A bit of a stretch, perhaps? Jack Heinemann is a Lecturer in
Genetics and Chair of Teaching and Learning Committee at the University of
Canterbury, NZ, but he has his whole education from the US and seems to be an
American expat (that’s speculation, though). Heinemann is an anti-GMO activist who has been associated with pseudoscience organizations like the Safe
Food Foundation & Institute (together e.g. with anti-GMO pseudoscientist
and conspiracy theorist Judy Carman).
Heinemann thinks for instance that GMOs produce silencing RNAs that not only survive transit through the gut, get
into the bloodstream and thereby into the cells to inhibit the expression of
specific genes: they even get passed down to the next generation to kill your
children. “The findings are absolutely
assured. There is no doubt that these matches exist,” said Heinemann. Which
actually makes it sound like his evidence is pretty flimsy. Turns out it is as flimsy as you’d expect. Heinemann’s concern is that the siRNA that will be used to silence two genes in
wheat called SEI and SEII, and he did an analysis based on the sequence of the
SEI and SEII genes, compared them against the human genome and looking for
matches, which he found. What he hasn’t
shown is that the siRNA survives digestion, is absorbed into the bloodstream,
enter other cells, and act on gene expression, and even if it did he hasn’t a
shred of evidence that circulating microRNA can not only silence a gene in
human cells but actually induce epigenetic changes (“speculative” isn’t quite
the right word), or any reason that GM wheat siRNAs are any different or more
dangerous than those from other plants. Nor did Heinemann know the actual siRNA
sequences that were going to be used, which makes his analysis pointless even
if he were correct about the other elements. In short, Heinemann’s report is a
beautiful example of politically motivated pseudoscience, designed to spread
fear and misinformation.
Diagnosis: Heinemann is a real scientist. That doesn’t meant
that his fearmongering based on idle speculation concerning GMOs is remotely
based on science. It isn’t. Unfortunately, Heinemann is also the kind of person
who possesses some authority and influence, and it is truly sad that he uses
his influence to spread fear that might ultimately have a real, negative impact
on civilization.
Hat-tip for this entry: Respectful Insolence.
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