Chinese researchers propose combining genes from tardigrades (water bears) to improve the ability of human cells to deal with radioactive radiation
Exactly 250 years ago, a German zoologist named Johann August Ephraim Goetz discovered the tardigrades. The tiny creatures were less than one millimeter long. They walked slowly on lichens and ferns in puddles of water, in a manner reminiscent of bear walking. Getz was immediately fascinated by their clumsy appearance, and earned them the affectionate name by which they are known to this day - "Water Teddy Bears".
It is doubtful that he thought that the day would come when Chinese researchers would try to create super soldiers, from a combination of tardigrades and humans.
In a study recently published in the Chinese journal "Military Medical Sciences", researchers described how genes coming from tardigrades can improve the ability of human cells to deal with radioactive radiation. The researchers, who come from the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing, acted according to the theory and showed how they insert the genes of the water bears into human embryonic stem cells - which do acquire radiation-resistant properties. They prefaced this demonstration of capabilities with the explicit statement that—
"Success in a first-of-its-kind experiment could lead to super-resistant soldiers who could survive nuclear fallout."
Who, then, are the water bears that may soon donate their genetic material to us?
The water bears began to fascinate humanity already 250 years ago, but it was only in the second half of the twentieth century that we began to discover that they have impressive survival abilities. Bursts of ionizing radiation that would make other microscopic creatures beg for mercy[1]? Teddy bears don't care at all. Even the vacuum of space causes them only temporary discomfort[2]. Tardigrades managed to survive an experience in 2007, in which they were exposed to outer space in its full force: a combination of vacuum and solar radiation. The tardigrades are also able to cope with extreme temperature conditions. They survived a full hour at a temperature of one hundred degrees Celsius, and thirty years at twenty degrees Celsius below zero[3] [4].
All these situations may not sound so extreme to some bacteria, but tardigrades are not single-celled creatures. They are animals, in the full sense of the word, whose bodies consist of 40,000 cells that together form the brain, the digestive system, sensory organs and even sexual organs. In short, animals. Less complex than humans, sure, but if we can give ourselves some of the same survival abilities that water bears enjoy, we will indeed have super soldiers, for starters.
But is it even possible to do this?
The Chinese may be making headlines for making claims about the 'super soldiers' of the future, but it turns out the Japanese did it first. Back in 2016, researchers from the University of Tokyo published an article in the scientific magazine Nature Communications, in which they described how they integrated a certain tardigrade gene into human cells. The cells followed the instructions they received from that gene and produced a protein known as Dsup, which provided them with advanced protection from extreme conditions.
What kind of extreme conditions? To find out, the Japanese bombarded the upgraded cells with X-ray radiation, and found that their DNA was almost undamaged compared to that of normal human cells. The tardigrade protein helped moderate the harmful effect of the X-ray radiation on the cells. The normal human cells all died from the high doses of radiation they received. The upgraded human cells? These managed to continue living and even divide and produce offspring. The Japanese discovered that Dsup even helps protect human cells from immersion in hydrogen peroxide - a strong oxidizing agent that fatally damages the DNA of normal cells[6].
Only one thing was missing from the Japanese study: a mention of the possibility of using the genes of the water bears to improve the human race. They dared to walk part of the way. In the very last sentence of the article, they predicted that the study—
"It will provide a treasure trove of genes to improve or enhance the resistance capacity in tick-sensitive animal cells."
But super soldiers? For this we need the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences.
I have to admit a painful point: I can't find the original article written by the Chinese. Even if I found it, I wouldn't be able to read it, because - Chinese. The only documentation of the article comes from the South China Morning Post - a newspaper that in recent years especially has been 'marketing' China in the West.
According to the description in the paper, the Chinese researchers managed to insert one of the tardigrade genes – I'm guessing Dsup according to the Japanese article – into human embryonic stem cells. The unsurprising result was that the stem cells acquired resistance to X-ray radiation. The more impressive fact is that the cells did not mutate following the insertion of the new gene. They functioned normally, and even divided at a faster rate. According to the article, the researchers determined that -
"The expression... can accelerate cell division to a certain extent. The research will continue to the next stage based on these findings."[7]
And what is the next step? integrate the engineered cells into the human body. For the benefit of humanity, of course. And according to the researchers -
"Acute radiation sickness is a medical problem faced by military personnel, civilians and emergency workers when they respond to nuclear accidents and nuclear terrorism."
According to the article, the researchers suggested integrating the upgraded cells into the human body, in order for them to produce new blood cells - red and white blood cells - that would be more resistant to radiation. And this is just the beginning, because that gene can, according to the researchers -
"To play a protective role...against oxidative stress, which plays a central role in the development of many diseases, including cancer, aging, diabetes, inflammation and Parkinson's disease."
All we need to enjoy its fruits is just to dare to incorporate it into our bodies.
Will we create genetically engineered humans? This is an easy question to answer. Yes. In fact, we are already doing it today. In the most advanced treatments for diseases such as hemophilia and problems with the immune system, researchers engineer the genetic code in the patients' cells. They add the missing gene, neutralize the defective gene, or make some other small change that dramatically improves the patients' medical condition.
A more difficult question is about our willingness to inject ourselves with DNA that comes from other species of animals. It is hard to shake off the 'gut' feeling that we are doing something inappropriate and unnatural here. How can genes that come from pigs, fish or sea bears be integrated into the genetic code of the crown of creation? But a colder view of things makes it clear to us that there is nothing really unusual here. Our DNA contains huge amounts of genes that originally came from viruses and bacteria, and this does not decrease or increase our uniqueness as humans. In any case, DNA is made up of molecules, and these do not carry with them mental or spiritual weight of any kind. There is no quality difference between a pig's gene and an algae or human gene. Each of them only contains operating instructions that the cells can read, and as long as these instructions can help us - there is no reason not to use them, regardless of the source from which they came.
The genes of the tardigrades may certainly help the human race, even without having to genetically engineer the human body. It is not unreasonable, for example, to think of treatment for radiation victims, in which the victims receive human cells-plus-plus. Those human-tarigrade cells will be programmed to produce radiation-resistant red and white blood cells for a hundred days or so, then undergo collective suicide so as not to remain in the patient's body. They will be injected into the bodies of the radiation victims and help them survive its damage - and then destroy themselves in a pre-planned way.
Such a treatment would in itself be a breakthrough in dealing with radioactive radiation damage, but it mostly feels like a modest and hesitant touch on the enormous potential that lies in the genetic engineering of the human body. What if we agree to more extreme genetic engineering - for example, to engineer every single cell in our bodies? What if we agree, consciously and voluntarily, to interweave tardigrade genes, including in body cells?
Don't be confused: this is a dangerous proposition, mainly because the body is a surprisingly complex and complicated system. And if that's not enough, each of our cells is complex and complicated in itself. Any small game in the internal mechanisms of the cells, can lead to an abundance of diseases - some of which are known today, such as cancer, and others that have not even received their own names yet. If we decide to move towards such a future, then we need to do so carefully, with moderation and with a lot of humility, modesty and respect for all that we do not yet know.
But if we succeed? Then we will win the big prize.
In the rosiest future, the genes of the tardigrades - which will be integrated into human DNA - will be able to reduce the rate of skin cancer and other types of cancer that erupt as a result of DNA damage. Other genes will be able to minimize the risk of developing certain types of cancer, as well as a multitude of other diseases such as arteriosclerosis, Alzheimer's, diabetes and more.
This is the future I hope for. True, scientists today try to sell it to governments when it is wrapped in words like "super soldiers", but with a little luck and a lot of goodwill and scientific-technological progress, the tardigrades will still help us all.
[1] https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1572824500564618112
[2] https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(08)00805-1
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19732016/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26724522/
[5] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Portrait-of-Johann-August-Ephraim-G-OEZE-1731-1793-painting-attributed-to-Fiedrich_fig1_283615362
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5034306/
[7] https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3215286/chinese-team-behind-extreme-animal-gene-experiment-says-it-may-lead-super-soldiers-who-survive
More of the topic in Hayadan:
- Between environmental change and curing diseases
- Mars and beyond: How scientists are preventing Earth's bacteria from contaminating other planets
About the water bears that were apparently put into the Genesis spaceship without the knowledge of its launcher In Itay Nevo's article "New Revelations on Genesis" published on the anniversary of the crash on the Davidson Institute website
