Scientists Create Alien DNA After 15 Years Of Work

[tkotom]

Somebody doens't understand the concept of cause and effect.

Somebody is dodging..

 

[TheComebackKid]

Somebody is dodging..

One could only accuse me of dodging if they don't understand the concept of cause and effect...

 

[Strychnine]

This makes me sad somehow.

 

[tkotom]

One could only accuse me of dodging if they don't understand the concept of cause and effect...

You were spouting your usual nonsense regarding god. I merely pointed out that if god created "sruff" he then also had to have engineered famine, Nigerian kidnappings, mass murder, rape of babies and other things.

Either god created these things or it did not.

Not sure what you're rambling on about.

 

[LucasWithLidOff]

You were spouting your usual nonsense regarding god. I merely pointed out that if god created "sruff" he then also had to have engineered famine, Nigerian kidnappings, mass murder, rape of babies and other things.

Either god created these things or it did not.

Not sure what you're rambling on about.

Here you go dude:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

 

[TheComebackKid]

You were spouting your usual nonsense regarding god. I merely pointed out that if god created "sruff" he then also had to have engineered famine, Nigerian kidnappings, mass murder, rape of babies and other things.

Either god created these things or it did not.

Not sure what you're rambling on about.

I never disagreed with you just noted that you dont understand the concept of cause and effect and how that relates to free will.

Now please stop rambling.

 

[tkotom]

I never disagreed with you just noted that you dont understand the concept of cause and effect and how that relates to free will.

Now please stop rambling.

I said nothing that would give you grounds to make such a comment. You're just being defensively hostile as per usual when people mention you in a thread that somehow links to religion.

 

[djacobox372]

Nope, God creates stuff. All humans do is play with and manipulate things that have already been created.

I've never seen God create anything.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

I don't think so. What they have done is pretty cool and impressive but yeah if they were actually creating life from non-living matter then that would be a game changer.

Depends how you define living matter. Evolution experiments have been done that creates self-replicating matter out of simple materials. What morally distinguishes something that is living from non living? In science, we have an arbitrary definition of life that allows us to classify things for the sake of ease, but by no means does that definition hold moral significance.

All life on earth has two-pairs of DNA. They created a life form with three-pairs. Well, they just "altered" an already living life form but they proved that it can live with two extra types of DNA, and that doesn't EXIST on this planet. So it is alien.

Most living things have DNA and DNA is made up of four nucleic acids that form two sets of pairs. It is hypothesized that historically there existed organisms that didn't have DNA and instead used only RNA as genetic coding.

No problem I believe they are saying that they made a new strain of E. coli that can live without without the same DNA as what is required to sustain life on earth. I believe that is why they call it alien DNA? Essentially they created a new life form that can be used to test new type of drugs and treatments?

I don't believe the ecoli can live without regular dna. The strain theyve create still has mostly it's native genetic makeup but they've inserted plasmid DNA (which is different from genomic dna) that contains synthetic nucleotides and the organism is able to successfully replicate this plasmid containing these synthetic base pairs.


Also, I'd like to mention this is a 'letter' and not an article. A letter undergoes less rigorous scientific proof reading to expedite it's publication process because the information is seen as being particularly interesting.





For those wondering what use this technology has, it's a bit hard to say. Nature makes all of it's articles available to the public however to read the full letters (not articles) you need the subscription. Usually, researchers write what they speculate to be the most likely paths for future works in their introduction and at the end of their results section but I don't have access to that.

This technology is likely very far ahead of its time in terms of actual non-scholarly applications. More possible base pair combinations means more complexity, but at this point in time, DNA is quite complex already. Even when we sequence entire genomes, there are still many functional areas of our DNA that encode things that we have no idea what they're doing and even predicting the structure of the encoded proteins is still an issue.

I'd say most likely, this technology may have use in evolution experiments. After some of the kinks are worked out, perhaps you could grow these organisms that may eventually be able to incorporate unnatural base pairs into their gDNA under selective pressures and they would adapted faster or in different ways than organisms with normal DNA.

 

[MysticNinjaJay]

All life on earth has two-pairs of DNA. They created a life form with three-pairs. Well, they just "altered" an already living life form but they proved that it can live with two extra types of DNA, and that doesn't EXIST on this planet. So it is alien.

It's not alien if it doesn't come from another world. It's just a genetically engineered organism. New species are being discovered every year.

This is a mildly interesting scientific breakthrough but let's not go around claiming they have created "alien" DNA as in an extraterrestrial.

If we every do discover a true alien that's going to be a big deal.

 

[Phelly2]

Sooo, I don't get it. Are they making a super E.Coli strand? Isn't E.Coli supposed to be quite dangerous?

I had the biggest crush on that chick for the longest time after that movie. Anyways does this mean we're gods now?

1) So did I!

2) No it doesn't. Because what we are doing is scientifically sound.

Gods only do things that humans do not yet understand. Once we understand them, Gods are redefined as being/doing something OTHER than that.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

Like famine.

Or earthquakes, hurricanes, and Ebola, Spanish flu, cholera, etc.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

I never disagreed with you just noted that you dont understand the concept of cause and effect and how that relates to free will.

Now please stop rambling.

If famine, war and atrocities committed by humans relate to free will where do you chalk up natural disasters and pandemics?

 

[Just a username]

If famine, war and atrocities committed by humans relate to free will where do you chalk up natural disasters and pandemics?

Or the existence of psychopathy. It's not like anyone chooses to become one.

 

[ZroC]

Do scientists not know what aliens are?

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

Or the existence of psychopathy. It's not like anyone chooses to become one.

The use of free will to explain atrocities committed by man is convenient when defending gods absence....but how can you possibly explain earthquakes, tsunamis or tornadoes....

Does god let that happen, are those people cursed, or upset god?

 

[Just a username]

The use of free will to explain atrocities committed by man is convenient when defending gods absence....but how can you possibly explain earthquakes, tsunamis or tornadoes....

Does god let that happen, are those people cursed, or upset god?

Sure, that's the strongest point of theodicy.

But why would God create people who lack a conscience and the ability to feel empathy? Psychopaths do have free will, but those are serious handicaps which likely lead them to hurt other people in pme way or another. That's a serious flaw in God's creation.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

Sure, that's the strongest point of theodicy.

But why would God create people who lack a conscience and the ability to feel empathy? Psychopaths do have free will, but those are serious handicaps which likely lead them to hurt other people in pme way or another. That's a serious flaw in God's creation.

I don't remember where I read it...but some theologian argued that sociopaths/psychopaths don't have souls....then why would god allow them to be born...or is satan in the picture?

 

[Just a username]

I don't remember where I read it...but some theologian argued that sociopaths/psychopaths don't have souls....then why would god allow them to be born...or is satan in the picture?

I thought every human was able to be blessed by God's love and worthy of redemption according to Christianity. Seems strange that it would apply for those without souls.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

I for one welcome our new E.Coli super DNA overlords.