US Scientists Close to Creating Artificial Life: Study

Discussion in 'SHH Community Forum' started by Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008.

  1. Carcharodon

    Carcharodon Registered

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    LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080125/ts_alt_afp/sciencebiotechusresearch_080125001832

     
    #1 Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008
  2. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    Silly humans. :rolleyes:
     
    #2 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
  3. Joker

    Joker Registered

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    They're going to end up accidentally making either zombies, a super virus that will kill 90% of the population, or a giant monster. Why are scientists the only people who dont watch and learn from sci-fi?
     
    #3 Joker, Jan 24, 2008
  4. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    Because, to paraphrase Ian Malcom, they're too preoccupied with whether or not they could that they never stop to think if they should.
     
    #4 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
  5. Carcharodon

    Carcharodon Registered

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    Yeah. It's not like there could be any sort of useful outcome from these advances.



    :whatever:
     
    #5 Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008
  6. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    There couldn't. Why should humanity create artificial life when we can't even responsibly care for pre-existing life?
     
    #6 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
  7. Carcharodon

    Carcharodon Registered

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    Apparently you have no idea what they've done, even in context. They've synthesized a genome, dude. They're not trying to create an army of complex organisms. They're not cloning dinosaurs, for Christ's sake. The significance and potential of what's just been done seems to be lost on you.

    Let me put this in terms of your argument: this will help pre-existing life. Can you really not see the potential medical benefits this can have? Do you know what a genome is, or what it does? Do you have any idea how this has the potential to help us understand pre-existing life around us today on a broad scale?
     
    #7 Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008
  8. Twin2

    Twin2 In downtown

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    So they can responsibly care for the life that we can't duhhhhhh. :o
     
    #8 Twin2, Jan 24, 2008
  9. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    A genome? Just a genome? Really? Not specifically a human genome, or even an ape genome, just a random artificial genome? And one based off of a venereal disease at that? And you think that they'll stop there?

    Take this for example:

    That's the last line in the article you posted. Created organisms with new gene sequences. Such as what exactly? Curing disease? That'll never happen, and the only result of that is worse diseases. Modern medicine has that funny little side-effect of slowing our development and expediting the development of diseases.

    I see this as the same as artificial intelligence and full human cloning, it's a claim for the collective human ego, not some benevolent goal that will bring humanity into a utopia, or even a better world. Call me a pessimist, but I see only bad things coming from this.
     
    #9 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
  10. ShadowBoxing

    ShadowBoxing Registered

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    But seriously, they need to get on top of that.
     
    #10 ShadowBoxing, Jan 24, 2008
  11. Carcharodon

    Carcharodon Registered

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    I should hope not. This is merely a first, simple step. It's what science is based on.

    Do you have any genetic understanding of why those diseases get worse? It's more or less unavoidable with the prevalence of antibiotics. This is something else entirely.

    What if those new organisms serve as a super-effective carrier host for some life-saving biogenic substance? With enough understanding, we can biologically engineer countless cures. We could engineer substances too complex to form in a lab and mass-produce them. We could lower the cost of medicines and create some great new ones.

    Anybody with a rudimentary understanding of gene translation can see that. For you to say it'll, "never happen," is ridiculous, to be perfectly honest. There are endless medical possibilities here, as well as purely scientific possibilities.

    Of course it can be abused, and mistakes could (and probably will) be made. That's true of any scientific discovery, so your argument is sort of silly in that regard.
     
    #11 Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008
  12. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    Two things real quick;

    1) When I said it'll never happen, I meant that disease will never stop, and that the chances of something like this being used for medicine first when most advances in technology and science are originally used to hurt rather than help.

    2)I find the term "purely scientific possibilities" to be bull. If science isn't being used to benefit the populace then it's useless in my eyes. Science for science's sake is pointless.


    Honestly, I've stopped caring about this. It happens when I don't really feel strongly about something, and I just speak up because no one else is, and someone who knows more about the topic makes me feel like a fool. Regardless, I still have a bad feeling in my gut when I consider these things, and I still wish that science would slow down it's advancement. Ultimately, I won't change your mind and you won't change mine, so I'm not arguing anymore.
     
    #12 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
  13. Carcharodon

    Carcharodon Registered

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    I'm sorry, dude...I wasn't trying to make you feel like a fool. Guess I'm a little too passionate about this sort of thing. I'm done.
     
    #13 Carcharodon, Jan 24, 2008
  14. SuperFerret

    SuperFerret King of the Urban Jungle

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    Nah, it's not your fault. I've just lost the head for science that I used to have.
     
    #14 SuperFerret, Jan 24, 2008
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