The Genome Paradox (2)
My interest in your work is related to the second objective. To speed up the evolutionary process without possible danger to our environment, we propose to seed some of these robots on selected asteroids that would typically exemplify tough environments that we intend to face. After a number of years, we would revisit these to see how evolution has improved on our original design. These would be on-going experiments that would go on for many years and, maybe even generations. Obviously, agencies such as NASA are particularly interested since it fits its long term aim to colonize other planets.". "It gets more and more interesting, but I still don�t see how my work could be of help" said Frances by now really puzzled. "Well I was just coming to that. Since we intend to seed our target asteroids with different initial "designs" of our cells, I would like to implement somehow into the cell a blueprint of the original design so that later on, when we, or later generations, collect our samples, we can compare the evolution of the design with the original one in each case. We could therefore get a lot of insight into the changes that were required to make the cell survive the environment. We also want the "creator" to be identified in those cells for future reference, in the same way that actual blueprints are signed by their initiators. To permit this, we want to make certain that this "blueprint" does not go through mutation with time as the cell multiplies since this is the only way we can retrace the cell back to its original design. This is a problem that has been in the back of my mind for quite some time and I still don�t have a solution. Solving this problem is now urgent as the project might be stalled until I come up with an answer. This is why I have been under a lot of pressure over the past few weeks." As he talked and became more and more excited, he realized that he was steering the conversation into trying to get Frances involved as a collaborator in his work. He was stressing the blueprint problem even though other more important problems would be project breakers. He wasn�t sure at this time why he was doing this. Was it because he really needed her help, or was it merely a good way to see her again, or both- only his subconscious knew for sure! He went on. "When you told me what you were doing, it struck me that your expertise with the Genome Project is probably unique in solving this problem. You are better qualified than anybody to know how and where to place such critical information into a cell so that it would not be as prone to mutation as in other parts of the cell" "I think I know where you�re coming from," replied Frances pensively. "Various cells have different potential to mutate. For example, the germ cells which carry our genetic information, are best protected and are least likely to mutate while, on the other hand, cells taking part in the immune process are mutating at high rate so they can tailor antibodies to the various antigens we are continuously subjected to. Is that the sense of what you mean?". "Right on. Your expertise should be able to tell me how and where to place the information inside our man-made cells." John realized, as he was talking, that they were almost alone by now in the restaurant and the waiters were busy cleaning up around them, probably impatient to complete their work and go home. Looking at his watch he was surprised to see that it was already so late. "I think that the waiters are trying to tell us something- Look, I still have a lot to discuss with you. I have an idea. If you�re not too tired, may I suggest that before turning in, we take a ride to the lookout on the mountain. That will remind us both of how beautiful the city is at night." "Great idea, John, especially with this perfect weather that we both missed as we were cooped up at the conference. They went to pick John�s rented car and drove into the plush city of Westmount on their way to the mountain located in the heart of Montreal. They passed beautiful and expensive large mansions on both sides of the sinuous roads leading up to the top of the mountain. John was so excited to have Frances next to him in the car that he made a few wrong turns and got lost. They both laughed about it as they knew that, in the best of times, it is particularly easy to get confused with the large number of small roads crisscrossing each other at all sorts of angles near the summit. After taking a number of cul-de-sac, they finally bumbled their way up to the lookout. The adventure had put them both in a very good mood. They got out of the car to admire the view. The spring evening air was delicious and the spectacle of lights and skyscrapers spread below them was most enjoyable, as it rekindled the souvenirs of their college days. John felt his heart pounding. Was it because he was with a scientific colleague who was interested in his work, or because he was with a most delicious creature? He wasn�t sure. Of one thing he was certain- he wanted this moment to last forever! They reminisced about their happy memories in this city and spent a lot of time laughing as they shared their experiences. The atmosphere was so right that he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her passionately. His shyness, however, only permitted him to consume that kiss in his imagination. He broke the momentary silence with a question he had wanted to ask all evening. "We have talked so much but I haven�t heard you mention anything about a husband or children." "There is a good reason for this. I am not married." "Do I dare hope that you don�t have a significant other?" "Well, I don�t know how significant he is, but I do have a boyfriend!" she said with hesitation. She could have punched him in the stomach and it would have produced the same effect. Here he was falling for the most beautiful girl in the world and, of course she was already spoken for. He should have known! This was the story of his life. Disappointed but resigned, he rationalized that they did have something in common which was their interest in science. The only way he would be able to see her again was to get her involved in his project-it was his only chance. He therefore inquired about her plans for the next day. To his chagrin, she had to take a plane in the afternoon. He only had a short time to convince her. He decided to cut short the evening before he would appear too forward and spoil everything. He asked if he could see her the next morning to discuss a possible consulting association with him and was happy to see that she like the idea, for she sounded encouraging. He took her back to their hotel full of hope that it might not be the last time he would see her. As she was leaving the car, she gave him a warm smile that sent a frisson down his spine. To him that was equivalent to a thousand kisses. The next day they had breakfast together and as he did not have much time before Frances� plane, he did not waste any time convincing her that he needed her professional expertise to help him in his work, even if this would be limited to short periods. Normally she would have refused as she was already quite involved with her own project. In this case, however, she found herself accepting. She rationalize, after the fact, that John�s project was so interesting that she could not refuse. Deep inside she knew that John himself had much to do with her decision. "I am so happy that you have accepted, and I promise I won�t abuse your kindness. I am sure that I can find some funds from my budget to pay for the consulting." "I promise to start thinking about your problem even before we make it a formal project," she said with a smile. After Frances left, John lost all desire to remain at the conference- He certainly would not be able to concentrate. He therefore left the conference with the firm intention to do whatever it took to see Frances again- even if only as a friend. On the flight back, Frances was surprised to find herself in high spirit. She did not have to be a psychologist to realize that her excitement was not due to the conference itself but to the newly found friendship with John. The year she had been his lab partner she had always had a crush on him that she had kept pretty much to herself, since it was obviously one-sided. At that time, she had an inferiority complex because of her appearance and besides, the way she saw it, John seemed to be so much more intelligent than she was. As she realized later on, it was not her intellect which was at fault but, rather, the subject of physics itself which did not agree with her. She soon found out, however, that in most other subjects of importance to her career such as biochemistry, microbiology and physiology, she was brilliant both in the understanding as well as in the application of these subjects. The inferiority complex quickly vanished in the subsequent years as she found out that she was highly regarded as an eminent scientist in her own field. Nevertheless, those college emotions that she had felt toward John were re-awakened by their chance meeting. She was particularly flattered by the fact that John, who had hardly noticed her years ago, seemed to have been delighted to see her now. She found herself smiling just thinking about their encounter. The flight steward that she hadn�t noticed was waiting patiently for an answer to the question, "Beef or chicken?�. This brought her back to reality. She ate absentmindedly and was sorry she had told John she had a boyfriend. Although true, there wasn�t much passion in their relationship. Would her answer discourage John? she mentally started to reorganize her priorities and commitments on returning home to allow time to work on John�s problem. This would be the surest way to see him again. On arriving at her office that weekend, Frances was met by the usual paper work that piled up every time she absented herself for a number of days. With disappointment she realized that she could not work on John�s problem during the day. She resolved to work on it during her evenings. Long after she had gone to bed, her sleep was perturbed with ideas flashing back and forth resulting from her discussion with John. The following morning, as she was taking a shower, a thought passed through her mind-- (it seems that all great discoveries are made during that time!) The very DNA long string that she was currently working on had one interesting characteristic: It was essentially invariant in time and with different specimens. Could she find out what was so special about it that made it immune to mutation? In addition, if she did find out, could that be used to learn how to secure the integrity of the code under multiple division that John was trying to implant into his artificial cells? It seemed she could kill two birds with one stone: She could work on John�s interesting problem, while pursuing her own research by looking at her long DNA strings from a different perspective. This got her particularly excited because, to be perfectly frank, she was going nowhere fast with her research and needed fresh ideas for a new approach. She started to work on this novel approach which now became the mainstream of her research. She became more and more convinced that this long DNA code, that had been staring her in the face for so long, was somehow connected to the encoding of a message describing the cell itself rather than directing cell functions or the production of proteins. Although she did not think of herself as religious, she was always open to the possibility of a Superior Being in spite of her scientific upbringing. This led her to fantasize that a message was implanted into the cells by a higher spirit to communicate with those who were clever enough to decipher the code. As she thought about it, she became excited with the idea that, if her instinct was correct, she would take it as her mission to transmit the word of "God" that was written in all cells. Of course she knew, deep inside, that she was daydreaming but this was a what if fantasy that reinforced her desire to solve the enigma She started to work feverishly on this new way of looking at the string. In spite of all her efforts she quickly realized that this new approach required a field of competence well beyond her training and that to go any further she would have to get outside help. She tried to decide what type of expertise she required but was not quite sure about it. She convinced herself that what she needed was an expert in information theory. Who could she turn to for help? She could not sleep that night. Next day, as she was driving to work she recalled that John had mentioned that he had started his career as a communication engineer. She was not quite sure what this entailed, as to her, all engineers were essentially of the same species! But to her the word communications conjured up the transmission of information, hence information theory that she had decided she needed. There was one way to find out and that was to ask John. What better way to make earlier contact with him even though she could not help him just yet. She did not hesitate anymore and trying to calm her excitement, she called John as soon as she got back home. She told him that, although she did not have a solution to his problems, she would like to kick around some ideas that she had. This was music to his ears. He wasted no time inviting her to his place for the following day. He wanted to show-off with his culinary skills -- she had already told him that she did not have any. He realized, as she put down the phone, that his heart was beating hard. Both were thrilled when they met the next day. John had already set the table and after a Dubonnet on the rock, he impressed her with a veal parmesan, so tender it could be cut with a butter knife. During the meal, they spent a lot of time laughing about everything and nothing. They eventually settled in the living room around a Grand Marnier that reminded them of their chance meeting a short time ago. The conversation turned more serious and Frances started to discuss the problem that had gotten them involved together. "John I worked quite a bit on your project, to the point that now I feel as if it is our project! What I found so far is that the region of the DNA string that you know I�ve been working on, seems to be pretty much constant, from sample to sample, and over many cell generations. It means that this region seemed to be pretty immune to mutation. I don�t know yet why this is so, but I have a strong suspicion that the solution might be found in the 3-D configuration of this string and its spatial integration into the molecule. This should be confirmed by more investigations." "I am delighted that you adopted my project as your own. Should I infer, Frances, that the secret behind the constancy of these strings could be the answer to my problem?" "Yes and since, by a happy coincidence, both projects seem to converge, I will be able to work on our project in the context of my own. I also wanted to discuss with you something that intrigues me no end in relation to those special strings" She then went on describing her feeling that the string might be a message implanted into the DNA rather than a functional blueprint of the cell. John became very animated as Frances enthusiasm was becoming contagious. "What you�re telling me is most fascinating. I can easily relate to your imagination and the implications that you suggest. I haven�t told you yet that I am a strong sci-fi buff. In fact I have read all the writings of Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, and many other Sci-fi authors. I can also add that my past expertise could help me pick-up where you left off." "Oh John, I was hopping you would say that. This is wonderful, you�ve made my day!" The rest of the evening passed most enjoyably for both of them. John was happy that some real solid bonds were being established with Frances. While in her case, she was thrilled that he took her seriously and that he was willing to work on her hunch. They parted promising to keep in touch with their research. The next few days, John spent all his spare moments looking into the string of code that had puzzled Frances so much. He was excited to do this on several levels- First, it was associated with Frances and would allow him to see her- this in itself was already sufficient reward! Second- it would allow him to use some of his past experience in engineering for which he still had some sentimental attraction. Finally, he was intrigued by the problem, in its own right, since it touched his natural attraction towards Science fiction. John attacked the problem diligently by looking at the code as representing some symbols or letters such as a foreign alphabet as Frances had suggested. He reasoned that there might be small sequences that could be associated with symbols. He fed the sequences to a computer and did all sorts of data processing and statistics on creating symbols out of various lengths of the string. He came out with a list of many possibilities. He soon realized, however, that by not having the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone, it would be essentially impossible to make any correlation between his possible symbols and a language or physical representation of objects. He became discouraged. He could not bear the thought of coming back to face Frances empty handed. Having passed all his life solving problems, he felt discouraged and restless that night and could not sleep. He was disappointed that he could not even make positive suggestions to Frances or, at least, point her in a possible direction. As he tossed back and forth in his bed, he realized that he had examined the sequences only as possible "symbols" or letters. What if the information, if information there was, was given in terms of sequence of pixels of spatial positions rather than symbols? In other words, does the code represent an image? His mind was racing in super-charged mode. Thanks to his vast background in communication theory, all sorts of information formats such as Pulse Position Modulation, Pulse Code Modulation and others, flashed in front of his eyes. He then reasoned: could the information, together with the proper format, take on an image form rather than symbols representation? Exhausted, he finally went to sleep after promising himself a new analysis using that different point of view. He reflected that it shouldn�t be too much of a problem as all the symbol data analysis was still in his computer. Besides, he was well equipped in his basement with all sorts of electronic and computer gadgetry that he was dying to use. The next evening, he reconfigured his data analysis program to search for the possible reconstruction of an image made up of pixels. He remembered reading of people trying to encode images in sophisticated ways by using prime numbers of pixels to communicate with intelligent beings in other worlds. As he was always alert to any new encoding technique, he was quite impressed at the time with the cleverness of these people. Wouldn�t it be nice if that past curiosity would come to his rescue for solving this puzzle! He did not waste time and got his powerful programs to work out many possibilities of creating a TV image using prime numbers to encode the frame format. He mechanized the search so that the computer would analyze the resulting frame for each case. If the computer determined that the resulting pixel distribution appeared to be random, then it would go on to the next format. If however, the computer detected a frame where a number of cluster of dots did not appear to be random, then it would put it on the TV screen and alert John. After a time that seemed eternity, the computer finally buzzed. The TV screen froze with an image that looked quite interesting. Although a large part of the screen seemed to contain mostly garbage, there were some small areas of the screen that could look like something �intelligent" if one used some imagination! Was that by accident? Or was he imagining things because of his fatigue? He felt that he was on the right track. This image was of sufficient interest to trigger his curiosity even more. He therefore resumed his evening work except that now he worked twice as hard. He kept figuring more and more refinements to possible compression formats and applied them in turn to improve what part of an image he thought he had. He finally found one that did improve substantially to the point where he was convinced that the screen areas had to have intelligent information. The image represented all sorts of object that looked like circles, lines and triangles. This had to be it. The next day he was on the phone. "Hi Frances, I bet you thought I forgot you". "Well hi John, how are you-- I knew you were busy as we all are and I didn�t press you. Did you have a chance to look at our puzzle?
Copyright © 2004 A Waksberg |