Gringo Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases. All great, create new things, solve old diseases or what if our other tehcnological advances, ie the robot nation, become an intelligent force and use this new life technology to supplant their masters? Or as the bbc blogger said And the creation of his synthetic microbe is being compared with Dolly the sheep in genetics, and Microsoft's operating system in computing. Well if it's based on windows98, we're quite safe. So how does VT think this changes the world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 How do you think it changes the world ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 We don't need humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ricardomeister Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I find this quite worrying but scientists will always try to play God, especially if they can get their hands on plenty of funding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Never **** with nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Never **** with nature. What about medicine etc ? Is that not **** with nature ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I find this quite worrying but scientists will always try to play God, especially if they can get their hands on plenty of funding! So basically they will doing nothing then and not exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSufferingVilla Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 The power to create life makes men Gods. However, by our very nature we make for terrible Gods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Oui. It'll come back to haunt us, someday, when bacteria becomes immune to our medicines (granted it already happens, but in the future it'll be on a far bigger scale, there will be more medicine floating about and more people will be depending on it). Everything is just one big chemical equation and everything depends on the right balance. Most of what we do is so negligable on the big scale so we get away with it, but as time goes on we'll eventually start **** with the very fabric of what makes the world click and then it'll come crashing down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I'd create the terminator. Aka another James Milner unless he leaves for Man City, then i'd create proper terminator to terminate James Milner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturdaygig Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Lets hope they can create a creature that stays calm even when the transfer window is quiet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sie Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 So how does VT think this changes the world? Not nearly as much as the headlines would imply. From what I've been told, the reality of this breakthrough is being rather inflated as we've been able to synthesise DNA for at least a decade and we've also had full sequences of bacterial genomes before that. This experiment is merely combining the above two methods. What's been done here is more like taking a book, photocopying some of its pages, removing them and then gluing in the photocopies to replace them - bam, Artificial Book. It's more of a proof of concept that we have lab equipment that can accurately copy a very simple genome from an already mapped original to a degree that it functions the same. It's the "functions the same" part that this experiment just tested. The 'creation of synthetic life' thing as if we've genuinely created life is rather dishonest spin, at least when it comes to how most laymen will interpret such a headline. So sci-fi rhetoric about how meddling with matter will destroy us all can be saved for at least a little while longer I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I am quite nihalistic. Humans are going to keep advancing technology, people are going to keep fearing the worst. It is how the whole of human history has gone so far. Ultimatly it doesn't really matter because we are all going to die someday anyway. So to this I say 'Meh!' :drowsy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLN Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I am quite nihalistic. Humans are going to keep advancing technology, people are going to keep fearing the worst. It is how the whole of human history has gone so far. Ultimatly it doesn't really matter because we are all going to die someday anyway. So to this I say 'Meh!' :drowsy: Veee Believe in Nattting, not even the correct spelling of nihilism, or what it actually means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted May 20, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted May 20, 2010 Say what you will about the tenets of national socialism, dude, at least it's an ethos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I am the walrus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Shut the f*ck up donny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidlewis Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 this is one step closer to making the cloning vats in unreal tournament real. Bring it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieB Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I didn't vote because I've only caught a little bit of this story tonight. I don't like to be cynical but just like most things this"new science" may well be used to create more hideous ways to kill other men. Can you imagine the damage that could be unleashed on mankind if some synthetically mutated DNA was turned into some kind of hideous biological weapon? The Jury's still out on genetically modified food...goodness knows what this could bring about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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