Genetics of Original Sin

by Christian De Duve

  The crisis foreseen by Malthus has struck

  If there is one action that humanity must urgently undertake to counter its now destructive genetic propensities, limiting its population is truly it. The alarm was sounded in the beginning of the previous century by such insightful precursors as the American Margaret Sanger (1883–1966), a pioneer of birth control, and, later, by her countryman Paul Ehrlich, whose book The Population Bomb created a sensation when it was published in 1968. Moves initiated in various parts of the world as a result of these warnings and advances in contraceptives, including the famous “pill,” first developed in 1951, have unfortunately had little effect so far. The number of humans on Earth has continued its rise (see fig. 12.1). And in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI solemnly reiterated, in October 2008, his unyielding condemnation of any deliberate method of limiting birth other than abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period of the menstrual cycle. As recently as March 16, 2009, on the occasion of a trip to Africa, he again stressed his opposition to the use of condoms, even to prevent the spread of AIDS.

  This, in my view, is more than regrettable; it is irresponsible. We need and should expect that the spiritual head of more than one billion human beings will take the initiative in such a critical circumstance, pronouncing it morally justified, if not commendable or, even, obligatory, to oppose the population increase by all reasonable means compatible with human health and dignity. The issue, of course, rests on what is to be considered “reasonable” and “compatible with human health and dignity,” in relation to the gravity of the crisis humanity is facing.

  Culling is not a tolerable solution to the population problem

  The most drastic means of containing a rapidly rising population rate is the one that hunters sometimes adopt, the culling of herds, preferentially sacrificing aged or sick animals in the process. Applied not so long ago in the Nazi camps, this horrible means is obviously proscribed for humans in all civilized countries. But it is replaced to some extent by the wars and genocides that continue raging in various parts of the planet. With the manufacturing of increasingly powerful weapons of mass destruction, the situation grows steadily worse. There were tens of millions of victims in the last two world wars. One shudders at the idea of what the future has in store for us. But such conflicts are hardly a reasonable solution to our population problem. They are, rather, with starvation and epidemics, part of the nightmare natural selection has in store for us if we do not act against it.

  One way or another, the birthrate must be reduced

  One means of reducing the global birthrate is by imposing sterilization. Certain eugenists in the not-too-distant past have advocated this strategy, not so much for birth control purposes, but to “purify the race” by rendering the “unfit” unable to procreate. This policy is necessarily totally unacceptable. But such a ban does not extend to voluntary sterilization, which is feasible today by simple surgical procedures, such as Fallopian tube ligation for women and vasectomy for men. I lack statistics on the subject, but it is my impression that few young people choose to undergo these procedures. Societies may, however, be driven to encourage this choice. Widespread voluntary sterilization could become a particularly simple and effective way to control population growth. This is all the more true because such operations have few, if any, harmful effects on hormonal balance and the procedures are often reversible, so that the ability to procreate can be restored in the case of a couple desiring a child, after the loss of one, for example.

  Abstaining from sexual intercourse is obviously a way to avoid procreating. It is the solution of choice for all those who make celibacy a condition of priesthood or monastic life. It is, however, known, through all the recent pedophilia scandals, that the choice of celibacy is not always free of destructive complications and may lead to perverse and seriously damaging behaviors.

  Homosexual behavior is another form of sexual activity that generates no offspring, but it is, for the most part, likely to be an inborn, possibly environmentally favored proclivity, rather than a deliberately chosen way of life. A society more tolerant toward this sexual orientation, as obtains today in many countries, could, however, produce a certain positive effect, because homosexuality is perhaps more common than we would be tempted to believe. It is up to us to provide this proclivity with the opportunity to manifest itself without prejudice to the parties involved. But this is an ethical issue, quite separate from our population problem.

  The most efficient procedures for reducing the number of human beings remain contraception and, as early as possible, interruption of pregnancy, including its preventive form, the “morning-after pill.” It is through such procedures that humanity can best prevent demographic expansion. They are authorized more or less liberally in many countries. But this is not enough. The procedures should be more than just tolerated; they should be encouraged.

  Limiting births needs to be encouraged

  Given the urgency of the problem, political authorities should, with the support of as many moral authorities as possible, take active positions in favor of limiting births. An average of little more than two children per couple would ensure that a population will not increase. Condoms, diaphragms, intrauterine devices, pills, and other contraceptive means could be provided free to all citizens of procreating age, together with the necessary medical assistance for pregnancy interruption (under some conditions to be defined). Everyone’s freedom to have children should be preserved, but at a price—perhaps through taxes—that would take into account the impact on society of a population expanding beyond a level that is sustainable within reasonable economic and social conditions.

  These can be seen as shocking proposals in a world that has always put children at the center of its preoccupations. The desire to have children is one of the strongest urges written in our genes by natural selection and legitimized by custom. Opposing it goes against our innermost nature. But we must recognize the reality of figures and facts. To do nothing is to yield to natural selection, with the destructive consequences it entails.

  The measures I recommend risk being considered simplistic; certainly, they involve all kinds of political, social, legal, economic, and other difficulties. My motivation—what I consider my responsibility as a scientist—is to expose the facts, as I see them, and to try to draw logical conclusions as best I can.

  “Anti-alarmists” often point out that the problem is mainly economic, and many observations show that there exists an inverse relation between economic development and demographic expansion. Let the former rise, and the latter will fall. This may be true, but only to the extent that economic improvement goes together with the increased practice of birth control. Without this control, the rising economic level cannot cause birthrates to fall. One would rather expect the opposite because of concomitant improvements in health care.

  Recommended policies may sometimes have unforeseen consequences. China is an example. The “one child per couple” policy imposed by the Chinese government has resulted in a worrisome decrease in the number of girls relative to the number of boys, a result of prenatal sex determination, allowing the preferential abortion of girls. This outcome has less to do with the policy itself and more with a widespread social prejudice in China, one that encourages families to produce a male heir. This problem is for Chinese society to address and should in no way serve as a pretext to oppose birth control. Note that cynics could point out that a decrease in the number of girls, but not of boys, is likely to favor a reduction of the birthrate.

  China’s example shows how local customs may affect policies. It will be up to each culture to decide what means should be allowed, encouraged, or, sometimes, even, enforced to attain the desired goal. Unless measures are taken to curb the human birthrate on a worldwide scale, the “population bomb” is bound to explode, with predictably disastrous consequences. The message from Malthus matters more now than ever.

  Epilogue

  Two almost contradictory messages eme
rge from my analysis of the human circumstance. One says that our downfall, our eventual extinction and that of much of the living world, is inscribed in our genes. The other tells us that we possess the unique power to use reason to escape this fate. Whether “original sin” or “redemption” gains the upper hand is impossible to predict. But, at first glance, the prospects are not encouraging.

  There is a major difficulty: we must deal with two sharply different time scales. As human beings, we live within the limits imposed by our own lifespan and that of our relatives. On a personal and family level, or even on the social, economic, and political levels, our unit of time rarely exceeds a decade, often less in politics. On the other hand, the perspectives that should guide our actions are measured in centuries, if not millennia or more. Under those conditions, many of us are tempted to echo the words attributed to the Marquise de Pompadour, the favorite of King Louis XV of France: “Après nous le Déluge.”

  Another difficulty likely to discourage even the most convinced and motivated among us is the feeling of our own impotence. What each of us can accomplish as an individual may appear as of such little import as to seem futile. This is why collective engagement is so critical, why action, under the aegis of political and religious leaders, will be essential.

  The situation, however, is far from hopeless, as is made evident by the movement developing around the issue of global warming and climate change. The world is becoming concerned. Measures are being adopted on a national and, even, international level. More impressive, individuals are beginning to act, each in their own little sphere, to economize energy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and avoid waste—in short, to incur a small amount of personal discomfort for the sake of a distant common good. This is only one example. One could cite many others, showing that individuals, even masses, can be mobilized for constructive effort. If the world’s leaders could become more actively involved in the fight for the survival of humanity and the rest of the living world—the one depends on the other—the dangers that threaten the future of our planet can be deflected before it is too late.

  Index

  Africa; migrations out of; Neanderthals in; prehumans in

  AIDS

  algae

  alimentary tract

  allergies

  Altamira cave paintings, Spain

  American Forestry Association

  amino acids

  amniotic fluid

  amniotic pouch

  amphibians

  anaerobic forms of life

  angiosperms

  animal(s): alimentary tract; brains; cells; cloning of; communication; developmental mechanisms; domestic; energy derived from combustion of food; evolution of; homeogenes of; male aggression in; migration from water to land; modification of; multicellular; parent mobility; reproductive strategies; segmented; societies; soft-bodied; specialization in; synthesis by; tool-making skills

  annelids

  antibiotics

  anus

  apes

  arthropods

  artificial selection

  Asia

  ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

  Audubon, John James

  Australia

  Australopithecus

  autotrophes

  bacteria; ancient/ancestral; antibiotics and; archaebacteria; cancer-causing; cells; in cells; cloning and; cyanobacteria; as endosymbionts; eubacteria; evolution of; in the evolution of life; extremophiles; free-living; groups; photosynthetic; prokaryotic; thermophilic

  behavioral defects

  Behe, Michael

  Belgium

  Benedict XVI, pope

  Bergson, Henri

  Bible/biblical account; evolution and; Genesis; literal interpretation of; veracity of

  Big Bang theory

  biocatalysts

  biochemical systems

  biochemistry

  biodiversity

  bioenergy

  biofuels

  biology; developmental; modern; molecular

  biosphere

  biosynthesis

  birds; Darwin’s finch

  birthrate

  blastula

  blood: circulation; coagulation

  bone marrow

  bonobos

  brain: cell division and; cells; cerebral cortex; chimpanzee; development; of early humans; epigenetic wiring of; evolution of; ganglia; human; Neanderthal; nerve cells in; rewiring of; structure; synapses. See also brain size

  brain size; anatomical changes and; bipedalism and; Cro-Magnons; determined by female pelvis; early human beings; evolution and; hominization and; human; intelligence and; mutations affecting size; prehumans

  Brunet, Michael

  Buddha

  cancer; in plants

  canonic bases (A, G, C, U)

  carbohydrates

  carbon dioxide; atmospheric; emissions

  Carson, Rachel

  catalysts; for metabolism

  Catholic Church; creationism and; evolution and; heliocentric view of the universe; history of cruelty and violence; pedophilia scandals; pope; reappraisal of ethical rules

  cell(s); asymmetric division; axons; bacteria in; blood; brain; cancer; chemicals produced in; daughter; dedifferentiation; definition of; dendrites; differentiation; diploid; diversity in; division; division of labor and; embryonic; energy extracted by; eukaryotic; female germ (oocytes); fertilized egg; fusion; gametes; genome of; germ; growth and repair; haploid; human; male germ (spermatozoa); meiosis; membranes; metabolism in; molecular construction; morphogenesis of; mother; oxygen delivered to; photosynthetic; primitive; prokaryotic; red blood; renewal; single mother; somatic; stem; totipotential state of; types

  central nervous system

  Chad

  chance and evolution

  Changeux, Jean-Pierre

  chemical transmitters

  chemistry; cosmic; organic; prebiotic

  Chernobyl catastrophe

  chickens

  chimpanzees; brain size; genome; separation from primates

  China

  chloroplasts

  chromosomes; cloning and; diploid and haploid sets; DNA in; doubling of; recombination (crossing over); Y. See also Y Adam

  Church of England

  cilia

  climate change

  cloning; engineering; ethical debates surrounding; human; kinds of; reproductive; stem cells and; therapeutic; uses of

  Club of Rome

  coenzymes

  Commoner, Barry

  competition; for resources

  complementarity

  complexity, irreducible

  congeners

  conifers

  consciousness

  contraception

  convergence

  Conway Morris, Simon

  Copernicus

  Coppens, Ives

  creationism; biblical; instant divine creation

  Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

  Crick, Francis

  Cro-Magnons

  crustaceans

  CTP (cytidine triphosphate)

  cyanobacteria

  cytoplasm

  Dart, Raymond

  Darwin, Charles; on competition for resources; gene mutations and; modern biology and. See also evolution; natural selection

  Darwin, Erasmus

  Dawkins, Richard

  Dembski, William

  Denton, Michael

  deoxyribose

  Descartes, René

  “designer babies”

  development; embryological; evolution and; experimental embryology; homeotic genes and; human; mechanisms of; transcription control and

  digestion

  digestive pouch

  dinosaurs

  disease(s); congenital; Creutzfeldt-Jakob; in early human beings; epidemics; genetic mutations and; genetic probability of; mad cow; plant; scurvy; Tay-Sachs

  diversity of life

  DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid); from ancestral bacterium; base pairing; ch
romosomal; coding; combined with proteins; double-helical structure; genetic information stored in; in germ cells; mitochondrial; molecules; molecules (A, G, C, U); mutations; nuclear; replication; role in heredity; sequences; synthesis of; transfer from RNA. See also mitochondrial Eve

  dogs

  Dolly the cloned sheep

  Dubois, Eugene

  Dubos, René

  early human beings: acquired traits; in Africa; bipedalism in; brain size; manual dexterity; migration out of Africa; predators of; speech capability; survival strategies; tool-making skills. See also prehumans

  echinoderms

  ecology

  Edelman, Gerald

  education; role of religions in

  egg(s): aqueous medium for; diploid and haploid; fertilized; mitochondria of; unfertilized

  Ehrlich, Anne

  Ehrlich, Paul

  embryology, experimental

  embryos: destruction of during cloning; development of; human

  end-of-the-world scenarios

  endosymbiosis

  energy: biological transfer of; economization; electricity as; extracted by cells; in food production; human needs for; information and; natural sources of; nuclear; oxidative production of; renewable sources of; from sunlight; supply; transfer; universal energy mediator; for work

  environment/environmentalism

  enzymes; bacterial; digestive; evolution of; genetic deficiency of; loss of; oxygen and; protein; reactions catalyzed by

  epigenetics

  ethics: debates surrounding; religions and

  eugenics

  Eurasia

  Europe

  evolution; of animals; of bacteria; Bible/biblical account and; biological; of birds and mammals; of blastopores; brain size and; branching structures in; convergence in; cultural; development and; directed; environmental conditions for; of enzymes; genetic drift and; genome and; history of; intelligent design and; of life; micro; mimicry and; ongoing nature of; opposition to; pace of; role of chance in; without selection; self-organization and; sexual reproduction and; supernatural intervention and; of tool-making skills; vertebrate; vitalism and