The wolf naturally evolved into a intelligent and efficient predator with a vibrant and complex social life. This came about so that the wolf could survive within a competitive environment, not only as separate individuals, but as efficient hunting groups. Through a combination of intelligence and social planing wolf packs can even take down a grizzly, a most fearsome competitor that no one wolf could do alone. When modern man came on the scene the wolf was already well established in ranges around the world and as man expanded into the wolfs range a strange partnership developed between wolf and man.

Both man and wolf have always been in conflict but over time both species learned how to adapt to each other and even began to cooperate in the hunt to the benefit of both races and finally the wolf ended up in the village and on mans doorstep. Mankind began to artificially modify the wolfs genetic structure through selective breeding so as to be useful to man in various survival strategies. Man artificially modified the wolf into a wide variety of forms into what we now call dogs who have become known as mans best friend. Hence the wolf was moved from the wolf on the doorstep to pet and friend within the home. The same thing happened to the cat. Other species also were artificially genetically modified to serve man's dinner table like sheep, cows and grains.

Other types of experiments in genetic modification of genomes have not turned out so well. The importation of African killer bees into South America is a good example. The intent was to introduce some hybrid vigor into existing cultured populations of honeybees but the killer bees got loose and their extreme aggressiveness proved to be a natural evolutionary advantage and they set about taking over the hives of both mans and naturally existing hives. Attempts have been underway to try to change the killer bees genome so that they will become less aggressive and not be a threat to man as they are now. Could something similar be happening to us now with us instead of the bees being on the receiving end?

I am thinking that something can be learned here from mankind's experience with artificial genetic modifications of other species genomes for mankind's advantage that can be related to our relationship to extraterrestrial races. Its pretty obvious from the evidence that something very major involving genetics is going on between other extraterrestrial races and our own and has been going on for hundreds of thousands of years. We would seem to be race that is a product of both natural and artificial evolution and it would seem that we are no different from other intelligent extraterrestrial races in this regard. It would appear there has been a lot of trans genome genetic mixing happening between other species and ourselves. I think that our position in this state of affairs could be similar to the wolf's fate when it got involved with mankind.

What this would all seem to boil down to is based on basic ecological principles and the interplay between competitive and cooperative strategies of survival within a changing environment. It would seem to me that once species reach a certain level of intelligence and can begin to modify their and other species genomes artificially, a whole new level on interspecies interactions takes place. Genomes become the ultimate battlefield in conflicts or the ultimate solution toward interspecies cooperation and mutual betterment. In the case of conflict one hostile combatant might add excessive aggressive genes into the genome of the other combatant so that the excessive aggression causes the civilization to disintegrate through internally generated conflicts. On the other hand a more peaceful civilization might strive to insert genetic information into the genome of a hostile race to make that race more peaceful and less aggressive..

I find it even more interesting that increased intelligence through artificial genetic modification has adaptive evolutionary value. Increased species intelligence and technological development would allow a peaceful race to outmaneuver other hostile races without having to resort to overt hostile action. So we can assume that within a dynamic environment of both conflict and cooperation evolutionary forces would push species to artificially modify their genome and that of their allies toward increasing intelligence at ever faster rates. I would hazard a guess that we earth humans are and have been since our inception caught up in a evolutionary race for genome superiority between competing extraterrestrial races.

What we have to do as a race is to work together as best we can to understand our situation and predicament so as to be able to exert our collective will in a manner that allows us to establish our independent identity and personal and collective integrity. We can only accomplish this if we are willing to share with other members of our species. As long as people with access attempt to possess vital information to hold for personal advantage, or because of ego issues, refuse to tell others straight up what is going on we won't be able to as a race to proceed in our development at a optimal evolutionary pace. This whole elitist idea that I am smart enough to handle the truth, but others are not, is a great impediment to our individual and collective development.

Visit Ed's blog