Prof. Murakami, a recognized authority on genetic engineering, talked about how human beings can reveal their full potential by "turning on" their genes, and how he came to recognize the existence of "something great" in the course of his research. (Asahi Seimei Hall, Tokyo, December 6, 1999)

Genetic code connects all lives
Gene research, as part of life science, has seen substantial progress in recent years. It is expected that the sequencing of the human genetic code will be completed in the next year or year and a half.

The molecular structure of genes was discovered about 45 years ago. The body of a gene is DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid). All living beings, from bacteria to insects, plants, animals and humans, have the same genetic code, not only those living now, but also those that have lived in the past. In biology, the greatest discovery of the 19th Century was that all living things are made of cells. And the greatest discovery of the 20th Century is that all living things have the exact same genetic code. Genes have existed since life began and continue to exist in diverse forms of life today. We call ourselves brothers and sisters, but this is not only limited to human beings. All living beings share the same genetic code, and therefore, we are all brothers and sisters of one great family.

Genes can be turned on and off
The genetic code is simply written in four chemical symbols: A (adenine), T (thymine), C (cytosine), and G (guanine). A/T and C/G always come in pairs, and a human being carries three billion pairs. Decoding genes simply means sequencing genetic code. World scientists are now decoding human genes and those of various creatures.

The 60 trillion cells in our body all carry the same genetic blueprint. However, each cell only turns on gene information that is relevant to that cell. Three years ago, a sheep was cloned from a single breast cell. The function of a breast cell is to make milk, so only that function is turned on and other functions are turned off. However, this cell still contains all the genetic information of a sheep, and when you awaken all this dormant information, all other life functions can be activated as well. The same thing can be done with humans too, but I am against cloning humans for ethical reasons.

Nevertheless, tests have shown that dormant genes can be turned on under the right conditions. This means that genes can be awakened by the environment. That is why I say education should start while the baby is still in the womb. Smoking and alcohol consumed by the mother will have negative effects on the baby, while eating habits and stress may also have an effect. Furthermore, I believe that the spiritual and mental condition is connected to the turning on and turning off of genes. Anyone who can produce conclusive evidence of this connection will undoubtedly win the Nobel prize, and I am convinced someone will come up with it in the 21st Century.

The existence of “Something Great”
Biotechnology is quite an extraordinary field. However, as I was pondering the genetic code one day, it suddenly hit me that there was something even more extraordinary. What is awesome is the fact that the code was written before it was being read. The blueprint of the body, equivalent to thousands of volumes of encyclopedia, is written in a minute space that is invisible even when enlarged ten million times by microscope. This code is not written or activated by man. It is an act of God. As a scientist, I chose to call it “Something Great.”

Man cannot even create a single bacterium. We can make copies but we cannot make one out of nothing. A human being weighing 60 kilograms is made of approximately 60 trillion cells, ten thousand times the number of the world's population. While only 6 billion people on earth are constantly fighting in wars and conflicts, how can so many cells function in perfect harmony? Our cells are controlled by the brain, and the brain is controlled by the genes. But, who controls the genes? We can only call it “Something Great.”

The fact that we are alive is extraordinary. In ten months and ten days, the time it takes for a fertilized egg to grow into a baby, a human being relives the history of biological evolution, from the fish and reptilian stage to the mammalian stage. A baby, therefore, may be a few months plus 3.5 billion years old.

Our physical body does not come from our parents. It is a gift from nature and the universe. Even if we paid trillions of dollars, we cannot even buy one cell. But we are allowed to use our body for decades without paying rental fees. “Something Great”— the parent of all living things does not even charge us interest. It is natural for any parent to wish for the happiness of their children, and if we are to follow that natural thought process, we should wish for the happiness of all people in the world. If we live that way, the good genes will be turned on. “Something Great” exists in each of us as genes, and we should live listening to it carefully.

Advances in technology alone will lead humanity to destruction. Japanese people have a role in leading the world, not through military force or economic power, but with their high spirituality. This is how our country shall emerge in the 21st Century, and I hope to play a small part when that time comes.