A Genetic Manhattan Project?

The Minority Report ^ | 24 October, 2007 | .cnI redruM

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

ping for future (if this leads to comments about designer babies, and not direct racism).

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Would put Einstein on a much higher level than Watson. Einstein theorized about things on a level that while in one sense could be observed, in another sense were not easily observable. Watson had a lot of help—much of the discovery went to Rosalind Franklin, from whom Watson and Crick stole a critical clue to the structure of DNA. His stealing and not giving credit actually illustrates something about his moral character, if not his intellectual one.

[.cnI redruM]

I willingly gave Watson credit for his science. I’ll generally give someone the benefit of the doubt on that, unless they put their indecency on display, the way Watson did on his racial views. Given the other things Watson has said, it doesn’t shock me to find out he works the way Senator Biden writes campaign speeches.

[shrinkermd]

People are angry with Watson because he disagreed with their egalitarian faith.

[.cnI redruM]

Count me as one of them.

[Dead Corpse]

Dr. Manhattan?

[Aliska]

I didn't know he stole it. I thought Rosalind was freely sharing her spectography photos with Watson and Crick. Still I never felt she was given the credit she was due. They could not have had the breakthrough when they did without her work, and Linus Pauling was hot on their tails in America. They were in a race to be first. Someone else would have figured it out; they just happened to get it first.

Also, one of them majored in ornithology, can't remember which. So he went into the project totally unprepared (which is inspiring one one level), relying on mathematical expertise there at I believe it was Oxford, been awhile since I read The Double Helix.

[wbill]

Generic Manhattan Project? Would that be a nuclear device with a barcode on it, with a little label that says "bomb"?

...Ok, maybe you need to be from Maine to get it...

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

The story which have heard was that some of Rosalind’s research was stolen without consent. And that research was a large part toward leading to the discovery of DNA’s double helical structure.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Should be Franklin’s instead of Rosalind’s (last name used).

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Here it is: Franklin's colleague, Maurice Wilkins, gave data to Watson and Crick without Franklin's consent.

from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bofran.html.

Seems that Watson is off the hook--for this--for being thief.

Though, more on Watson and his view of women's beauty.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Considering Watson looks similar to Eleanor Roosevelt, he shouldn't be critical of ugly people.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

One word: Gattaca

See the movie, it will scare you where this can lead. All current technology used to be science fiction with a bit of imagination, time, and desire added. Someone even proposed genetically modified lethal diseases that would target a specific race or group. Not there yet, but don't doubt for a moment someone is looking at it...

Dubh

[.cnI redruM]

Available at Walmart, HAHAHA

[af_vet_rr]

Yeah, the potshots at Watson (and Watson deserves to be given grief) should not be the focus. What should scare the hell out of people is this:

Even without the map of the Human Genome, the intelligent application of Bayes Law and medical technology have combined to significantly increase the rate of Downs Syndrome detection. Many wonder whether this a decent application of probability theory and high technology.Over 90% of all fetuses testing positive are aborted soon after prenatal detection. This leaves people wondering whether we are improving the ability of new parents to prepare for a disabled child or just raising the number of abortions performed every year.

[.cnI redruM]

I sort of think this where we could head with this. It’s another way to leave no children behind.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

On the other hand, viruses could also be used to alter DNA. If an unborn baby is diagnosed with a genetic mutation for which many babies are being murdered each year, modified viruses could remove/replace the mutation to make that part of the genome 'normal.' If an 'intelligence' or 'stupidity' gene is found, genes could be altered so that the entire population has the 'intelligence gene.' Maybe even changes could be made to larger, already born, adult humans. Genetic modification holds both hope and threat.

It's a power, and power can be used for both good and evil; and it's the duty of the wielder of that power to use it responsibly.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

While a ‘giver of potshots’ to Watson (as you’ll see if you read more of the comments which have posted here), agree with you that children being aborted in droves annually because of genetic defects is a more pressing issue.

[Aliska]

Thanks for the info and links. They will shed more light on that part of it. I do remember a little skullduggery about getting the particular spectrographs that were instrumental in unravelling the molecular structure enigma.