Science on verge of new `Creation'

Chicago Tribune ^ | 3-38-04 | Ronald Kotulak

[dogbyte12]

More than 3.5 billion years after nature transformed non-living matter into living things, populating Earth with a cornucopia of animals and plants, scientists say they are finally ready to try their hand at creating life.

If they succeed, humanity will enter a new age of "living technology," where harnessing the power of life to spontaneously adapt to complex situations could solve problems that now defy modern engineering.

"There's nothing we could make that could compete with the predators that are out there and have had 3 billion years to evolve," he said. "Bacteria eat anything. They eat jet fuel, oil deposits, chlorinated hydrocarbons, anything. They will eat anything that we put out there to compete with them."

Another safeguard scientists are designing to provide total control over artificial cells is to make their lives dependent on chemicals that do not exist in the environment. Withdrawing the critical chemicals would result in the death of the cells, particularly if they should escape into the environment.

[dogbyte12]

Isn't that a little too Jurassic Park? Remember, the dinos were made lysine deficient so they couldn't run amock? Life imitating fiction?

[AntiGuv]

I hate excerpts.

[Riley]

"Bacteria eat anything. They eat jet fuel, oil deposits, chlorinated hydrocarbons, anything.

As long as it's free.

I must be a bacterium.

[jla]

Science on verge of new `Creation'

"I hate excerpts."

LOL

[samtheman]

What could go wrong?

:)

[Riley]

I hate excerpts.

A lot of people do. We had a thread discussing this with Jim, and the list of content providers that have legally injuncted FR against posting full articles is quite lengthy.

Most folks don't want to have to study the whole list everytime they post so it's easier for the poster, and safer for Free Republic to excerpt by default. I don't like it either, but I'd rather deal with that than seeing FR get sued again.

[farmfriend]

.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

LOL

[SpyGuy]

"Bacteria eat anything. They eat jet fuel, oil deposits, chlorinated hydrocarbons, anything. They will eat anything that we put out there to compete with them."

Can we get them to eat Liberals?

[KeepRight]

I thought it interesting how the article begins presuming that "3.5 billion years" ago, "nature transformed non-living matter into living things, populating Earth with a cornucopia of animals and plants." I was under the impression that those were theories concerning the origin of life, not quite scientific fact!

And what are they doing feeding jet fuel to bacteria or whatever? That's why gas prices are skyrocketing. Oh well, I suppose we'll just go exchange some more blood for oil, again. (sarcasm.)

[RandallFlagg]

Naaah! Too chewy. Not any spine.

[AntiGuv]

It's not so much that I mind the extra click; it's that I can't bookmark the article for posterity (FR often keeps things archived online much longer than does the original source).

This seems like an apt topic to mention my excerpt disdain. :)

[Riley]

Sometimes, when some particular source article particularly strikes me, I will save it into an archive on my computer, specifying .mht as the filetype. That way, it gets all of the graphics and links and so forth, as a single file. (This is with Internet Explorer, btw)

[dogbyte12]

Let me point out on my behalf that I tried posting the whole article, but then the software said there is an injuction and forced me to excerpt. I never excerpt unless made to do so.

[CrazyIvan]

Can we get them to eat Liberals?

If we can get them to do that and, uh, "reliever themselves" of 100 octane gas we've got the perfect life form.

[dogbyte12]

Seriesly, you do have a point.

If they can actually do this safely and make designer bacteria that eat up things that we want only, it might be a good thing.

Perhaps making some that are sterile that eat styrofoam and break it down into something safer, etc.

[Riley]

I wasn't aware that there was some sort of injunction-discriminator in place. Thank you for that.

[PatrickHenry]

PING. [This list is for the evolution side of evolution threads, and some other science topics like cosmology. Long-time list members get all pings, but can request evo-only status. New additions will be evo-only, but can request all pings. FReepmail me to be added or dropped. Specify all pings or you'll get evo-pings only.]