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STUART NEWMAN Is a Professor of Cell Biology

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STUART NEWMAN Is a Professor of Cell Biology Epigenetics vs. Genetic Determinism An Interview with Stuart Newman Casey Walker: As a cellular biologist, where do you see poor assumptions and bad theory playing themselves out in biogenetic engineering? Stuart Newman: It begins with the false idea that organisms can be designed to specification, or corrected by popping in new genes and popping out bad genes. We see these assumptions in agriculture with genetically engi- neered foods, and with practices such as inserting naturally occurring insecticide proteins into crop plants like corn. There is a prevailing and, in my view, incorrect idea that genes are modular entities with a one-to-one correspon- dence between a function and a gene. My particular inter- est is in how these ideas are being played out in human biology, where we see the same kind of genetic reduction- ism justifying attempts to assign genes to complex condi- tions such as schizophrenia, intelligence, homosexuality, and so forth. Definition of problems in genetic terms obvi- ously leads to calls for genetic solutions with profound con- sequences for human beings and evolution. Although it’s unquestionable that every complex bio- logical condition has a genetic component to it, the media- tion that occurs between the genetic component and the actual behavior or feature is typically quite complex and is a professor of Cell Biology and should militate against taking the reductionist approach. STUART NEWMAN Anatomy at New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York; with Frequently, a gene in one context will influence a condition degrees in chemistry from Columbia University (AB) and the in one way and in a different context will influence the University of Chicago (PhD). He directs a federally funded labora- condition in a completely different way. There’s simply tory in developmental biology and has contributed to several scien- very bad theory behind a lot of the genetic interventions tific fields, including cell differentiation; theory of biochemical net- now being proposed. In particular, bad theory (tied to com- works and cell pattern formation; protein folding and assembly; mercial interest) is at the root of proposals for human and mechanisms of morphological evolution. He is a founding germline modification, which would take a human embryo member of the Council for Responsible Genetics, a public interest on the path to developing one condition or another, per- organization against the misuse of biological science and technology. haps a disease, and modify its genes. He has also written articles on the cultural background and social implications of biological research (see “Carnal Boundaries” in Is it misleading to perceive genetic expression and environmental Reinventing Biology: Respect for Life and the Creation of influence as two discrete processes? Knowledge). Dr. Newman has served as a visiting scientist in Yes. There’s a genetic component to an organism’s sus- France and India, and as a consultant to the U.S. National ceptibility to environmental effects and there’s an environ- Institutes of Health. mental component to its expression of genetic effects. Thus, there’s a composite of interpenetrating genetic and environmental processes that give rise to every organism a newborn that are undeniably congenital and could even during development. Another very common misperception be said to be “hardwired” into the biology of that person comes with the conclusion that anything congenital— may have very little to do with either parent. Thus, to say inborn—is inherited from the parents’ genes. There are something is “congenital” does not mean it can be decon- many studies currently attempting to tie personality traits structed and attributed to inheritance from one or the other such as shyness or aggression to genes. While people do parent. recognize that various traits seen in their children were there from the very start, they need to also recognize and Will you describe those processes that influence various outcomes understand that the developmental processes of that child during development of the human embryo? were far more complex than a playing out of its inherited At the start of development, the fertilized egg has all genes. There are infinitely complex processes during the nuclear genes contributed by its parents, and also the development that make each outcome unique. Features in separate mitochondrial genes from the mother in the cyto- Wild Duck Review a Literature, Necessary Mischief, & News 1 plasm of the egg. The egg’s cytoplasm also contains pro- That’s not the view I take. I see plasticity, or the ability tein and RNA products of some of the mother’s genes that to readjust in the face of environmental change and to take are not part of her genetic contribution to the embryo. At on characteristic forms despite all the vicissitudes of the first, the genes in the nucleus of this newly fertilized egg developmental process, as a property intrinsic to the materi- start to be activated and cause proteins to be made. But als that make up organisms. An analogy may help here. If that’s not the only thing that’s going on. There’s the moth- you look at rain, you’ll see that every raindrop falling er's uterine environment that this organism is exposed to, through the air has the same shape. Why is that? Not and there is an “intrinsic plasticity” that allows the embryo because a raindrop has genes to develop its shape, but to readjust and recover from perturbations or disturbances. because it’s a piece of a particular kind of matter, a drop of For example, if you have a two-cell embryo and somehow water being subjected to certain external, physical process- the cells get detached from one another, each of those two es. If you take a still body of water and agitate it, you will cells—even though both were originally one-half of an indi- always make waves; if you swirl it, you will always make vidual—will go ahead and vortices. Here too, a particular become a separate, complete Advocates of genetic engineering material will do a certain set of individual. This of course is the stereotypical or “generic” things basis of twinning. Mouse claim that it is no different from because of its composition and embryos at the two-cell stage the forces to which it is suscepti- can be separated and each of the what evolution has done, and ble. There are many more cells will make an individual, that it is in fact a new form of evo- sophisticated properties that cer- even though under natural cir- tain materials can exhibit—even cumstances they wouldn't have lution. But genetically engineered if they’re not alive—that support done it. Through this kind of crops are not analogous to prod- this view. There's a whole class plasticity, a species-characteristic of materials called “excitable outcome is achieved even if it ucts of normal evolution. If epi- media” that are studied by physi- now takes the form of two organ- cists and chemists. These are isms. genetic causation is the motor of things that will give you back Something even more evolution as I have proposed, and more than you put into them unusual can be done experimen- because they contain stored ener- tally that may never or only genes play a subordinate, consoli- gy and have a stored ability to rarely happen in natural circum- dating role, then going at the prop- react chemically. For example, stances, which is to take two chemical reactions of diffusing embryos that are separate from erties of an organism by manipu- molecules can spontaneously pro- each other and jumble the cells duce stripes or spots or spirals of together. Again these cells will lating its genes is not even really chemical substance arranged readjust their fates to create a “engineering.” It is the hit-or-miss across a spatial domain. Since complete individual. You can this occurs with nonliving materi- show this by taking organisms of production of potentially useful als, we know there’s something two different strains, or two dif- monstrosities. characteristic about excitable ferent species, and creating one material itself that is not simply single organism from them. You can make a chimera— the result of a list of ingredients (which is what the genes which is what these combined embryos are called— provide). Instead, the composite materials formed from between a sheep and a goat (a “geep”). Of course, that those ingredients will exhibit certain generic physical would never happen in nature, yet we do get a composite behaviors. individual with all the normal parts. Now, embryos are excitable media. They inevitably do certain things because of their physical and chemical Which implies a kind of strategy or will within embryonic cells? properties. This opens up a whole new set of causalities in It’s a subject of major, scientific debate as to what it the formation of an organism. It’s not simply tracking the implies. Some say that throughout our evolution embryos playing out of genes, but, rather, recognizing that there are and organisms have been subjected to so many different physical and chemical properties that arise as the products stresses and strains and aberrant environments and strange of genes interact with each other within cellular and multi- conditions that we have within us a completely hardwired cellular contexts that also contain nongenetic substances— set of programs to get us out of all of these things that water, ions, and so forth. might happen. This notion has been put forward by some prominent developmental biologists recently and called Is there a threshold, a critical mass of cells, where an embryo “adaptability.” They say this developmental plasticity is a becomes an “excitable medium”? very sophisticated product of our evolutionary history, and The excitability is there from the start because each is dependent upon highly evolved genetic circuits and pro- individual cell is excitable.
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  • Dr. Stuart Newman Declaration
    1 SWEENEY, DAVIDIAN, & GREENE LLP James F. Sweeney (SBN 124527) 2 Ben Davidian (SBN 94965) Stephen J. Greene, Jr. (SBN 178098) 3 Stephen R. McCutcheon, Jr. (SBN 191749) 8001 Folsom Boulevard, Ste. 101 4 Sacramento, CA 95826 Telephone: (916) 388-5170 5 Facsimile: (916) 388-0357 6 Attorneys for Real Parties In Interest 7 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 8 COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO 9 UNLIMITED JURISDICTION 10 PAUL BERG, Ph.D; ROBERT N. KLEIN; and ) Case No. 04CS01015 11 LARRY GOLDSTEIN ) 8001 ) DECLARATION OF DR. STUART A. S S ACRAMENTO WEENEY 12 ) NEWMAN, PH.D. IN OPPOSITION TO Petitioners, F ) PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDATE OLSOM A 13 ) AND ALTERNATIVE WRIT OF TTORNEYS AT v. , D ) MANDATE/ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE AVIDIAN B 14 ) , OULEVARD KEVIN SHELLEY, Secretary of State of C ) Hearing Date: August 4, 2004 ALIFORNIA 15 California, ) Time: 1:30 p.m. & ) Dept.: 11 G 16 ) Judge: Hon. Gail Ohanesian L Respondent. AW REENE , ) S UITE 17 ) 95826 GEOFF BRANDT, State Printer; TOM LLP MCCLINTOCK; H. REX GREENE; JOHN M. ) 101 18 ) MORLACH; JUDY NORSIGIAN; FRANCINE ) 19 COETAUX; TINA STEVENS; DOES I through ) X, inclusive; ) 20 ) Real Parties in Interest ) 21 ) 22 23 I, STUART A. NEWMAN, depose, declare, and state as follows: 24 1. I am a member of the faculty in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at 25 the New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. I am not party to the instant proceeding. 26 If called as a witness, I could competently testify to the following from own personal knowledge.
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