Today’s Illustration: Silencing A Gene — AMAZING!

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Who: Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2020

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When: CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) was discovered in 1993

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What: CRISPR & CRISPR-off

“Now we have a simple tool that can silence the vast majority of genes.”

“FDA Authorizes First-Ever Crispr Application For COVID-19 Coronavirus Test“

“New test detects coronavirus in just 5 minutes“

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Key Biblical Thoughts:

sin
temptation
death
a fallen world
good & evil
sickness / disease
the image of God — human genius
sin nature
a new heaven & a new earth
the resurrection

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Sermonic Example:

Genetic engineering is at the forefront of today’s medical advances. The COVID-19 vaccine illustrates that reality. Without getting into all the “genetic weeds,” one of the most recent advances has been CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). It involves the ability to target a DNA sequence for the purposes of editing a gene and turning it off — flipping its genetic switch — silencing it.

The hope is that such a genetic tool will be able to address such diseases as Alzheimer’s, dementia, sickle-cell anemia, a wide variety of genetic mutations, cholesterol, and even various forms of cancer. The genius of men is absolutely amazing and frightening. While we commend the advances in genetic research to address some of the most devastating effects of diseases, we also fear how this scientific technology will be used for other less noble purposes — just as atomic energy and the atomic bomb.

However, there is one trait of humanity that will never be silenced — the inherent sinfulness of mankind that inevitably leads to death (Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.).

In fact, genetic engineering will become yet another tool — not only good but for evil. That is the reality of a fallen world that employs the greatness of human genius and uses it for both good and evil.

Other Information & Links:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiejennings/2020/05/07/fda-authorizes-first-ever-crispr-application-for-covid-19-coronavirus-test/?sh=47c5c31e1708

https://www.livescience.com/58790-crispr-explained.html