Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday July 23 2000 — Page 19 Clean genes then hang them out to dry By Dave Barry The Miami Herald IU an organization called “The Human Genome Project" — which incredibly tuns out NOT tobearock band — announced that it had deciphered fly human genetic code Scientists reacted by bolding a celebration so ' joyous that many of them woke up the next day with undershorts stains that they believe could take yean to fully analyze Clearly then cracking die genetic code is a big deal for die scientific community But what does it mean to who still you the secretly believes that radio works by magic? To answer that question we need to review basic biology I studied biology under Mrs Wright at Pleasantville (NY) High non-scient- ist School in 1963 It was an intensive course including a laboratory 'segment in which each student was issued a jar containing a dead warm a dead frog a dead grasshopper and a dead perch Rom these specimens we learned a key scientific principle that unites all living creatures: If you put them in a jar they die We also learned that if you cut them open you found that all of them (except die worm) contained internal organs without which certain pranks would not have been possible But die question is What makes these creatures different? When frogs reproduce how come they produce another frog instead of say a perch? For that matter how DO frogs reproduce? Because they do not have sexual organs (If they did we definitely would have noticed in biology lab) Perhaps they reproduce by adoption We do not yet have the answers to these questions but we know that the key lies in the science of genetics According to Mrs Wright genetics was discovered in the 19th century by an Austrian monk named Mendel Who spent many years in his garden observing the reproduction of pea plants (In those days there was no HBO) Mendel noticed that the baby pea plants would often inherit certain characteristics of die mommy and daddy pea plants such as height eye color and personality Mendel found that by mating a certain pea plant with a certain other pea plant he could cause a third pea plant to go into a violent jealous rage resulting in injuries to vegetables as far away as the section What can we learn from these experiments? I have no idea and Mendel refuses to return my phone calls What we do know is that scientists eventually discovered that every living organism except lesse Helms contains genes which are tiny things that scientists call “the blueprints of life” because they are found inside tiny filing cabinets in tiny architect’s offices Inside these genes are molecules made out of a substance called “DNA” From the start scientists suspected that DNA” was actually an acronym that stood for longer words but they couldn’t figure out what because it was in some kind of genetic code And that is where the “Human Lawmakers Here to a flat of addressee and phone numbers for some Cache Valley's representatives In government LOGAN-MAYO- R COUNCIL LOGAN-MUNICIP- Thomas Kerr 36 N 1400 East 752-315- 2 Logan Alan Allred 1535 E 1500 North Looaa 753-82- 24 Jan Pearce 727 Logan N 150 West 753-359- 9 (208) 236-681- 7 Steve Thompson 37 S 200 West 19 SENATE-UTA- 753-696- 3 left-tur- Dave Barry is a humor columnist for the Miami Herald Write to him co The Miami Herald One Herald Plaza Miami FL 33132 Check out Dave’s Web site at http:wwwheraldcomdavebarry for secret orders City of peace worth great sacrifice Michael Crapo Republican —111 Russel Senate Office Building Wash2 ington DC 20510 (202) Idaho office: 801 E Sherman Pocatel- Toronto Globe and t has been said that Jerusalem is a city whose historical purpose is to show both the possibility of peace and the difficulty in ever achieving it The city has been a much inhabited place ruled variously by Egyptians Amorites Jebusites biblical Jews U8HOUSE-UTA-H James V Hansen Republican — Represents 1st Congressional District which Includes Cache County Washington office: 2466 Rayburn Building US House of Representatives Wash3 ington DC 20515 (202) Assyrians Babylonians Greeks Utah office: 1017 Federal Buildihg 324 25th SL Ogden UT 84401 (801) 625-567-7 or H Sen Robert Bennett RepubVcan — US Smote Washington DC 20510 Utah office: 4225 Fed(202) 224-544- 4 eral Building 125 S State SL Salt 3 Lake City UT 84138 (801) Sen Orrln Hatch Republican — US Senate Washington DC 20510 Utah office: 8402 Fed(202) 224-525524-593- 1 eral Building 125 S State St Salt Lake Cityi UT 84138 (801) 5244380 fi a 'i U Romans Byzantines various Mus- linw PhrinHan Crusaders Turks the British tiie state of Israel in part and Jordan in part and since 1967 by as a whole — albeit without 393-836- 2 A HOUSE4DAHO Mike Simpson Republican — Rep- official foreign recognition of the legitimacy of that rule Its fractured past has endowed it with a surfeit of holiness It is the site of Judaism’s most revered monument resents 2nd Congressional District which Includes Frankfin County 1449 Longworth House Office Building 1 Washington DC 29515 (202) Idaho office: 304 N 8th Room 225-553- 325 Boise ID 83702 (208) 334-195-3 84321 Home phone 753-004- 3 ness 0- iOil (tiie Wailing Wall) Islam’s third holi- est place (the Dome of the Rock) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built where rhrjtina believe Jesus was crucified ij: A surfeit of holiness and as we write an absence of peace Israelis and Palestinian continue to negotiate at Camp David stymied by an oppos-- busi- 752-261- 0 IllUl ui fail II I! DAHO i:rnt nrry? jfM — To call your Idaho senator 520 Larry Craig Republican Hart Senate Office Building Washing- - ' Senate or your representative House: cal and tqn DC 20510 (202) 224-275- 2 the person by name Idaho office: 801 E Sherman Room ILS SENATE40 AHO fill Mail I 236775 225-045- Logan 753-60Karan Borg Logan UJL 193 Pocatello ID 83201 lo ID 83201 (208) 99 ssssup!” long after it stopped being funny or failing to turn left immedin arrow ately when the green lights up or buying movie tickets with a credit card when there are 94 people in line behind you or putting a huge pile of groceries on the supermarket checkout counter then informing the people behind you that you have to go back and get "just a few more things” or never being able to order ANYTHING at a restaurant without giving the waiter special instructions about how it must be prepared ("and to drink I’d like water no ice chilled to 38 degrees with a lemon on the side sliced thin but not too thin”) Yes we are heading toward a day when thanks to genetics the entire human race will be completely free of defects — a day when everybody and not just thefortunate few will be a professional humor columnist Other vlows 224-814- 1567 Lynnwood Doug Thompson Ave Logan 753-68- Genome Project” came into die picture For decades researchers with a powerful magnifying glass and a background in crossword puzzles worked on decoding a DNA molecule It was not easy There were many disappointments such as the time after six years of intensive work when they discovered that the molecule was in fact a nose hair But finally they finished their historic task and were able to announce to the world the message contained in die human genetic code (It begins: "To Whom It May Concern”) And although much wok remains to be done we have — in the stirring words of A1 Gore who revealed that he did most of the work — "found the combination to the padlock of understanding on the gym locker of human life” But what does this mean in practical terms? It means that some day doctors will be able to isolate and then yank out with tiny scientific tweezers the genes dim cause certain humans to have certain genetic defects that until now have been incurable such as rooting for the Yankees or continuing to say “Whas- - ' Uto’al ! at the at the ask for ? ing sense of ownership over die City of Peace that each refuses to sacrifice in die name of peace The disagreement presents itself in conflicting and conflicted arguments Is it enough to say that because Jerusalem was holier earlier to the Jews and the symbol of their selfhood “If I forget thee O Jerusalem let my right hand forget her cunning” — Israel should have control over it? Is it enough to say that because of the city’s sacredness to Islam and because of the symbolic significance that the of Palestra-Israian control over it would convey that Palestinians should be given back the part — East Jerusalem — they lost in the 1967 war? Ultimately there is no right and wrong in this just the psychology of Jewish memory The reality is that if Mr Barak fails everything fails There is no more moderate Israeli leader waiting to take his place only the voice of intransigence The Palestinians so close to statehood must decide: Is it better to lose all their future that isn’t Jerusalem in the name of the little that is? - el ownership and the realpolitik of peacemaking Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has assumed a stance in his negotiations coincident with the pacifist organization Peace Now He has promised to give up much land in the name of peace and some control over Jerusalem but never the entirety of tiie eastern part of tiie holy city of Just like you We work together to get things done We’re amazed at how much stuff we collect over the years We like new beginnings We do the heavy lifting We’rt your neighbors The things that matter to you matter to us lhatk why we work hard to treat you the way we would like to be treated— with courtesy professionalism responsiveness and accuracy After all we know who keeps us in business We know whose needs come first f "H r:m t :U ffk Nf1"1 " "" & f With you 110 u ' itli a r y f S' ft s r- - : - v- ' t - isfeafe ' Ne4S'jr 4am ft i '! 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