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Molecular Genetics

An Example of Faulty Communication Between Science and the Public

Queens College, bcommoner{at}qc.cuny.edu

This essay examines the current state of knowledge of molecular biology, and how well this science has been conveyed into the public understanding. The article starts by providing a primer on the key concepts of molecular genetics. What this shows is that DNA is not the sole governing component of biological inheritance and cellular reproduction. Rather, the nature of life is the outcome of a complex interaction among DNA, RNA, and proteins. The limitations of genetic theory are evident from the findings of the National Institutes of Health's Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project (ENCODE). Summarizing a large number of scientific reports created by this project, it is argued that the ENCODE study has replaced the original pattern of colinear transfer of genetic information from simple genes to specific proteins and their engendered inherited traits with a vastly more complex network of overlapping and interlaced relationships. Thus, the ENCODE project has undermined the notion of genetics that underlies much the practices of genetic engineering of crop plants or genetic screening for diseases. Yet there virtually been no press coverage of this fundamental challenge to the core genetic theory and the public remains uninformed about this issue. This unacknowledged issue in molecular genetics creates a crisis in biology. Because the responsible scientific community has not sought to inform the public, there is a serious problem of public information regarding the status of genetic theory and the nature of the risks engendered in genomic research.

Key Words: Watson—Crick theory • DNA replication • human genome project • alternative splicing • nucleotide sequence • ENCODE • gene fusion • science information movement

This version was published on March 1, 2009

Organization & Environment, Vol. 22, No. 1, 19-33 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1086026609333420


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