At university I studied biochemistry. Essentially I was rubbish at it. Yet now I have matured and so has availability of information. I studied recombinant DNA and RNA and genetic engineering as my third year project, exploiting natural processes which happen constantly in the wild to shuttle fragments of DNA genes and even RNA around between viruses, host cells and natural agents similar to viruses called plasmids. I had a project to use all this to map parts of a plasmid genome. Fun. Genetic engineering because in the process we also created a new genome sequence in a yeast cell. A chimera of the yeast and some plasmid genetic material. I apply this to thinking about these latest vaccines. People are half-correct in pointing out that vaccine mRNA cannot integrate with our chromosomes. Directly, no. But indirectly is not inconceivable. A cancer-causing type of virus quite common in Nature is a retrovirus. These can naturally insert their DNA into host chromosomes. That then can be copied so the host cell inadvertently multiplies the virus and the virus then leaves the cell but sometimes it leaves some DNA behind in the chromosomes. It is called DNA integration. Well you might think this cannot also happen with RNA because it does not get into a chromosome because the chromosome is DNA. Correct that the chromosome is DNA. Incorrect that the RNA of the virus cannot infect the DNA. It can inject DNA sequences into host DNA using what is called reverse transcription. Virologists producing these new mRNA vaccines surely know all too well about this because an enzyme ‘reverse transcriptase’ is used for genetic engineering and sequencing. I think we used it in my university project thirty years ago. It is found that accidentally viruses other than retroviruses can also infect DNA. Plasmids can include both RNA and DNA plasmids and can also transfer genetic information between organisms in much like a simplified version of the retrovirus mechanisms. So it is very natural for RNA and DNA to spread between viruses, plasmids and host cells of various species. It is erroneous to think any manmade genetic material will not spread in all these many ways between different natural agents and species. It is one thing to tolerate Genetically Modified crops hoping the DNA won’t get into the food chain and animal chromosomes but knowing it probably will, albeit indirectly and slowly. It is surely a yet greater order of magnitude of risk to literally inject modified genetic material, DNA or RNA into humans or animals and hope it won’t cause such side-effects. To my mind it is a step towards foolish craziness.
