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GUEST EDITORIAL The new biology In her prophetic book Silenr Spring, Rachel Carson called synthetic pesticides “elixirs of death.” She predicted that continued blind use of chemical poisons would lead to environmental disaster. It is almost 30 years since the publication of Silent Spring, yet we continue to ignore Carson’s message. Pesticide use in the United States has increased steadily. We are currently applying approximately a billion pounds to our soils annually. We have also expanded the range of toxic chemicals being released into the biosphere. Today, our drinking-water supplies are being contaminated with industrial wastes and our air with smog and acid rain. Our coastal zones are being destroyed by oil pollution. Judicious application of our understanding of biological systems could reverse this trend. During the past 10 years a revolution has occurred in biology that may finally lead to the development of environmentally safe agricultural and industrial practices. The ability of biologists to map genes, coding for specific information, and to insert genetic material into foreign organisms has already begun to yield improved breeds of plants and animals, new pharmaceuticals, and speciality chemicals. It is inevitable that, in the near future, biotechnology will also revolutionize environmental technology. For example, a major effort is underway to develop genetically engineered pest-resistant crops. Successful production of these new plant varieties would dramatically reduce the need for chemical pesticides. We can also expect to see cloning of nitrogen-fixing and phosphorus-solubilizing genes into plants, sharply reducing the threat of eutrophication and contamination of our drinking-water supplies with nitrates. Genetic selection of natural microorganisms in soil and water is increasingly being used to treat hazardous wastes. The rapidly accelerating field of bioremediation depends on strategies based on use of consortia of microorganisms capable of pooling their genetic information to degrade xenobiotic chemicals. We should not be surprised to see similar processes developed for microbial desulfuration of fossil fuels. The problem of acid rain in Europe has stimulated an intensive effort there to use biotechnology to reduce the sulfur content of coal and oil. 024 Envimn. Sci. Technol.. Val. 23.No. 6. 1989
The new biology also has the potential to yield inncvative diagnostic tests to detect the effects of potentially dangerous chemicals. Molecular probes are being used increasingly for early diagnosis of human disease. It is likely that, within a generation, similar techniques will be developed that will permit accurate screening of human carcinogens. Research aimed at developing new genetically engineered microorganisms specifically designed to degrade individual groups of hazardous chemicals, such as PCBs, or to desulfurate fossil fuels is moving rapidly. However, this revolution, like most others, is not without its dangers. We will be forced within the next few years to confront the risks of releasing these novel microorganisms, specifically designed for pollution control, into natural habitats. It is an exciting time for environmental biologists. Rapid advances in molecular biology promise to break the hold Rachel Carson’s “elixirs of death” seem to have on the modern world. If we apply the new biology wisely we may enter an era when humans live in balance, rather than in conflict, with nature.
Rdph MiIcheU is Gordon McKay Professor of applied biology at Harvard University and a member of the ES&T Advisory Bwrd. His research interests include microbial processes on surfaces, the microbial transport of metals through subsoils. and the degradation of hazardous organics in biojilm reactors. 0013-936W89109230624$01.5010 @ 1989 American Chemical Society
