On Fri, 13 Jun 2003 14:50:45 +0000 (UTC), Michael Ragland 
 wrote:
>On Thursday, June 12, Larry Moran wrote:


[snip]

>> The evolution of morphological changes, at this scale, is probably due
>> to all kinds of changes at the molecular level. This includes the
>> evolution of new genes and changes in the coding regions of existing
>> genes so that they encode new functions. It also includes changes in the
>> non-coding regions of genes so that the protein products are produced at
>> different times or different rates. 
> 
> Yes, I agree. I'm referring to something more basic though. I came
> across this information on a website. The URL is
> http://psyche.uthct.edu/shaun/SBlack/geneticd.html
> 
> The last paragraph states, "Lastly, the Genetic Code in the table above
> has also been called "The Universal Genetic Code". It is known as
> "universal", because it is used by all known organisms as a code for
> DNA, mRNA, and tRNA. The universality of the genetic code encompases
> animals (including humans), plants, fungi, archaea, bacteria, and
> viruses. However, all rules have their exceptions, and such is the case
> with the Genetic Code; small variations in the code exist in
> mitochondria and certain microbes. Nonetheless, it should be emphasized
> that these variances represent only a small fraction of known cases, and
> that the Genetic Code applies quite broadly, certainly to all known
> nuclear genes."
> 
> Despite what morphological changes have occurred in evolution the
> universality of the genetic code has essentially remained the same.
> Although I'm not a biologist I'm interested in the theoretical
> possibility of altering this genetic code in humans through genetic
> engineering. 

I suspect that you don't understand the meaning of the words "Genetic
Code."
The Genetic Code refers to the rules governing the correspondence between 
nucleotide sequences in mRNA (or a gene) and the amino acid sequence in a 
protein. The three-letter code for tryptophan, for example, is UGG and the 
three-letter code for valine can be any one of four codons: UGU, UGC, UGA, 
UGG. All living species use the same "code" to translate mRNA into amino 
acid sequences, with only a few minor exceptions. The Genetic Code is the 
rule by which information transfer works to decode a message. It is not the 
message.

You don't want to alter the "Genetic Code" in humans - that's impossible. 
What you want to do is to alter the content of the message. 



Larry Moran
---
þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info{at}bbsworld.com

---
 * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS
 * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 6/14/03 3:16:58 PM