Mae-Wan Ho (
Chinese: 何梅灣;
pinyin: Hé Méiwān; 12 November 1941 – 24 March 2016)[1] was a
geneticist[2][3] known for her critical views on
genetic engineering and
evolution.[4][5] She authored or co-authored a number of publications, including 10 books, such as The Rainbow and the Worm, the Physics of Organisms (1993, 1998), Genetic Engineering: Dream or Nightmare? (1998, 1999), Living with the Fluid Genome (2003) and Living Rainbow H2O (2012).
Ho was a co-founder and director of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS), an
interest group which published fringe articles about climate change, GMOs,
homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and
water memory. In reviewing the organisation,
David Colquhoun accused the ISIS of promoting
pseudoscience and specifically criticised Ho's understanding of
homeopathy.[7]
The institute is on the
Quackwatch list of questionable organizations.[11]
Genetic engineering
Ho, together with Joe Cummins of the
University of Western Ontario, has argued that a sterility gene engineered into a crop could be transferred to other crops or wild relatives and that "This could severely compromise the agronomic performance of conventional crops and cause wild relatives to go extinct". They argued that this process could also produce genetic instabilities, which might be "leading to catastrophic breakdown", and stated that there are no data to assure that this has not happened or cannot happen.[12] This concern contrasts with the reason why these sterile plants were developed, which was to prevent the transfer of genes to the environment by preventing any plants that are bred with or that receive these genes from reproducing.[13] Indeed, any gene that caused sterility when transferred to a new species would be eliminated by
natural selection and could not spread.[14]
Ho expressed concerns about the spread of altered genes through
horizontal gene transfer and that the experimental alteration of genetic structures may be out of control. One of her concerns is that the
antibiotic resistant gene that was isolated from bacteria and used in some
GM crops might cross back from plants by
horizontal gene transfer to different species of bacteria, because "If this happened it would leave us unable to treat major illnesses like
meningitis and E coli."[15] Her views were published in an opinion article based on a review of others' research.[16] The arguments and conclusions of this article were heavily criticized by prominent plant scientists,[17] and the claims of the article criticized in detail in a response that was published in the same journal,[18] prompting a reply from Ho.[19] A review on the topic published in 2008 in the Annual Review of Plant Biology stated that "These speculations have been extensively rebutted by the scientific community".[20]
Ho has also argued that bacteria could acquire the bacterial gene
barnase from transgenic plants. This gene kills any cell that expresses it and lacks
barstar, the specific inhibitor of barnase activity. In an article entitled Chronicle of An Ecological Disaster Foretold, which was published in an ISIS newsletter, Ho speculated that if a bacterium acquired the barnase gene and survived, this could make the bacteria a more dangerous pathogen.
Evolution
Ho has claimed that evolution is pluralistic because there are many mechanisms that can produce variation in phenotypes independently of haphazard mutations. Ho has advocated a form of
Lamarckian evolution. She has been criticized by the
scientific community for setting up
straw man arguments in her criticism of natural selection and supporting discredited evolutionary theories.[21][22][23][24][25][26] But some of her Lamarckian ideas have since entered the mainstream of the evolutionary literature.[27][28]
Mae-Wan Ho. Living Rainbow H2O, Singapore; River Edge, NJ: World Scientific, 2012.
ISBN978-9814390897.
Mae-Wan Ho. Meaning of Life & the Universe, Singapore; River Edge, NJ: World Scientific, 2017.
ISBN978-981-3108-85-1
Mae-Wan Ho. The Rainbow and the Worm, the Physics of Organisms, Singapore; River Edge, NJ: World Scientific, 1998.
ISBN981-02-4813-X.
Mae-Wan Ho. Genetic engineering: dream or nightmare? Turning the tide on the brave new world of bad science and big business, New York, NY: Continuum, 2000.
ISBN0-8264-1257-2.
Mae-Wan Ho. Living with the fluid genome, London, UK: Institute of Science in Society; Penang, Malaysia: Third World Network, 2003.
ISBN0-9544923-0-7.
Mae-Wan Ho, Sam Burcher, Rhea Gala and Vejko Velkovic. Unraveling AIDS: the independent science and promising alternative therapies, Ridgefield, CT: Vital Health Pub., 2005.
ISBN1-890612-47-2.
Mae- Wan Ho, Peter Saunders. Beyond Neo-Darwinism: An Introduction to the New Evolutionary Paradigm, London: Academic Press, 1984.
ISBN978-0123500809
^Donald MacLeod, "Who's listening? Will public opinion on genetically modified crops make any difference to the government?", The Guardian, 19 May 2003.
Reprint. Accessed 9 June 2008.
^Hull, R.; Covey, S.N.; Dale, P. (2000). "Genetically modified plants and the 35S promoter: assessing the risks and enhancing the debate". Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease. 12 (1): 1–5.
doi:
10.1080/089106000435527.
S2CID218565785. [dead link]
^Ho, Mae-Wan (2000). "Hazards of transgenic plants containing the cauliflower mosaic viral promoter: Authors' reply to critiques of "The Cauliflower Mosaic Viral Promoter - a Recipe for Disaster?"". Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease. 12: 6–11.
doi:
10.1080/089106000435536-1.
S2CID86135285.
^J. Futuyma, Douglas. (1984). Neo-Darwinism in Disfavor. Science. New Series, Vol. 226, No. 4674. pp. 532-533.
^Ghiselin, Michael. (1985). Evolutionary Theory: Paths into the Future by J. W. Pollard; Beyond Neo-Darwinism: An Introduction to the New Evolutionary Paradigm by Mae-Wan Ho; Peter T. Saunders. American Scientist. Vol. 73, No. 6. p. 584.
^Wake, Marvalee H.(1986). Beyond Neo-Darwinism. An Introduction to the New Evolutionary Paradigm by Mae-Wan Ho; Peter T. Saunders. American Zoologist. Vol. 26, No. 1 (1986), pp. 289-290.
^Pagel, Mark. (1989). Evolutionary Processes and Metaphors by Mae-Wan Ho; Sidney W. Fox. Man. New Series, Vol. 24, No. 4. pp. 689-690.