Posted on 04/19/2008 5:31:26 PM PDT by Aristotelian
Researchers will gather in London this week to outline plans to promote one of the most audacious, and controversial, scientific ideas of the 21st century - synthetic biology.
The new discipline, established by scientists such as human genome pioneer Craig Venter, involves stripping microbes down to their basic genetic constituents so they can be reassembled and manipulated to create new life forms. These organisms can then be exploited to manufacture drugs and fuels or to act as bio-sensors inside the body.
However, some researchers warn that synthetic biology - which is accelerating at a dramatic pace - also poses dangers. In particular, they fear it may already be possible to create deadly pathogens, such as polio or smallpox viruses, from pieces of synthetic DNA ordered over the internet. In future, completely new - and highly dangerous - microbes could be made this way.
'The major biotechnology companies that sell these DNA segments are careful to try to monitor their sale,' said Dr Philipp Holliger, of Cambridge University's Laboratory of Molecular Biology. 'Nevertheless, it is clear we need to have this field properly monitored.'
The crucial point, said Holliger, who will be speaking at this week's conference, Engineering Life, is that 'scientists are now learning how to design life down to the last letter. We don't know enough to be sophisticated as yet but our knowledge is increasing all the time.'
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Can you say “tower of babel” little nitwit?
Well, mud is created by rain and soil mixed together. And rain is created by condensation of clouds and soil is created from breakdown of rocks. Clouds are created by evaporation and rocks are created from millions of years of pressure.
My point is that what you can argue for is that God created the Big Bang, which created time, matter, and energy. The rest is history, of course.
I don’t take religious justification for the material world seriously. Scriptures do not explain we can see, feel, and measure, because people who wrote those did not understand science.
No, “mud” is not “nothing” - it is mud. I mean start from “nothing” in the sense that before there was creation. THAT is nothing.
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