Human Instruction Book Not So Simple

Witness here the hand of God, and be in awe.

-A-

I always thought that labelling that non-coding stuff "junk" was a bit brash. Just because you don't know what it's for doesn't mean it isn't doing something (now, in the past, or in the future).

The supposed "junk" DNA is actually dormant code for production of superhuman offspring that awaits the required hormonal trigger to invoke the cascade of developmental steps that will generate new beings with capabilities that we cannot fathom...i.e., Childhood's End.

Haven't read that, but it sounds like "Darwin's Radio"... under stress (the "radio signal", received by an ever-growing part of the population), humans make large evolutionary jumps.

I read in a Science News recently (at least I think it was there) that the "junk" also affected how distant bits of coding sequences from a single gene could be folded in next to each other, bringing them together and activating them in a new way. As a programmer I find this stuff really cool.

I had read Darwin's Radio but did not connect the story with the title. I thought that the concepts were compelling, despite not finding the book to be particularly well-written. I have had the rough draft of a story in my head for years that involves the human genome possessing the ability to produce a superhuman mind when properly manipulated. The title for my rough draft is "The Jesus Gene." I'm open to offers to fund its completion.

Yeah, I liked Greg Bear's "Forge of God" (and the sequel, "Anvil of Stars" was decent), but "Darwin's Radio", not so much. Pulpy sci-fi doesn't have to be very good for me to read it but man, there are some lame formulaic writers our there. (Don't even get me started on Dan Brown.)

I was thinking CR4 should have a user group for Sci-Fi Readers... maybe it's time.

Thanks
- Mark