We all like new things. Things get old and wear out. Sometimes we simply get tired of the old. But, we also highly value some old things because they are comfortable and treasured.

We enjoy getting a new pair of shoes, but we still love our old, comfy slippers. We enjoy meeting new people and making new friends, but what is dearer than an old friend with whom we share so much history? Companies hype “new and improved” products with new ingredients, formulas and features. But sometimes we still like the old and wish they wouldn’t change it.

In 1836, a very significant battle took place on the American frontier. In an old Spanish mission known as the Alamo, a poignant scene played out. As the sounds of “Toque a Degüello,” a battle anthem that signified “no quarter,” were heard from outside the mission walls, the besieged defenders knew that General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was giving notice that there would be no survivors if they did not promptly surrender.

“E coli microbes have been modified to carry an expanded genetic code which researchers say will ultimately allow them to be programmed… Now, the first living organisms to thrive with an expanded genetic code have been made by researchers in work that paves the way for the creation and exploitation of entirely new life forms” (The Guardian, January, 24, 2017).