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A Perspective on Bioengineering

There is an expression, which is no longer commonly used, that states, "You can't see the forest for the trees". It means, of course, that by examining pieces of the larger whole exclusively, the meaning of the larger entity is lost.

Genetics and bioengineering is, by design, the study and implementation of processes upon pieces of the whole. Even though the true nature of the gene, as an entity, has not been exclusively studied and is, therefore, not well known, the causative effects of genes, located on specific parts of chromosome threads in the nucleus of a cell, is extensively studied and acted upon. This lack of knowledge of the larger whole (gene to chromosome thread to nucleus to cell to cell subgroup to cell subgroup section to cell group sections to organ, for example) is similar to understanding the use and effects of a particular tree in the forest without fully understanding how that tree interacts with the other trees in the forest. Is the tree in unison with the trees that surround it, in competition with them or overtly antagonistic towards them? Any tree can be planted in a forest. Is it native to the larger forest, or is it alien? If it is alien, will it exhibit, over time, the encroachment that occurs with what is termed effects of invasive species?

Prior to the advent of the explosion of bioengineering as one of the most popular new branches of biology, genetics was confined to the realm of crossbreeding. Old-fashioned genetics, over time and trials, illustrated the divergence and complexity of nature. Some species, it was noticed, even those which appeared superficially to resemble each other, were too far apart by taxonomy for even coaxed crossbreeding to occur. Nature had apparently placed safety mechanisms in place, both to prohibit crossbreeding and to protect extant species. Nature also seemed to encourage specific varieties within a species, varieties that would, over time, produce new species through what is termed evolution.

Even in cases where the crossbreeding of two species, which appeared superficially to resemble each other, was able to occur, unanticipated results sometimes happened. A well known example is that of the crossbreeding of a horse and a donkey. Although crossbreeding horses with horses, or donkeys with donkeys, produces offspring capable of reproduction, the crossbreeding of a horse and a donkey produces a mule, an animal incapable of reproduction. The unanticipated result illustrates

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