With everything happening on Earth, I’m happy we made it to Mars. I am excited about our mission to explore space and other planets. We should do everything possible to save Earth, but this path seems inevitable. I’m surprised aliens haven’t reached out to us already. After studying data from Kepler for two years, researchers from NASA say that out of the 4 billion sun-like stars in the Milky Way, 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion could theoretically harbor life.
Of course, nobody knows what fraction is already inhabited. However, even if the number of planets with living things is insignificant, it could still be as many as tens of millions. It’s also possible that life on other planets has evolved, maybe not in the same way evolution played out here on Earth, but some scientists say natural selection is the basis of cosmic zoology.
Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if other civilizations have also discovered the function of flight. Perhaps they have even created devices that can travel into different solar systems— technology we’ve seen and mislabeled as “interstellar objects” with abnormal chemical compositions.
This may have already happened in 2017 using a telescope called Pan-STARRS1, located in Haleakalã, a 10,000-foot peak on the island of Maui. This instrument captured a dart of light moving at 200,000 miles per hour, four times the speed of a typical asteroid. But maybe this doesn’t mean much. Carl Sagan would say, “Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence,” but some scientists might say that “extraordinary conservatism keeps us extraordinarily ignorant.”
For the past hundred years, we’ve been able to send messages to other planets through radio waves. Seventy-five years ago, Fermi and his team from the Manhattan Project invented the atomic bomb, and a few years later, the design for the hydrogen bomb was introduced by Edward Teller.
In a way, the Drake Equation tries to answer the Fermi question by predicting how many life-hosting planets will create sophisticated technology, how many of them might eventually communicate with us, and how long these sorts of civilizations will endure.
So, if other civilizations exist, why would they communicate with us? Or did they become sophisticated enough to create technology that destroyed their society? Either way, I recognize the importance of seeding the galaxy with the human genome and building new civilizations on other planets with whatever raw materials we can find there.
The human species has always been a work in progress. The atom, the bit, and the gene are the fundamentals of our existence, the same things that have led to far-reaching innovations. The next revolution is happening now, and it revolves around CRISPR and genetic coding—in other words, the molecule is the new microchip. This biotech revolution will lead us to defeat coronavirus cancer and enable us to edit our genetic makeup.
Naturally, it’ll take some time for us to understand and perfect new technology like gene editing, but I’m optimistic after seeing so many biotech startups launching. Because CRISPR technology is so accessible and generally inexpensive, there is the risk of it being used to produce customized bio-weapons, radiant-resistant super soldiers, and other nefarious creations.
According to Walter Isaacson in his new book — The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, CRISPR is simple enough that graduate students in biology could pull it off. Within the next decade, people will find safer ways to deliver genome edits, which may be challenging to enforce. The potential of citizen science may skyrocket, and God knows what bio-hackers will cook up in basement labs.
Sooner or later, some folks will probably start tinkering with unnecessary enhancements like height, muscle mass (the gene for myostatin suppression), memory, eye color, and more. The rich might find a way to buy better genes, or athletes may compete for the best genetic engineers. The diversity of our species would likely be affected, and our society could be in even more danger. On the other hand, if we can edit our children to make sure they don’t have dangerous genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, or sickle cell, then it seems immoral not to use it.
To understand CRISPR, it doesn’t mean you need to do a deep dive into the three billion base pairs of letters in our DNA. Knowing that specific segments encode genes means we now understand which genes cause diseases and control features. We can make the most out of the molecules in our body through CRISPR and help our species become healthier.
More specifically, RNA, the worker bee, is more interesting—it takes information to the manufacturing plants in our cells. It builds proteins that make antibodies to fight viruses and develop immunity. Some may be against this because it seems like we’re playing God, but the truth is that God and nature helped us to evolve to the point where we now have more control over our genetic evolution.
What makes this even crazier is that this fascinating revolution is happening at a time when people are more divided, inequality is at an all-time high, consequences of climate change are growing, automation continues to replace high-skill jobs, and the power of corporations has grown stronger, especially since Citizens United.
The next generation will have to grow beyond the insecurities that have divided us and empathize with the powerless—the risks aren’t always shared evenly in any new societal change. The poor and the marginalized usually suffer more, which has often been one of the most consistent observations in epidemiology.
The beginning of the pandemic will be more straightforward than the ending. No one knows when we’ll get out, but life will become less risky as more folks gain immunity through infection or vaccination. The variants could make things more complex, but hopefully, by the end of the summer, we’ll feel more protected and probably be registering for a coronavirus booster shot.
However, this spring, there might be another surge if some states reopen too soon and end mask mandates prematurely. It’ll be a sort of evolutionary game of cat and mouse. Because the virus has molecular limits, we should be able to find a new equilibrium in rebuilding our old lives, finding new ones, and getting back to all the good vibes with minor changes and a renowned focus on public health.
I spent most of last year in a new routine and often pictured the old one. I saw the past year as a detour for a while, but now it’s simply the road we’ve taken. I’m sure everybody is ready to return to living their lives to the fullest—traveling, dining, concerts, movies, spin classes, weddings, and achieving our neglected ambitions.
Most of us don’t know how much time we have, and the idea of death is unsettling, but there’s no other way to live. I like words because they have a longevity I’ll never have. Words aren’t perfect, but they give us a way to communicate ideas and feelings about our senses, the paradoxes of freedom, the illusions of nostalgia, and the experience of being alive.
The word hope, for instance, appeared in the English language around one thousand years ago, and its definition is related to desire and confidence. And the desire for good health is everything. Confucius once said a sick man only desires good health, and a healthy man wants ten thousand things.
The past year has been a reminder of how the air is communal and how our bodies are mysteriously resilient yet full of vessels that can be incredibly frail. Public health interventions, which sometimes seem to be just as impressive as clinical medicine and medical breakthroughs, will forever be underrated.
It was the kind of year that put things into perspective and made me realize there’s no remedy for the angst of dealing with mortality. Dying usually has taught me the most about life and happiness.
It’s been a dark and highly confined winter, and one out of three Americans has lost someone to coronavirus. More than half a million Americans died last year, and economic ruin is widespread.
There’s an exchange in Lord of the Rings between Frodo and Gandalf that sticks with me:
“I wish it had not happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given.”
These words from the wizard are heroic — they remind us that we have no choice but to rise to the challenges offered by our time. May God keep us healthy and protect our society from conspiratorial thinking, misinformation, and all of the problems associated with the hyper-abundance of information.
Some things will never return, but happier days may soon be here.