The Goldilocks Factor in Genetics

A concept known as ‘fine tuning’ in physics refers to a discovery that eminent astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle originally elaborated. He found that many physical properties and constants fall within incredibly narrow and improbable ranges which, taken together, were absolutely necessary for complex biological molecules and any conceivable life forms to develop. This has been dubbed the Goldilocks Factor, meaning everything is ‘just right’ like the chairs, porridge and beds in the fairy tale.

For carbon atoms, the building blocks of life, to develop, the value of the electromagnetic force constant, the cosmological constant, the expansion rate of the universe, the exact power of the strong and weak nuclear forces and their ratio to the electromagnetic force, the masses of the electron and the neutrino, the masses of the up and down quarks, the value of the gravitational constant and the ratio to the electromagnetic force and the initial entropy of the universe all have to fall into incredibly narrow ranges that are not dictated by known physical theory.

The collective improbability of all this fine tuning runs to values greater than 1 part in one million billion trillion trillion (1 in 10⁴⁰). In other words if there is the tiniest shift in any of these values, the universe would not be able to develop as it has. Stars would not be able to generate carbon and oxygen atoms and other heavier elements necessary for life. Stephen Hawking wrote of this in his best selling book A Brief History of Time, “The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been finely adjusted to make possible the development of life”.

Said in more everyday language, the universe is incredibly precise, seemingly impossibly so unless it has a maker. Therefore the phenomenon of fine tuning has inspired many physicists including Hoyle to believe deeply that the universe has been designed. This interpretation is amply explored and explained in the NY Times best selling book Return of the God Hypothesis by Dr Stephen C. Meyer. We are not concerned here in this article to debate Meyer’s theism, but rather to ask if the precision and specificity of the universe down to the finest details and nuances extends to the biological world and particularly to genetic structures and functions.

In other words, does genetic editing upset the balance of biological systems and organisms to the extent that the survival of life itself is put at risk?

A number of published studies are pointing firmly in that direction. As far back as 2016, Professor Michael Antoniou and others working at the prestigious Kings College Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences published a paper entitled “An integrated multi-omics analysis of the NK603 Roundup-tolerant GM maize reveals metabolism disturbances caused by the transformation process" which showed that a variety of genetically modified corn (NK603) engineered to be resistant to glyphosate was not substantially equivalent to its natural ancestor. Antoniou used in depth molecular profiling and found multiple concerning changes which were indicative of toxicity:

“Proteome profiles of the maize kernels revealed alterations in the levels of enzymes of glycolysis and TCA cycle pathways, which were reflective of an imbalance in energy metabolism. Changes in proteins and metabolites of glutathione metabolism were indicative of increased oxidative stress. The most pronounced metabolome differences between NK603 and its isogenic counterpart consisted of an increase in polyamines including N-acetyl-cadaverine (2.9-fold), N-acetylputrescine (1.8-fold), putrescine (2.7-fold) and cadaverine (28-fold), which depending on context can be either protective or a cause of toxicity. Our molecular profiling results show that NK603 and its isogenic control are not substantially equivalent.”

You can read a recent in depth interview with Professor Antoniou here in which he details the possible downstream effects of eating genetically modified crop varieties. These extend to a chain of thousands of run-on adverse effects in biological systems including in the human and animal gut which could possibly be seriously affecting overall health. Here’s the rub, a principle of substantial equivalence is being used by the food industry and regulators. It is being misused to ensure that no health and safety testing of GM ingredients and processing aids ever has to take place.

A paper entitled “COVID-19 Injections: Harms and Damages, a Non-Exhaustive Conclusion" sums up the extent of damage to the entire physiological network as the Covid vaccine initiates changes to cellular genetic functions.

“Far from benign, these vaccines have unleashed profound harm, disrupting nearly every system of the human body and contributing to unprecedented levels of morbidity and mortality. From autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular catastrophes to pregnancy complications and aggressive cancers, the pattern of systemic toxicity cannot be dismissed as coincidental. Urgent scrutiny and accountability are needed.”

Note that ‘nearly every system in the body’ is affected and that the scale of such effects is ‘not a coincidence’. In other words catastrophic broad scale adverse effects appear to be inevitable consequences of genetic editing however small.

Another paper entitled “Unintended Genetic Consequences of mRNA Vaccines: Evaluating Risks of Transcriptional Disruption, HLA Alteration, and Genomic Integration" concludes

“Contrary to initial claims that mRNA degrades harmlessly, emerging evidence suggests that synthetic sequences may embed within the human exome, disrupting essential genetic processes. The primary concern lies in the potential scrambling of the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) gene complex, which could trigger autoimmune disorders and long-term genetic instability. Furthermore, the spike proteins produced by mRNA vaccines have been implicated in oxidative stress, DNA damage, and impaired cellular repair mechanisms…a reevaluation of mRNA technology is imperative to prevent irreversible consequences for human health.”

Note the use of the word ‘irreversible’. In other words, if the balance of the genetic functioning has been upset it is very hard if not impossible to reverse.

A preprint paper entitled “Synthetic mRNA Vaccines and Transcriptomic Dysregulation: Evidence from New-Onset Adverse Events and Cancers Post-Vaccination" investigated transcriptomic alterations in individuals with new-onset adverse events or cancer following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. It found that vaccine patient groups displayed widespread genetic transcription dysregulation including mitochondrial dysfunction, proteasome-mediated stress, transcriptomic instability, and systemic inflammation. The authors concluded

“Shared and distinct molecular signatures in both cohorts demonstrate underlying mechanisms contributing to post-vaccine symptomatology and complications, including oncogenesis and or progression of malignant disease.”

To find out more about the startling implications of this study for the way we approach science read our earlier Substack article “The modern age cannot be an age of biotechnology"

A way to interpret the significance of ‘fine tuning’ in the universe is known as the strong anthropic principle or SAP. Simply stated this says:

The universe must have properties which allow life to develop because the formulation of physical laws relies on the presence of an observer.

The obvious paradox that human observers post-date the formation of the universe is resolved if one admits the experience of universal consciousness and the understanding that consciousness is pre-geometry and pre-time. In the ancient science of Ayurveda and many other cultural traditions around the world, consciousness is considered to be primary and matter secondary. Consciousness is the glue of the universe. In this view, consciousness is the supersymmetric balance that is the home of all the physical laws. The human nervous system is capable of knowing this, not through intellectual analysis but through personal experience or realisation in a transcendent state.

To achieve this personal synthesis of universal law and individual consciousness, not only is universal law structured within highly specific and improbably narrow limits but also genetic and epigenetic structures must have an equally specific balance and molecular placement right down to the finest details. We are talking here of a highly integrated world in which human physiology and its genetic structure is finely structured to reflect the cosmic order of the universe which is embedded in the self-referral field of universal consciousness.

Editing the genetic structure in any way could upset the fine tuning we share with the cosmos. In fact our connection with the cosmic organising power is the very thing that drives human creativity and ensures our well being. In religious terms this is expressed by the phrase from Genesis: “God created man in his own image”. Whether you view life through the lens of God’s Will or through the science of natural law is immaterial. The universe is a lawful integrated whole, finely tuned to ensure we are all governed by natural law and of necessity we must all participate whatever our beliefs, growing in knowledge and experience. The symbiosis between cosmos and consciousness has very far reaching consequences.

A paper published in Molecular Cell is entitled “Kinetics and Fidelity of the Repair of Cas9-Induced Double-Strand DNA Breaks". Researchers found that whereas breaks in both strands of DNA (DSBs) that occur frequently due to ionising cosmic radiation are rapidly and accurately repaired within cells tens of thousands of times a day, DSBs that result from CRISPR gene editing take a relatively longer time to repair and the repairs are error prone. The difference is understood to lie in the mechanism of the CRISPR editing process resulting in very minute changes in the break ends. In other words, our genome has a stable relationship with the surrounding natural world, but this stability can be easily overthrown by a man-made process of genetic editing which bypasses the fine tuning inherent in the DNA.

The stability of the genome is sensitive to the finest details of its structure and to any agent of change.

Biotechnology theory is in fact built on outdated solid state physical models which bear no resemblance to the quantum mechanical world known to modern physics. DNA is a not a linear molecule made of distinct atoms which behave like billiard balls. It is a molecule operating at a time and distance scale which requires a self-interacting quantum field interpretation of its functions. As such it is connected to the wider universe and its unified source in a highly specified way.

We can begin to ask how much consciousness is wrapped up with our genetic structures and functions? Certainly these facilitate the expression of consciousness, but how far into the detail does this relationship extend? If genetic structures are an expression of universal consciousness, are edited genetic structures expressions of limited individual consciousness which fail to recreate fine tuning necessary for life? Are man-made genetic structures aberrant pieces of consciousness out of step with Cosmic harmony? The fact that almost no one is asking such questions points to a deficiency in our understanding of the possible missteps of biotechnology experimentation.

As we have stated before, we are standing on the edge of a new era. What will happen now is up to us. The studies we cite above represent a warning that unless genetic manipulation is outlawed it could be an age of chaos, self destruction and decline. Unbelievably, misinformed governments around the world including NZ are planning to deregulate genetic experimentation, opening the flood gates to exotic genetic manipulations whose outcomes are no longer uncertain, but from what we now know are certain to usher in ill health and confusion, leaving us outside the protective envelope afforded by the ‘fine tuning’ of life.