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Delete a gene... and become a healthy-hearted moron!
May 9, 2007 by Juergen Botz (not verified), 2 years 26 weeks ago
Comment id: 23567
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This a beautiful example of how absurd reductionist science can get. These researchers are so enarmoured with the idea that they can stop artherosclerosis with their crude genetic manipulations that they didn't bother to do even the most basic checking into what other consequences deleting the gene for ACAT2 might have before suggesting that this could be a cure for artherosclerosis in humans.
To me this seems utterly absurd... evolutionary theory tells us that any gene that's practically universal in the general population is necessary or beneficial in one way or another. And we know that cholesterol is an essential nutrient, especially for neural development. My first thought was that removing ACAT2 had to have some consequences for neuronal health, and guess what popped up on top when I fed "ACAT2" to Goole? "Reported patients with ACAT2 deficiency have shown severe mental retardation...".
If I can do that, why can't they? Because the ego of the modern scientist is so enormous that he believes himself as a watchmaker to nature's clockworks when in truth he is at best as a clever child with hammer.
:j