20. A Walk in Utopia (II)

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Times are changing, and now, looking back at Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, we have a right to ask ourselves how ‘science-fiction-like’ his science-fiction novel is; the society he portrayed back in 1932 as operating on the principles of mass production and Pavlovian conditioning must have been overlooked at the time because of the social and political unrest looming large in Europe: a radical revision of the world order was under way, which culminated with the global conflict we now know as WWII. 

Human Beings: how surprising an adventure to understand them, or, rather, to try to find the essence of their be-have-do patterns (see The haves and have-nots around us I). But let’s not jump to conclusions yet; for the time being you’ll agree that we can affirm at least this: once an idea is born inside a person’s mind there’s nothing to stop it from developing. How else could we grasp the meaning of genetic engineering if not by considering the attempts on behalf of generations of scientists at discovering the secret of life?

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So, why look into the DNA structure? Well, because it’s there!

The article you’ve read in the previous post speaks about exactly that: the adventure of looking into things. Surely, it’s not new anymore, for it was written some time before 1993, and what was then considered as theoretically possible (see article in A Walk in Utopia I) has developed into fact (history) and (still) [science-]fiction.

Whether the manipulation of human genes is meant for healing wounds (1j), treating pancreas dysfunction (2e), bone disease (4a), or preventing heart attack (5l), the underlying concept is the same: medical magic bullets directed to specific targets with a view to helping the organism against strokes (6h), lung cancer (7k), or diabetes (8d). But there’s no denying that prevention is better than cure, and this may well be the turning point in scientific research: the future is now, for the proceedings of biotechnology are supposed to advise on genetic therapy which, in turn, may give us super-babies (9b), bring about a Revolution (10i) in body information storage, correct inherited defects by means of drugs (11g) – all in all, lead to a complete understanding of disease (12c).

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It’s high time we listened to the expert: here’s Craig Venter, the one scientist under whose supervision the human genome was decoded, and his programme ‘A Voyage of DNA, genes, and the sea':

Craig Venter's "voyage"

Now after watching Craig Venter’s film, and in the light of the advances of biotechnology mentioned in the article, the question arises: what advantages and disadvantages do you see to genetic engineering? Give examples of its uses, and try to draw the line between fiction and non-fiction yourself. Your comments will be, as always, welcome!

19. A walk in Utopia (I)

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It is a fact that the what-if hypothesis is one of the most prolific argumentative tools since Socratic times. It helps the speaker's line of thought to follow paths of the imagination and, in so doing, it evinces Man as a rational being.

Now, I know what you're thinking: this goes too far back in time, it can't be one of those up-to-the-minute topics that thicken the air in the media. Well, in fact I should say it steps into the near future, and any exaggeration is far from getting even close to extended metaphor.

Reading skills

Read the newspaper article below and match the headings a – l with paragraphs 1-12.

a.      Bone Growth

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b.     Super-babies

c.     Understanding Disease

d.     Diabetes

e.     Pancreas

f.       Arthritis

g.     Drugs

h.    Strokes

i.       Revolution

j.       Healing Wounds

k.     Lung Cancer

l.       Heart attack Prevention

BRAVE NEW WORLD OF GENETIC ENGINEERING BRINGS HOPE OF HEALTH AND LONGEVITY FOR TOMORROW’S GENERATION

By Danae Brook

[Adapted from Distinction: English for Advanced Learners by Mark Foley & Diane Hall]

1.   ...

Proteins like epidural growth factors, made by biotechnology, will increase the speed at which bums, wounds and ulcers can heal. The proteins are already being marketed in Japan.

2.   ...

Pancreatic cancer is likely to be treated with magic bullets in ten years. These are antibodies which recognise the cancer cells and carry radioactive drugs to them but not to the surrounding cells.

3.   ...

Interferon, undergoing trials as a rheumatoid arthritis treatment, appears to reduce inflammation and pain. Other drugs are being tested.

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     4.   ...

Insulin-like factor (IGF), an ingredient which makes bones start to grow again, will be available in 20 years to revolutionise bone disease treatment. It is currently being tested on animals.

      5.   ...

TPA is one of the success stories of biotechnology. It quickly dissolves blood clots and stops heart attacks. Already saving lives, it does not stay in the body long, but studies suggest there could be longer-lasting versions.

6.   ...

Atrial natriuretic peptide, a newly discovered hormone, may help reduce risk of strokes. It may also be effective in other blood-related disorders.

7.   ...

All cancers may be helped by magic bullets - antibodies which carry drugs to cancer cells - and by proteins which stimulate growth of white cells. It is hoped that lung cancer may be stopped by chemically engineered drugs within 20 years.

8.   ...

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Biotechnology has made it possible to use human insulin to treat diabetes, so reducing the risk of infection. Pigs used to be the donors. Could work for other auto-immune diseases, such as AIDS, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy.

9.   ...

Our babies may live to be more than 100. Perhaps 120. That is the gift of technology to the human race. Advances in medical science, in a field called biotechnology, mean super-babies may soon be a reality. Genes can actually be identified in the womb. Tomorrow we may alter them, although the prospect is so daunting the Government has set up a special steering committee to advise on ‘genetic therapy’. Genetic engineering is changing life. For people under 50 the implications are extraordinary.

10.  ...

Scientists can actually take human strands of DNA (the chemical that stores information and controls all growth in our bodies) and correct any flaws they contain. Within 50 - 100 years it may be common practice. Patients are transformed by the artful science of genetic engineering, with which the scientist can ‘clone’ or copy the DNA strands, and put them back in the body, new, improved, and healthy.

'This could reverse the effect of virtually every disease the human body suffers,’ according to Dr Brian Richards, research scientist with the pharmaceutical company, British Bio-Technology. It will revolutionise the future.

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11.   ...

Developing drugs which copy nature by genetic engineering is now the strongest weapon in science’s armoury against killer diseases says Professor Sir David Weatherall, who is a specialist in genetic diseases and adviser to the Government on the ethics of what is now called genetic therapy, the possibility of one human being physically altering another.

‘Genetic therapy means correcting inherited defects in the womb, to make up for the absence of normal genes. We are not actually doing this yet... but we will be.’

The research and development on the drugs used in genetic engineering has been in existence for fifteen years. New drugs and vaccines are being created every day to beat hitherto fatal illnesses. There are around 50 genetically engineered drugs already on the market, treating diseases from open wounds and the common cold to leukaemia.

12.  ...

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Bio-technology is allowing us to understand the genetic basis of disease. Scientists can now decide what needs to be extracted from a strand of DNA by using a special chemical protein called an enzyme, which acts like a pair of scissors and snips off the unwanted DNA particles. New nucleotides or particles then rush in to correct and repair the damage. The repaired strands are then cloned in a lab and put into the body where they replace the flawed pieces of DNA.

‘We can do it in theory; but it may be many years before we do actually do it,’ cautions Dr June Grindley of British Bio-technology.

18. Lost for Words, Spoilt for Choice

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A blog’s stats seem to be as important as its very existence. Needless to say, it is conclusive for the author whether a blog’s followers feel like commenting on the various posts, and how thoroughly they imply themselves in the issue at hand every time.

So, it’s not without consequences that the haves and the have-nots have received lesser support than the topic on, say, physical beauty; it may mean – why not? – that being is by far more important than having. What with those contrasts between a luxurious mansion and a shabby cottage, or between a relaxed, confident look to the future and a demanding inner-city job making you want to emigrate – the farther the better!

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The next logical step would have been to ask you to imagine the Spellings’ home, what the rooms, furniture and furnishings look like. Likewise, I should have asked you to try to imagine what the Grangers’ cottage looks like inside, and how it might differ from the Spellings’ mansion. And then, of course, finish by enquiring about your preferences: which of the two places would you prefer to live in? Why? The questions are still open, as – in fact – all the questions put forward thus far. I welcome any comment on the ideas that this workshop submits to scrutiny.

Google Images: DNA logo

Yet by the time I set to devising a sequel to the previous post, and about to plunge into a get-rich-quick case which might stir opinions, an unexpected array of possible topics crowded the screen. But why should I waver? The ideas are here, in your comments, and I am actually spoilt for choice! Scrolling down and re-reading your comments I was lost for words: among them, there is one that had been thought of as a topic to be tackled further on, namely genes.

Now, that’s a special case, for it is difficult to say whether we are what we are because we have them, or, conversely, we have what we have because we came into being thanks to our DNA.

One thing at a time. First, let’s have a look at some basic facts:

Dictionary work

Read this short passage and underline any words and phrases which you feel need explanation or definition. Some of these have already been underlined. Look up the words in a dictionary (some of them appear in the article to be posted in the next entry) and then rewrite the passage where necessary. It is a good idea not to copy the dictionary definitions but to use suitable methods of explaining or defining, such as relative clauses or appositions. The first sentence contains such an example of defining.

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DNA AND ITS USES

DNA is the basic genetic material present in most animate organisms. Molecules of DNA are found in a cell’s chromosomes. Chromosomes occur in pairs: one from the mother and one from the father. The number of chromosomes differs from species to species: a normal human cell has 46.

DNA is made up of genes, linear sections of a DNA molecule which contain the instructions for the development of particular characteristics that living things inherit from their forbears, such as eye colour. DNA molecules contain the genetic instructions needed for cells to organise and function. DNA is a large molecule made up of two separate strands wrapped around each other to form a double-helix.

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 In 1985 Professor Alec Jeffreys discovered that the DNA of every living thing has its own unique genetic pattern. This ‘fingerprint’ can be determined and used to identify criminals from biological materials left at the scene of a crime or to settle paternity disputes conclusively.

DNA and its uses

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the basic genetic material present in most animate or living organisms...

So, don't delay! Work out your own variant before you go  on.

17. The haves and have-nots around us (II)

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Looking back at the photo which opens the first part of this topic, I somehow feel that most of you decoded the be-have-do triad in terms of notions rather than tools for constructing utterances; yet their uses are by far more numerous as modal, and auxiliary verbs than notional verbs. This is indeed tricky business, and – of course – we are taken back to our attempt at getting verbal, at least in order to make sure we’re on the right track.

Grammaring again!

Let’s get notional now for just a little while, and look for answers to such questions as:

What comes first to our mind when we say I am? Do we really decode it as existence?

What do we first think of when we take in I do? Is it action, or else some echo of a previous question?

How many times does I have evoke by itself something which ‘doesn’t mean anything’?

What is needed in order for us to understand them as tools?

While waiting for your answers, I am about to become a bit philosophical: what seems to be more important, being (that is to say, existing), having (that is, possessing), or else doing (visually, taking a course of action)?

At the end of the day, what does it take for one to enjoy the ‘simple thing’ of reading these lines?                               

Aaron and Candy Spelling's mansion

A study in contrasts 

[adapted from New Success at First Certificate,

by Robert O’Neill, Michael Duckworth & Kathy Gude]

   Aaron Spelling is said to have been the richest and most successful television producer in Hollywood and, in a city famous for its wealth, his wife, Candy, has been known as the biggest spender. A few years ago they paid more than $10 million for the huge house Bing Crosby used to live in. Then they had it torn down so that an even bigger, more wonderful mansion could be built. Not only does it have a more luxurious swimming-pool but an indoor ice-skating rink and a private zoo, as well. The final bill came to more than $25 million.

They say that a few years ago – surely before 2006 (the year Aaron Spelling passed away) – on a typically warm Californian Christmas Eve, Candy had a huge amount of real snow delivered to the Spelling mansion and spread all over the green lawns so that their children could enjoy 'a white Christmas'.

Not so long ago Candy decided she needed a few more clothes. She had a whole fashion show flown out to her from New York, along with the designer and three models. Not only did she buy the entire collection but - so the story goes at least - the bags and hats the models travelled with, as well. A lot of people in Hollywood wonder what she is going to buy next.

'What more can she possibly want?' others ask.

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    Martin and Rebecca Granger used to teach in a tough secondary school in London. A few years ago, they moved to a small cottage in Cornwall, in the extreme south-west of England. ‘We got tired of trying to make kids learn things they had no interest in’ Martin says. Martin's mother had died, leaving the cottage to them. 'It was in a terrible state when we came. There were leaks in the roof. There wasn't even an indoor loo. * Rebecca and I have rebuilt the place with our own hands.’

 It is a pleasant, small place by the sea. In their large garden they grow most of their own vegetables and keep a goat. They also make all their own clothes. ‘Money is still a problem, but we've learned to get by on very little,’ Rebecca says. She does some part-time teaching in a school in the village nearby. Martin paints water-colours of the wild Atlantic and the brilliant sunsets they see almost every day. He has sold a few recently.

 They both say that what they value most is their freedom from the rat race and the pressures of life in a big city. Only one thing really bothers them, and that is the invasion of tourists every summer.

‘We've been very happy here, but we might emigrate to New Zealand, where we'd be even further away from it all,’ Rebecca says.

* lavatory.

16. The haves and have-nots around us (I)

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Let’s get verbal for a while, shall we?

This is an invitation for everybody to step into a room whose door has been skilfully masked within the patterns on the walls: it is as if it didn’t exist until you became aware of its being there. Nobody – well, almost nobody – thought about it, simply because it was taken for granted; now, while looking around the room you readily realize there’s a window to this new reality. So, let’s go over to the window and look out: are you in for what will surely turn out to be a breathtaking adventure?

The air in the room is thick with form, use, and meaning. The first strong perfume tickling our nostrils takes the shape of a verb coming to our rescue: the auxiliary! How could we avoid it when we want to talk about things that happened some time in a period from the past up to now, often with present results?! Mark my words: impossible.

(1)               Have you ever been to Australia?

How long have you been together?

Our taxi hasn’t arrived yet.

Other situations are still continuing, although they started in the past: I’ve been waiting for you for half an hour.

But this is not all: we may want to talk about situations in the past and express possibility, desirability, deduction (that is, modality), and this will take us deeper into the wonders wafting in the room:

(2)               I can’t find my umbrella; I must have left it on the train.

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Now, I know what you’re thinking: why…

  (3)       do I have to go on reading all this [that is, (lack of) obligation]? Well, because it is necessary, not to say obligatory – even if the obligation has been imposed on you. There’s no other way that I know of when you want to…

(4)       have language explained to you (that is, causative); with a little bit of luck, you’ll eventually…

(5)             have a good time (that is, experience something) while reading on!

Last but not least, what about

(6)           “having-full-stop” – that is, indeed, a completely different matter, even if we talk about possessing, or owning things, relationships, illnesses – you name it.

And it all comes in one tight package: I have, (s)he/it has, I had, I’ve had, (s)he’s had, I’m having. But things don’t stop there, simply because we have to finish our thoughts every time and, while doing it, new blocks of information must be added if and only if we want to obtain meaning.

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15. Wishful Thinking (III)

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A lot more could be written in entries for this topic, but going on for too long would be unfair vis-à-vis other themes, which are as important as, or even more important than, this one. So, here’s the full advertisement: 

Lie buster - A Miracle of Modern Electronics

<< At last thanks to modern technology, there is a way to find out if people are telling the truth. The Liebuster looks  just like an ordinary watch, but in fact it’s far more than that! In addition to telling the time, it buzzes when it detects a lie. The bigger the lie, the bigger the buzz. You will find it in­valuable whether you're at home or at work. It is by far the smallest, most accurate, lie-detector ever made. It measures the stress in people's voices by means of high-tech microchips. In business negotiations, it will tell you if people are being dishonest with you. At home it can warn you if your girlfriend or boyfriend is lying when they tell you what they did that weekend when you were away on business.

Never before has such an elec­tronic miracle been sold at such a low price. So get yours /one now while stocks last. Hurry! Don't wait / delay! Nobody can do without the Liebuster, the miracle of modern high- tech electronics! >>

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And now, all things considered, you will find it easier to agree with the fact that the context in which the lie is told is of great significance. A lie told in order not to offend someone’s feelings is by all means less dangerous than one told in order to gain fame, fortune, or glory…

It is for you to decide, after making all the changes and additions necessary to produce a complete dialogue from the words and phrases below.

Example: So/get here/last/Peter.

► So you got here at last, Peter.

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PETER Yes/I be/terribly sorry/late.

(1) …         

JENNY It be/second time/this/happen/last two weeks.

(2) …         

PETER I know/I hope/you/forgive me.

(3) …         

JENNY Well/why/late/this time?

(4) …         

PETER The boss/ask me/work late/again.

(5) …         

JENNY Well/why/you not/phone me?

(6) …                  

PETER I/try to/but/not be/possible.

(7) …         

JENNY What/you mean? You try/tell me/there be/no phones/your office?

(8) …         

PETER Of course/there be/phones/the office/but/ there be/something wrong/them.

(9) … 

Peter & Jenny

14. Wishful Thinking (II)

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Hopefully, everybody has tried their own answers and read the common lies people tell (in the poster). So, time to fulfil the promise: let's unveil the best (or most appropriate) answers, according to the text. In this case, all of them are, to a greater or a lesser degree, linked to conclusions based on statistics and, let’s be honest: we live in a world built on statistics for ... as much as nine out of ten of our affirmations – if we include this one, of course!

So, according to the passage, a 'white lie' seems to be a lie told in order to avoid offending someone. Other scenarios have been displayed in the comments to the post, for it is difficult to decide on telling the truth in extreme cases.

Research suggests that women are better at telling less serious lies than men are. I should add that this may well be the topic of a separate blog, so the theme will only partially be tackled.

Google Images: Avoiding confrontation

One reason people sometimes rub their noses when they lie is that the nose is sensitive to physical changes caused by lying. There’s no denying by now that all research has offered sufficient evidence of the fact.

It would appear from the passage that there is no simple way of finding out if someone is lying. No comment.

In fact, why should people insist so much on being told the truth (the whole truth, and nothing but the truth)? Why shouldn’t there be this other alternative (Tell me lies/Tell me sweet little lies/Tell me, tell me lies) which would paint our days in different hues, and make us smile for no particular reason?

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It seems it’s human nature, and that’s all there is to it. No wonder then that people (and manufacturers) go to great pains to satisfy such a special need, like in the advertisement below: