Frankenstein was science fiction!

Some days ago, a new bill of law was aproved to enable scientists to do investigation on Human hybrids. Naturally, if that is where you stay, the idea sounds terrible! We all think of the Island of Dr. Moreau or similar ficticious stories. Eventually, any evil scientists could create monsters and mutations. Imagine being surrounded by people with horns, hooves, feathers and other alterations!

At least that is the vision of simplistic moralists. The reality of it is much more positive. The idea is to do investigation on the union of genes to better understand how genetics work in the real world (and not just in paper), to really understand how things like cancer, Altzheimer's disease and other illnesses work; since, now a days, all we can do is treat them with a bare minimum effectiveness. To do so, they need to use human embryos either created in a lab (with no divine intervention nor any kind of bed) or embryos from in-vitro fertilizations that are destined for destruction. Therefore, is giving them a positive use worse than to simply discard them? No one would give them a christian burial, nor even a name! But the goal of these investigations is not to create mutated beings but to examine the cells and genetic combinations at the cellular level. There will be no people with horns (at least no more than there are)[untranslatable joke. In spanish, it is said someone carries horns when their couple has been unfaithful] nor feathers nor super-beings nor anything like that. What there may be is less sickness and death.

To come up with cures for illness, scientists of all times have had two ways to go: experimentation and investigation. The first is based in the "trial and error" process based on educated guesses with basic knowledge of the base and the desired effect and some means to provide it. The second, much more effective, is based in really understanding the process of an illness, all its causes and then find a way to interrupt or impede the process. For this method, the key is the to understand of the process.

In the case of cancer, we know very little of the process nor why some cells "decide" to turn against their own environment. The "cures" that exist consist of killing these rebelious cells with heavy radiation or to extract the lot and hence stop the advancement of the disease since we don't actually know how to stop the disease itself. Also, Altzheimer's and other neural diseases' patients are left with little more than our attempts at making their life a little more comfortable. Can you imagine what this means for their families? The feeling of helplessness, injustice... I know some of you have actually felt this first hand. I'm one of you.

Even though, moralists ride on their righteous horses of truth and sacred to defend these "human lives", these souls tortured in glass tubes. They say this goes against God. They say it's immoral. They say they will create "frankensteinean" monsters. That it will lead to genetic racism.

How little they remember that these kinds of investigations have allowed parents to give life where they couldn't previously generate it by themselves. How little they remember that diseases now considered "common" have killed thousands in the past. How little they think of the inmorality of saving lives and the reasons that push scientists to these lines of investigations. Of course! Scientists are all evil and set on the anihilation of the human race and their immortal souls.

Yes, obviously, there is a lot of money to be made with these investigations and there are people with low morals ready to sell themselves. As there are in every human circle! (Let us remind these moralists of the many church scandals, the abuses of the clergy, so often living in ritches whilst people around them died of hunger and the fact that if they auctioned all the treasures of the Vatican they would wipe off hunger from the face of the Earth). Back in the subject, this is the reason why there are legal regulations, inspections every 3 months, records of all the activities carried out as well as the origin and destination of all embryos used. Could this lead to a future like the one portrayed in Gattaca or Blade runner? Doubtfull. Possible, but doubtfull. Let us remember that the goal of Science Fiction is to take the possibilities to the extreem and then some; to stretch the imagination further than what is probable.

... And, why not, to teach us where we can go wrong (remember that next time you are offered some Science fiction and you think "Bah, rubbish").