Research (Million / $Billion)9.2.1. Segment type Size and Market Size Analysis 9.2.2. Revenue and Trends9.2.3. Application Revenue and Trends by type of Application9.2.4. Company Revenue and Product Analysis9.2.5. North America Product type and Application Market Size9.2.5.1. U.S.9.2.5.2. Canada 9.2.5.3. Mexico 9.2.5.4. Rest of North America9.3. Food Enzymes - South America Segment Research9.4. South America Market Research (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)9.4.1. Segment type Size and Market Size Analysis 9.4.2. Revenue and Trends9.4.3. Application Revenue and Trends by type of Application9.4.4. Company Revenue and Product Analysis9.4.5. South America Product type and Application Market Size9.4.5.1. Brazil 9.4.5.2. Venezuela9.4.5.3. Argentina9.4.5.4. Ecuador9.4.5.5. Peru9.4.5.6. Colombia 9.4.5.7. Costa Rica9.4.5.8. Rest of South America9.5. Food Enzymes - Europe Segment Research9.6. Europe Market Research (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)9.6.1. Segment type Size and Market Size Analysis 9.6.2. Revenue and Trends9.6.3. Application Revenue and Trends by type of Application9.6.4. Company Revenue and Product Analysis9.6.5. Europe Segment Product type and Application Market Size9.6.5.1. U.K 9.6.5.2. Germany 9.6.5.3. Italy 9.6.5.4. France9.6.5.5. Netherlands9.6.5.6. Belgium9.6.5.7. Spain9.6.5.8. Denmark9.6.5.9. Rest of Europe9.7. Food Enzymes - APAC Segment Research9.8. APAC Market Research (Market Size -$Million / $Billion)9.8.1. Segment type Size and Market Size Analysis 9.8.2. Revenue and Trends9.8.3. Application Revenue and Trends by type of Application9.8.4. Company Revenue and Product Analysis9.8.5. APAC Segment - Product type and Application Market Size9.8.5.1. China 9.8.5.2. Australia9.8.5.3. Japan 9.8.5.4. South Korea9.8.5.5. India9.8.5.6. Taiwan9.8.5.7. Malaysia

10. Food Enzymes Market - Entropy10.1. New product launches10.2. M&A's, collaborations, JVs and partnerships

11. Food Enzymes Market Company Analysis11.1. Market Share, Company Revenue, Products, M&A, Developments11.2. Royal DSM N.V11.3. EI DuPont DE Nemours & Co11.4. Novozymes A/S11.5. Biocatalyst limited11.6. AB enzymes GMBH11.7. Kerry group PLC

12. Food Enzymes Market -Appendix12.1. Abbreviations12.2. Sources

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ujmz9s

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

More here:
Global Food Enzymes Market (2020 to 2025) - Recent Innovations in the Market - GlobeNewswire

Genetic Engineering Market 2018: Global Industry Insights by Global Players, Regional Segmentation, Growth, Applications, Major Drivers, Value and Foreseen till 2024

The report provides both quantitative and qualitative information of global Genetic Engineering market for period of 2018 to 2025. As per the analysis provided in the report, the global market of Genetic Engineering is estimated to growth at a CAGR of _% during the forecast period 2018 to 2025 and is expected to rise to USD _ million/billion by the end of year 2025. In the year 2016, the global Genetic Engineering market was valued at USD _ million/billion.

This research report based on Genetic Engineering market and available with Market Study Report includes latest and upcoming industry trends in addition to the global spectrum of the Genetic Engineering market that includes numerous regions. Likewise, the report also expands on intricate details pertaining to contributions by key players, demand and supply analysis as well as market share growth of the Genetic Engineering industry.

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of Market Report @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2638821&source=atm

Genetic Engineering Market Overview:

The Research projects that the Genetic Engineering market size will grow from in 2018 to by 2024, at an estimated CAGR of XX%. The base year considered for the study is 2018, and the market size is projected from 2018 to 2024.

The report on the Genetic Engineering market provides a birds eye view of the current proceeding within the Genetic Engineering market. Further, the report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the Genetic Engineering market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period. The different factors that are likely to impact the overall dynamics of the Genetic Engineering market over the forecast period (2019-2029) including the current trends, growth opportunities, restraining factors, and more are discussed in detail in the market study.

Leading manufacturers of Genetic Engineering Market:

The key players covered in this studyThermo Fisher Scientific Inc.GenScriptAmgen Inc.Genentech, Inc.Merck KGaAHorizon Discovery Group plcSangamo Therapeutics, Inc.Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.OriGene Technologies, Inc.

Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoArtificial SelectionCloningGene SplicingOthersMarket segment by Application, split intoAgricultureBt- CottonGolden RiceOthersMedical IndustryRecombinant ProteinsRecombinant AntibodiesOthersForensic Science

Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaCentral & South America

The study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Genetic Engineering status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Genetic Engineering development in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, market and key regions.

In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Genetic Engineering are as follows:History Year: 2015-2019Base Year: 2019Estimated Year: 2020Forecast Year 2020 to 2026For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2019 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.

Do You Have Any Query Or Specific Requirement? Ask to Our Industry [emailprotected] https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2638821&source=atm

Some important highlights from the report include:

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=2638821&licType=S&source=atm

The Questions Answered by Genetic Engineering Market Report:

And Many More.

More:
The impact of the coronavirus on the Genetic Engineering Market Solid Analyzed Segmentation, Demand, Recent Share Estimation and Growth Prospects by...

When I talk to my students aboutthe tempestuous relationship between science and religion, I like to bring up the case of Francis Collins. Early in his career, Collins was a successful gene-hunter, who helped identify genes associated with cystic fibrosis and other disorders. He went on to become one of the worlds most powerful scientists. Since 2009, he has directed the National Institutes of Health, which this year has a budget of over $40 billion. Before that he oversaw the Human Genome Project, one of historys biggest research projects. Collins was an atheist until 1978, when he underwent a conversion experience while hiking in the mountains and became a devout Christian. In his 2006 bestselling bookThe Language of God, Collins declares that he sees no incompatibility between science and religion. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome, he wrote. He can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory. Collins just won the$1.3 million Templeton Prize, created in 1972 to promote reconciliation of science and spirituality. (See my posts on the Templeton Foundationhereandhere). This news gives me an excuse to post an interview I carried out with Collins forNational Geographicin 2006, a time whenRichard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and others were vigorously attacking religion. Below is an edited transcript of my conversation with Collins, which took place in Washington, D.C. I liked Collins, whom I found to be surprisingly unassuming for a man of such high stature. But I was disturbed by our final exchanges, in which he revealed a fatalistic outlook on humanitys future. Collins, it seems, haslots of faith in God but not much in humanity. John Horgan

Horgan:How does it feel to be at the white-hot center of the current debate between science and religion?

Collins:This increasing polarization between extremists on both ends of the atheism and belief spectrum has been heartbreaking to me. If my suggestion that there is a harmonious middle ground puts me at the white-hot center of debate--Hooray! Its maybe a bit overdue.

Horgan:The danger in trying to appeal to people on both sides of a polarized debate is--

Collins:Bombs thrown at you from both directions!

Horgan:Has that happened?

Collins[sighs]: The majority have responded in very encouraging ways. But some of my scientific colleagues argue that its totally inappropriate for a scientist to write about religion, and we already have too much faith in public life in this country. And then I get someverystrongly worded messages from fundamentalists who feel that I have compromised the literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and call me a false prophet. Im diluting the truth and doing damage to the faith.

Horgan:Why do you think the debate has become so polarized?

Collins:It starts with an extreme articulation of a viewpoint on one side of the issue and that then results in a response that is also a little bit too extreme, and the whole thing escalates. Every action demands an equal and opposite reaction. This is one of Newtons laws playing out in an unfortunate public scenario.

Horgan:I must admit that Ive become more concerned lately about the harmful effects of religion because of religious terrorism like 9/11 and the growing power of the religious right in the United States.

Collins:What faith hasnotbeen used by demagogues as a club over somebodys head? Whether it was the Inquisition or the Crusades on the one hand or the World Trade Center on the other? But we shouldnt judge the pure truths of faith by the way they are applied any more than we should judge the pure truth of love by an abusive marriage. We as children of God have been given by God this knowledge of right and wrong, this Moral Law, which I see as a particularly compelling signpost to His existence. But we also have this thing called free will which we exercise all the time to break that law. We shouldnt blame faith for the ways people distort it and misuse it.

Horgan:Isnt the problem when religions say,Thisis the only way to truth? Isnt that what turns religious faith from something beautiful into something intolerant and hateful?

Collins:There is a sad truth there. I think we Christians have been way too ready to define ourselves as members of an exclusive club. I found truth, I found joy, I found peace in that particular conclusion, but I am not in any way suggesting that that is the conclusion everybody else should find. To have anyone say, My truth is purer than yours, that is both inconsistent with what I see in the person of Christ andincrediblyoff-putting. And quick to start arguments and fights and even wars! Look at the story of the Good Samaritan, which is a parable from Jesus himself. Jews would have considered the Samaritan to be a heretic, and yet clearly Christs message is:Thatis the person who did right and was justified in Gods eyes.

Horgan:How can you, as a scientist who looks for natural explanations of things and demands evidence, also believe in miracles, like the resurrection?

Collins:My first struggle was to believe in God. Not a pantheist God who is entirely enclosed within nature, or a Deist God who started the whole thing and then just lost interest, but a supernatural God who is interested in what is happening in our world and might at times choose to intervene. My second struggle was to believe that Christ was divine as He claimed to be. As soon as I got there, the idea that He might rise from the dead became a non-problem. I dont have a problem with the concept that miracles might occasionally occur at moments ofgreatsignificance where there is a message being transmitted to us by God Almighty. But as a scientist I set my standards for miracles very high. And I dont think we should try to convince agnostics or atheists about the reality of faith with claims about miracles that they can easily poke holes in.

Horgan:The problem I have with miracles is not just that they violate what science tells us about how the world works. They also make God seem too capricious. For example, many people believe that if they pray hard enough God will intercede to heal them or a loved one. But does that mean that all those who dont get better arent worthy?

Collins:In my own experience as a physician, I have not seen a miraculous healing, and I dont expect to see one. Also, prayer for me is not a way to manipulate God into doing what we want Him to do. Prayer for me is much more a sense of trying to get into fellowship with God. Im trying to figure out what I should be doing rather than telling Almighty God whatHeshould be doing. Look at the Lords Prayer. It says, Thywill be done. It wasnt, Our Father who are in Heaven, please get me a parking space.

Horgan:Many people have a hard time believing in God because of the problem of evil. If God loves us, why is life filled with so much suffering?

Collins:That isthemost fundamental question that all seekers have to wrestle with. First of all, if our ultimate goal is to grow, learn, discover things about ourselves and things about God, then unfortunately a life of ease is probably not the way to get there. I know I have learned very little about myself or God when everything is going well. Also, a lot of the pain and suffering in the world we cannot lay at Gods feet. God gave us free will, and we may choose to exercise it in ways that end up hurting other people.

Horgan:The physicist Steven Weinberg, who is an atheist, has written about this topic. He asks why six million Jews, including his relatives, had to die in the Holocaust so that the Nazis could exercise their free will.

Collins:If God had to intervene miraculously every time one of us chose to do something evil, it would be a very strange, chaotic, unpredictable world. Free will leads to people doing terrible things to each other. Innocent people die as a result. You cant blame anyone except the evildoers for that. So thats not Gods fault. The harder question is when suffering seems to have come about through no human ill action. A child with cancer, a natural disaster, a tornado or tsunami. Why would God not prevent those things from happening?

Horgan:Some theologians, such as Charles Hartshorne, have suggested that maybe God isnt fully in control of His creation. The poet Annie Dillard expresses this idea in her phrase God the semi-competent.

Collins:Thats delightful--and probably blasphemous! An alternative is the notion of God being outside of nature and of time and having a perspective of our blink-of-an-eye existence that goes both far back and far forward. In some admittedly metaphysical way, that allows me to say that the meaning of suffering may not always be apparent to me. There can be reasons for terrible things happening that I cannot know.

Horgan:I think youre an agnostic.

Collins:No!

Horgan:You say that, to a certain extent, Gods ways are inscrutable. That sounds like agnosticism.

Collins:Im agnostic about Gods ways. Im not agnostic about God Himself. Thomas Huxley defined agnosticism as not knowing whether God exists or not. Im a believer! I have doubts. As I quote Paul Tillich: Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Its a part of faith. But my fundamental stance is that God is real, God is true.

Horgan:Im an agnostic, and I was bothered when in your book you called agnosticism a copout. Agnosticism doesnt mean youre lazy or dont care. It means you arent satisfied with any answers for what after all are ultimate mysteries.

Collins:That was a putdown that should not apply to earnest agnostics who have considered the evidence and still dont find an answer. I was reacting to the agnosticism I see in the scientific community, which has not been arrived at by a careful examination of the evidence. I went through a phase when I was a casual agnostic, and I am perhaps too quick to assume that others have no more depth than I did.

Horgan:Free will is a very important concept to me, as it is to you. Its the basis for our morality and search for meaning. Dont you worry that science in general and genetics in particularand your work as head of the Genome Project--are undermining belief in free will?

Collins:Youre talking about genetic determinism, which implies that we are helpless marionettes being controlled by strings made of double helices. That is so far away from what we know scientifically! Heredity does have an influence not only over medical risks but also over certain behaviors and personality traits. But look at identical twins, who have exactly the same DNA but often dont behave alike or think alike. They show the importance of learning and experience--and free will. I think we all, whether we are religious or not, recognize that free will is a reality. There are some fringe elements that say, No, its all an illusion, were just pawns in some computer model. But I dont think that carries you very far.

Horgan:What do you think of Darwinian explanations of altruism, or what you callagape, totally selfless love and compassion for someone not directly related to you?

Collins:Its been a little of a just-so story so far. Many would argue that altruism has been supported by evolution because it helps the group survive. But some people sacrifically give of themselves to those who are outside their group and with whom they have absolutely nothing in common. Like Mother Teresa, Oscar Schindler, many others. That is the nobility of humankind in its purist form. That doesnt seem like it can be explained by a Darwinian model, but Im not hanging my faith on this.

Horgan:If only selflessness were more common.

Collins:Well, there you get free will again. It gets in the way.

Horgan:What do you think about the field of neurotheology, which attempts to identify the neural basis of religious experiences?

Collins:I think its fascinating but not particularly surprising. We humans are flesh and blood. So it wouldnt trouble me--if I were to have some mystical experience myself--to discover that my temporal lobe was lit up. Id say, Wow! Thats okay! That doesnt mean that this doesnt have genuine spiritual significance. Those who come at this issue with the presumption that there is nothing outside the natural world will look at this data and say, Ya see? Whereas those who come with the presumption that we are spiritual creatures will go, Cool! There is a natural correlate to this mystical experience! How about that! I think our spiritual nature is truly God-given, and may not be completely limited by natural descriptors.

Horgan:What if this research leads to drugs or devices for artificially inducing religious experiences? Would you consider those experiences to be authentic? You probably heard about the recent report from Johns Hopkins that the psychedelic drug psilocybin triggered spiritual experiences.

Collins:Yes. If you are talking about the ingestion of an exogenous psychoactive substance or some kind of brain-stimulating contraption, that would smack of not being an authentic, justifiable, trust-worthy experience. So that would be a boundary I would want to establish between the authentic and the counterfeit.

Horgan:Some scientists have predicted that genetic engineering may give us superhuman intelligence and greatly extended life spans, and possibly even immortality. We might even engineer our brains so that we dont fear pain or grief anymore. These are possible long-term consequences of the Human Genome Project and other lines of research. If these things happen, what do you think would be the consequences for religious traditions?

Collins:That outcome would trouble me. But were so far away from that reality that its hard to spend a lot of time worrying about it when you consider all the truly benevolent things we could do in the near term. If you get too hung up on the hypotheticals of what night happen in the next several hundred years, then you become paralyzed and you fail to live up to the opportunities to reach out and help people now. That seems to be the most unethical stance we could take.

Horgan:Im really asking, Does religion requires suffering? Could we reduce suffering to the point where we just wont need religion?

Collins:In spite of the fact that we have achieved all of these wonderful medical advances and made it possible to live longer and eradicate diseases, we will probably still figure out ways to argue with each other and sometimes to kill each other, out of our self-righteousness and our determination that we have to be on top. So the death rate will continue to be one per person by one means or another. We may understand a lot about biology, we may understand a lot about how to prevent illness, and we may understand the life span. But I dont think we will figure out how to stop humans from doing bad things to each other. That will always be our greatest and most distressing experience here on this planet, and that will make us long the most, perhaps, for something more.

Further Reading:

In Defense of Disbelief: An Anti-Creed

Can Faith and Science Coexist?

Richard Dawkins Offers Advice for Donald Trump, and Other Wisdom

What Should We Do With Our Visions of Heaven and Hell?

Mind-Body Problems(free online book, also available asKindle e-bookandpaperback).

See the rest here:
One of the World's Most Powerful Scientists Believes in Miracles - Scientific American