Science of Star Wars by Mark Brake; Jon Chase

Author:Mark Brake; Jon Chase
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Racehorse Publishing
Published: 2016-03-17T04:00:00+00:00

The Cipher of Life

The river of DNA flows through time.

It is a river of coded information, rather than blood and bones. Much of the DNA is redundant, about 97% of it, in fact. But the genes, the business end of DNA, are the short sections that control and orchestrate vital functions. Genes have been compared to the keys of a piano, each playing only a single note. And the combination of genes, like the combination of piano keys, creates chords and a vast variety of tunes. Coalescing, the genes’ contributions create the orchestration that is the human genome.

The human genome is considered to be a kind of instruction manual for the body. Genes are simply instructions to make proteins. The letters in which the instructions are written are known as bases, and they are the key to the genetic alphabet. The bases consist of four nucleotides: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.

What would the cipher have been in the Star Wars galaxy? What ingredients would do the job of replicator?

Lab results on Earth are promising for alien ciphers. Experiments show that it’s possible to tweak practically any feature of our DNA system. In other words, even though the roles that the molecules play may be universal, the actual molecules used on Earth are very provincial.

Not only do alternatives to DNA exist, but scientists also believe it’s possible to extend the range of bases. It’s achievable to add new letters to the genetic code. In fact, these new bases can be inserted into DNA, increasing its alphabet from four letters to twenty-four! The resulting replicator, what we might call “Star Wars DNA,” could create novel and quite different proteins.

We have our answer. The specific components of our pervasive DNA/protein chemistry are quite parochial. The chemistry can be changed at most levels of the process, without messing with the basic activity of information-carrying and replication of life. There’s nothing sacred about DNA and the genetic code.

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