Creating and modifying life, Does it worry you?

steddyeddy

One of the more recent fields of biology is synthetic biology which is essentially writing a code for life, its shape size and function like a computer programme would be wrote.

An area im interested in is called transgenics which is placing the genes from one species into another.

We can also engineer plants and our food to be bigger, tastier, more nutritious and free from pests.

The more controversiol side of this is the fact that way can in theory modify embryos to dictate hair and eye colour and anything else you can think of.

Are these developments playing god so to speak and does the direction that science is heading worry you?

ygolometsipe

yeah yeah, its all if and when these days -let me know when it really happens!

ps: I'm still waiting on the flying car!

eth0

Too much other stuff to be worried about

minidazzler

This excites me. It will eventually mean that most disabilities will be able to be written out of genetic code.

Sisko

It doesn't worry me and I hate the "don't play God" brigade. Been holding humanity back for years...


If your God did not want us to do this, he would not have given us the intelligence and innovation to do so.

Playing God....bah! Playing humanity more like it.


This is our destiny...

AngryBollix

Can it provide cock extensions if necessarily.

My 11 inches is beginning to feel inadequate

Encrypted Pigeon

If it leads to the cure/prevention of cancers or any other of those horrible degenerative diseases then I'm all for it.

senorwipesalot

Look out here comes spidergoat http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16554357

steddyeddy

ygolometsipe wrote: »

yeah yeah, its all if and when these days -let me know when it really happens!

ps: I'm still waiting on the flying car!

Its already happening.

steddyeddy

Sintel wrote: »

If it leads to the cure/prevention of cancers or any other of those horrible degenerative diseases then I'm all for it.

I think cancer is a long way off being cured as we would need to be fluent in cell recognition and division but were a lot closer to understanding aids.

Wibbs

minidazzler wrote: »

This excites me. It will eventually mean that most disabilities will be able to be written out of genetic code.

True, though the problem with that MD is if we don't fully understand the internal relationships between "faults" and "advantages" we could easily make the wrong choices. EG if we removed dyslexia from the genepool? Cool but you've just removed the possibilities of a future DaVinci, Edison, Lennon, Churchill, Flaubert(sp) and writers like AA Gill who always makes me think even if it's in a Sunday supplement. Get rid of asbergers and the like and you'd be in real trouble. Depression? Oh oh. Where would you stop is another consideration. Maybe get rid of the left handed ginger mutants while you're at it. Oops...

The fact is that for all this talk of cracking the human genome, we're still a looong way away from really knowing what's what and our hubris just adds to it. I'd liken it to us being in a dark library. Over the centuries we've had brief glimmers of light. Now we have a torch, but we've still not found the lightswitch and we've certainly not read the majority of the books.

hondasam

Wibbs wrote: »

Maybe get rid of the left handed ginger mutants while you're at it. Oops...

No one could be unlucky enough to be left handed and ginger

44leto

steddyeddy wrote: »

I think cancer is a long way off being cured as we would need to be fluent in cell recognition and division but were a lot closer to understanding aids.

But a lot of cancer is curable. In the 60s you were basically told you have cancer now go home and die. Now there are treatments for a lot of them. I have 2 sis in laws who survived it and are both living healthy lives.

This technology is the future, from laboratory meat, supercrops to making diesel fuel out of bacteria Ireland should get heavily involved in this new tech. They are actually engineering new stains of life in garages in California and that is how this computer era came about.

steddyeddy

44leto wrote: »

But a lot of cancer is curable. In the 60s you were basically told you have cancer now go home and die. Now there are treatments for a lot of them. I have 2 sis in laws who survived it and are both living healthy lives.

This technology is the future, from laboratory meat, supercrops to making diesel fuel out of bacteria Ireland should get heavily involved in this new tech. They are actually engineering new stains of life in garages in California and that is how this computer era came about.

Well yes we can put cancer into remission but I dont think we will eliminate cancer in the near future. Its an extremely braod illness incorperating many types of breakdown in cell regulation.

Wibbs

hondasam wrote: »

No one could be unlucky enough to be left handed and ginger

I was. Well partially. I had a vaguely 8 to 2 ratio of black to red mix. Before the reds went grey* and long after I learned to use my right hand. I've also got an extra vertebra and a couple of other archaic traits. Go mutants I say





*that's an odd one. My ginger hairs appeared to be more prone to losing their pigment and going grey. From early enough on too. The black hairs where/are a lot more robust on that score.

ygolometsipe

steddyeddy wrote: »

Its already happening.

It is but no where near the imaginative post of the OP.
It's years and years away.

I used to read a lot of nature / SA but i got fed up of all the generic language used, like.

xyz "may" be used to ...
xyz show signs of ....
xyz could help in .....

A lot of this is used to encourage investment and I think its annoying and misleading, it gives false hope.

I do think genetics offer a lot but it wont be around anytime soon.

steddyeddy

ygolometsipe wrote: »

It is but no where near the imaginative post of the OP.
It's years and years away.

I used to read a lot of nature / SA but i got fed up of all the generic language used, like.

xyz "may" be used to ...
xyz show signs of ....
xyz could help in .....

A lot of this is used to encourage investment and I think its annoying and misleading, it gives false hope.

I do think genetics offer a lot but it wont be around anytime soon.

Well Im the op but to get to your point a lot what I said is going on now.

Genetic modification of crops and plants is and has happened. Some of the methods used has been transgenics and some companies which offer IVF treatment also say they could in practice dictate the eye colour of a child before its born.

TanG411

We need wings.

ygolometsipe

steddyeddy wrote: »

Well Im the op ....

LOL - I didnt notice sorry but yeah I do understand that there are some very good developments going on at them moment.

And to answer your original question the issue is very alarming
esp - this company

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

They have GE a version of most crops that will wipe out the original crop.
Their version of the seed then grows but will not germinate -hence you need to buy it again the following year. The original non GE species is killed off.
It's very bad.

Then on another level I read about the fact that the EU does not require that food should be labeled with GE? I would like to know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_trade_of_genetically_modified_foods

eps with the changes they are making with fish species cross breading and the use of mutated genes to combine growth rates.

starbelgrade

Spiderpig, spiderpig,
Does whatever a spiderpig can.

minidazzler

Wibbs wrote: »

True, though the problem with that MD is if we don't fully understand the internal relationships between "faults" and "advantages" we could easily make the wrong choices. EG if we removed dyslexia from the genepool? Cool but you've just removed the possibilities of a future DaVinci, Edison, Lennon, Churchill, Flaubert(sp) and writers like AA Gill who always makes me think even if it's in a Sunday supplement. Get rid of asbergers and the like and you'd be in real trouble. Depression? Oh oh. Where would you stop is another consideration. Maybe get rid of the left handed ginger mutants while you're at it. Oops...

The fact is that for all this talk of cracking the human genome, we're still a looong way away from really knowing what's what and our hubris just adds to it. I'd liken it to us being in a dark library. Over the centuries we've had brief glimmers of light. Now we have a torch, but we've still not found the lightswitch and we've certainly not read the majority of the books.

I agree for the most part, I'm thinking it's definitely a start with the obvious ones thing. Since I've a sister in a wheelchair, the obvious one for me is Cerebral Palsy. I know very little about genetics really, and the people dealing with it know plenty more than me but still know feck all compared to the whole Genome, but I'd like to think that eventually all disabilities will be gone.

I see your point on future Da Vinci's and all that, but the other side of that is if they could write out dyslexia that's millions of kids not living with it who would have only had a tough time with it, compared to the one kid who if they had it would have flourished greatly.

I'm definitely a needs of the many person.

Frank Black

ThinksAmoral wrote: »

We need wings.

Try KFC.

steddyeddy

minidazzler wrote: »

I agree for the most part, I'm thinking it's definitely a start with the obvious ones thing. Since I've a sister in a wheelchair, the obvious one for me is Cerebral Palsy. I know very little about genetics really, and the people dealing with it know plenty more than me but still know feck all compared to the whole Genome, but I'd like to think that eventually all disabilities will be gone.

Minidazzler Im sorry to hear about your sister its a horrible condition to have to see a loved one endure. As far as I know cerebral palsy hasnt a strong genetic component but they are making progress with it. Gene therapy could be the way forward and there is work ongoing which aims to repair nerve and brain damage. I have a few subscriptions to scientific publications so If you want any information on cerebral palsy I would be only to happy to send some on to you.

I see your point on future Da Vinci's and all that, but the other side of that is if they could write out dyslexia that's millions of kids not living with it who would have only had a tough time with it, compared to the one kid who if they had it would have flourished greatly.

I'm definitely a needs of the many person.

I agree but I also tend to agree with the expression

"Take away my demons and you take away my angels".

steddyeddy

ygolometsipe wrote: »

steddyeddy wrote: »

Well Im the op ....

LOL - I didnt notice sorry but yeah I do understand that there are some very good developments going on at them moment.

And to answer your original question the issue is very alarming
esp - this company

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto

They have GE a version of most crops that will wipe out the original crop.
Their version of the seed then grows but will not germinate -hence you need to buy it again the following year. The original non GE species is killed off.
It's very bad.

Then on another level I read about the fact that the EU does not require that food should be labeled with GE? I would like to know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_trade_of_genetically_modified_foods

eps with the changes they are making with fish species cross breading and the use of mutated genes to combine growth rates.

Im not as concerned about the health effects of gm crops as of yet rather the effect these crops will have on develping economies and the way small farmers could be held to ransom by some of these companies.

Logical Fallacy

Wibbs wrote: »

True, though the problem with that MD is if we don't fully understand the internal relationships between "faults" and "advantages" we could easily make the wrong choices. EG if we removed dyslexia from the genepool? Cool but you've just removed the possibilities of a future DaVinci, Edison, Lennon, Churchill, Flaubert(sp) and writers like AA Gill who always makes me think even if it's in a Sunday supplement. Get rid of asbergers and the like and you'd be in real trouble. Depression? Oh oh. Where would you stop is another consideration. Maybe get rid of the left handed ginger mutants while you're at it. Oops...

The fact is that for all this talk of cracking the human genome, we're still a looong way away from really knowing what's what and our hubris just adds to it. I'd liken it to us being in a dark library. Over the centuries we've had brief glimmers of light. Now we have a torch, but we've still not found the lightswitch and we've certainly not read the majority of the books.

Indeed, people are the resultant of, at most, 2% of the genetic data that they carry within themselves. It's why i laugh when i hear people talking about their "perfect genes".

It will be interesting to think about what could occur if we remove the genetic lottery from the equation and you could pretty much custom build yourself.

Brave new world terrifies me . Just because science can modify things does it mean they should ?

bleg

We should be given free reign, it is inevitable anyway. People who are afraid of progress should stay out of the way.

thecornflake

bleg wrote: »

We should be given free reign, it is inevitable anyway. People who are afraid of progress should stay out of the way.

They are just a different form of Amish people IMHO. (No offence to the Amish or anyone else).

lividduck

steddyeddy wrote: »

One of the more recent fields of biology is synthetic biology which is essentially writing a code for life, its shape size and function like a computer programme would be wrote.

An area im interested in is called transgenics which is placing the genes from one species into another.

We can also engineer plants and our food to be bigger, tastier, more nutritious and free from pests.

The more controversiol side of this is the fact that way can in theory modify embryos to dictate hair and eye colour and anything else you can think of.

Are these developments playing god so to speak and does the direction that science is heading worry you?

No, not in the least

Slydice

it doesn't bother peter weyland

Sisko

Regarding stem cell research I was only watching this today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8lsjfjgAA8

I must admit, this video hit me a lot. I've a lot of respect for the guy.

steddyeddy

Sisko wrote: »

Regarding stem cell research I was only watching this today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8lsjfjgAA8

I must admit, this video hit me a lot. I've a lot of respect for the guy.

That wasnt easy to watch, the poor guy. I totally think we could learn to make synthetic stem cells but its not simply a matter of injecting them into people and the nerve cells or whatever come back. Unless we learn a lot more about cell regulation and how to control it stem cells could do more harm than good.

steddyeddy

To illustrate what scientists are now becoming capable of heres a tobacco plant infused with a firefly gene!

Capt'n Midnight

minidazzler wrote: »

This excites me. It will eventually mean that most disabilities will be able to be written out of genetic code.

Don't forget that many "disabillities" conveyed advantages in the past.


Having one copy of the Sickle cell anaemia or cystic fibrosis gene would give you increased protection against really nasty diseases. Back in the day having two copies kinda put a dampner on any plans to reproduce.


Is red hair a disability ??

steddyeddy

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Don't forget that many "disabillities" conveyed advantages in the past.


Having one copy of the Sickle cell anaemia or cystic fibrosis gene would give you increased protection against really nasty diseases. Back in the day having two copies kinda put a dampner on any plans to reproduce.


Is red hair a disability ??

The Gene which expresses sickle cell also conveys some degree of immunity against Malaria I think.

jumpguy

ygolometsipe wrote: »

yeah yeah, its all if and when these days -let me know when it really happens!

ps: I'm still waiting on the flying car!

You've most likely already eaten genetically modified food numerous times now, particularly stuff (fruit and veg) imported from the US.

People who argue that we "shouldn't play god" should wake up and smell the coffee - we've been "playing god" since the agricultural revolution which ushered in the practice of selective breeding. If it wasn't for that, they either wouldn't be here, or they'd be too busy working on their sustenance land to worry about ethics of big scientific advances.

It is not easy (I'm not sure if it's even possible, but I'm no expert here - all this is open to correction...) to change someone's genetics once they're growing - like, beyond fertilisation. Every single cell in your body carries the same genetic material, and I'm not sure how it could ever be possible to change every gene in every cell. The body would have it's own defences against what it would perceive as genetic "damage" (in reality it'd be advantageous as the disability gene would be removed/replaced) and try to "fix" it.

However, there are ways to find out what an exact gene does (or doesn't do) that causes disability, and then the race is on to find a drug that can replace that function (or implement it). Neurodegenerative diseases are particularly behind here.

Stem cell research is always a touchy subject. I think most of the stem cell research that takes place in Ireland involve mesenchymal stem cells, which are "adult" stem cells taken from bone marrow. The problem with these stem cells is that they can only form certain types of tissue. Another problem with them is that their role in cancer is not well understood (they could be creating new cancer cells).

Embryonic stem cells produce almost all the controversy though, and personally I think that no embryos should be made for solely the purpose of embryonic stem cell research. Embryos leftover from IVF treatments though that are no longer wanted by the parents should go embryonic stem cell research and use, in my opinion. Embryonic stem cells can form all types of tissue, and so have massive potential as treatments. There is a very appreciable ethical issue though.

Fúck, didn't mean for that to turn into an essay.

Show Time

Bring it on.

I am all for the betterment of mankind as a species.

guitarzero

Its not the technology that bothers me, its those who influence its use. The industrial revolution led to great medical leaps but also the bomb. Its seems theres always 2 uses for the knife throughout our history, sadly.