A brief history of mankind Chapter 20 Reading notes: the development direction of science

Before 2 1 century, no matter how hard Homo sapiens tried, they could not break the restriction of biological genes. Although we can speed up the process of natural selection through selective breeding, such as breeding chickens that can get fat quickly. But there is nothing we can do about the functions we want to add, such as growing four wings. That's God's domain.

However, the appearance of a rabbit that can only emit green light broke this taboo. Brazilian biological artist Eduardo Katz paid a French laboratory to transform a glowing rabbit. French scientists implanted the DNA of green fluorescent jellyfish into ordinary rabbit embryos. Thus, the first life designed by human wisdom-Aba rabbit appeared.

This indicates that the biological revolution may become the most important change in the history of the earth. If this possibility is finally successful, it will completely change the rules of the game in life.

One of the ways to replace natural selection with intelligent design: bioengineering

The so-called bioengineering refers to the deliberate intervention of human beings at the biological level, aiming at changing the form, ability, needs or desires of organisms in order to realize some preset cultural concepts.

The earliest biological transformation of human beings was castration. For example, castrating a pig can make it easier to gain weight. Now, human beings have reached the level of cross-species transformation of cells and nuclei. We can take out the gene of an arctic fish and implant it into potatoes to make them more cold-resistant;

You can also create mice with greatly improved memory and learning ability.

Most voles are mixed-race, but one kind of vole keeps faithful monogamy. Some geneticists claim to have discovered the monogamous gene of this vole, and adding this gene can make other voles change from stealing to loving home.

The above scientific experiment is terrible to think about-will similar genetic engineering be applied to humans one day? This ability of genetic modification can not only change the morphology of organisms, but also change their behavior, thus changing cultural concepts and social structure.

Manipulating genes may change the body and brain of Homo sapiens and become another species.

The second way to replace natural selection with intelligent design: bionic engineering

Bionic engineering can combine human body and machinery to create robots or biochemical people in science fiction.

In a sense, glasses, pacemakers, hearing AIDS and even mobile phones are all auxiliary devices. With these external tools, we can all be called biochemical people. However, further biochemical people appeared.

Scientists at Duke University in North Carolina implanted electrodes in the brains of Hengge monkeys, and then let the electrodes collect brain signals and transmit them to external devices. A female monkey named "Aurora" has been trained to move two arms and manipulate the mechanical arm to far away places to hold bananas with her mind. This is close to the mecha in science fiction.

In the current research, the most revolutionary thing is to establish a two-way interface directly connecting the brain and the computer, so that the computer can read the electronic signals of the human brain and return the signals that the human brain can understand.

If this idea succeeds, can we form a "brain network"? Then, while we can read each other's brains, we will completely open our brains to others, so that we have collective memory. So how can we be sure if this is our own or someone else's?

Such a biochemical man no longer belongs to human beings, but to another species. The influence of this species in philosophy, psychology, politics and ethics is immeasurable.

The third way to replace natural selection with intelligent design: inorganic life engineering

The law of this life is to create inorganic life. The most obvious examples are computer programs and computer viruses that can evolve independently. Many programmers dream of creating a program that can learn and grow by itself. Once the program runs, it will evolve on its own, and no one, including the creator, can control its development. This is an independent life.

In 2005, "blue brain project" hoped to build a neural network that simulated the human brain and imitated the brain with electronic circuits. If this plan succeeds, is it a person? Or a new inorganic life?

Is the biological revolution an opportunity for Homo sapiens to become gods?

Now, the era of personalized medicine has begun, and you can tailor the treatment plan according to your genes. In the future, you can make yourself smarter, more rational or stronger by various means. For the first time in history, we believe that all people should enjoy basic equality. But with the development of biological science, we may be building a most unequal society.

The original aristocratic class claimed to be the noblest, but in fact we know that his body is no different from that of the poor. But in the future, the rapid development of biological science will make a few elites realize this wish, and the aristocratic society of the upper class may become a reality.

Designing the rules of life and promoting the emergence of new species is a concept close to God.

Is the biological revolution the beginning of becoming Frankenstein?

18 18 mary shelley's science fiction "Frankenstein" tells the story of a scientist who created a scientific monster, which got out of hand and eventually led to chaos. This story warns us that those who try to become gods now will be punished if we try to control our lives.

Bioengineering has bred mice with cow ears, and scientists want to revive Neanderthals. Bionic engineering has created a mechanical arm that can be operated by thinking, and scientists also want to create a device that can read brain information. A program with self-learning ability can beat the original chess program in just a few hours of study. Will the story of robots ruling the world in science fiction movies come true?

What is even more frightening is that science can not only change the body, but also change the mind. Frankenstein in the future will be much better than the average person. So are we still us? In other words, Homo sapiens will disappear completely.

Of course, many seemingly inevitable things in history are often impossible to achieve because of unexpected obstacles; And some unimaginable phenomena have finally become a reality. For example, when Apollo 1 1 landed on the moon, people all over the world thought that humans could immigrate to Mars in the 20th century. No one expected that the network would develop so fast. We can't foresee what the future will be like.