Polite Dissent

Aquaman #19 American Tidal, part 5
Will Pfeifer, writer
Patrick Gleason, penciler

Using some of Aquaman’s DNA as a template, mad scientist Geist has made a “self-replicating strand of DNA” and introduced it into San Diego’s water supply. His plan is to give everyone gills to save them from a coming environmental disaster.

Brilliant idea, only it won’t work.

First, there is the matter of isolating the correct part of Aquaman’s DNA. How does Geist know which of the genes in Aquaman’s DNA are responsible for breathing underwater? There are 46 chromosomes and each chromosome contains tens of thousands of genes. How does he know which gene (or genes) it is?

Assuming that Geist did isolate the water-breathing gene and replicate it, his plan still won’t work. Putting DNA (even self-replicating DNA) into the water supply will get nothing but digested and excreted DNA. We eat and drink many foreign DNA particles every day, but nobody’s started expressing cow genes or kiwi genes.

The DNA needs to be delivered to the correct part of the body for it to work. Getting gill DNA into the spleen wouldn’t do any good; the gill DNA would need to get to the respiratory system. The gene would need to get into the respiratory cells, and then into the cells’ nuclei and incorporated into the chromosomal DNA. Loose strands of DNA floating around are ignored by the body; to be useful they need to be hooked up into the cells’ genetic machinery.

In a nutshell, this situation is the problem with gene therapy. Scientists have identified the broken genes in many diseases such as sickle cell anemia, muscular dystrophy and phenylketonuria. They even have correct copies of the genes. But how can you get the improved genes to the right cells in the people who need them and have them work properly? No one has come close to figuring that out yet.

Assorted nitpicks:

1. I don’t even want to know what he’s injecting down Lorena’s naso-lacrimal duct, or why. Since the duct opens into the throat, injecting into it would do nothing but get his concoction into her throat. Why not just pour it down her mouth in the first place?
2. Then he listens to her heart with a stethoscope, but puts his ear on her chest to listen if she’s breathing. You have a stethoscope buddy, use it. She has gills now so her lungs wouldn’t be working anyway.