What if in our first studies of the universe beyond, we began by using the wrong end of the telescope? It would probably have led to some confusion for a while. I was thinking about that when I finally made time to read this week’s “wow” stories. These are the stories about scientific research that capture my personal attention, mostly because my only reaction is “wow.” I figure one must keep an eye on science because usually it ends up trumping politics over time, and sometimes you can spot a turning point. Leukemia is known to be a life-threatening and sometime incurable type of cancer. Common cancer fighting treatments such as chemotherapy can sometimes fail to combat it. But now comes a new option that involves genetically altering your own immune cells, and in a little more than a week later, the leukemia is entirely gone. Such are the real results of rigorous research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine. So far, it’s all still experimental, but genetically engineered immune cells are said to be “highly promising” for curing a whole slew of cancers and tumors including those that trouble the prostate gland. Also in my “wow” pile of news clips are some involving “three parent IVF” and “mitochondrial replacement.” This is a method of eliminating “genetic fault” from the family tree by using the DNA of three people, not just two, to make a baby. Yes, a genetically modified human infant. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) reports that about 1 in 200 babies are born with a fault in their mitochondria. These can be progressive and eventually fatal, but with enough time can also be passed down to the next generation. Muscle, neurological, visual, hearing and heart conditions are typically the type of defects that result. But for the past couple years, we’ve known how to remove the faulty mitochondrial DNA and replace it with healthy genes. And then if both parents have the same problem, a third party is added into the mix. The result is a genetically modified human. It makes me wonder if, five years from now, such a person will have to be labeled as a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) before being allowed to shop at Whole Foods, which says all GMOs in its stores will have to be labeled as such by 2018. The scientists involved in using three DNA contributions to make one baby are, to their credit, asking about the ethical and legal issues now. At this point, they are only talking about using the medical technique to eliminate fatal defects. But what happens when a couple just wants to change out some DNA to make the family a bit more attractive? My guess from recent events is that nobody is going to be able to get in the way of genetic modifications that cure, reverse or prevent disease. I remember how quickly concerns about stem cell research evaporated once we were told it could cure muscular dystrophy or heart disease. Who among us is really against genetic modification if the option is our own death of cancer? But think of where all this started. Some agricultural scientist – probably at an American land grant university – had thoughts about changing a gene to make some root cell more drought resistant. The rest, as they say, is history, as we’ve had a couple of decades of stirred controversy over genetic modification. It was pretty well recapped by environmental writer Mark Lynas who admitted at the Oxford Farming Conference last January that his leadership of the European opposition to GM crops was not based on science but fear mongering. And then, he said this: “We no longer need to discuss whether or not it is safe – over a decade and a half with three trillion GM meals eaten there has never been a single substantiated case of harm.” You can pretty much say what you want about genetically modified root cells, seeds, weeds and the like. It’s all part of the universe that very few know or care about. Less than two percent of the U.S workforce is involved in agriculture. That’s not many to go up against everyone else who eats a load of fear mongering. But turn the telescope around, and we are now talking about what genetic modification can do directly for all us humans. Sure, medical and ethical issues abound. But if some genetically engineered work on immune cells can cure cancer, I would not want to be standing in the way.