Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

[MassNole]

Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell - Designer microbes could eventually eat pollution

This sounds really, really big.

[SPTO]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Yeah I was watching a segment on CBC News Now about this. The implications are HUGE. According to the CBC's science expert the applications for these living cells would be mind boggling for the medical field. The cells would be used to cure diseases, help bring dead tissue and such to life and even in other areas unrelated to medicine, one such application would be to program the cells to eat up oil in the case of an oil spill.

The only thing that worries me is the whole creating life from whole cloth but that's going to be a loooong way away but this is the first step in that direction.

[allBthere]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

I had another take on it, one that's a bit less distopia and more utopian.

along the lines of the oil spill thing, we could become bio-mechanical dependent species instead of just mechanical. We may benefit greatly this way, especially since we're depleting finite resources, we could live in a more harmonious way with other life forms including ourselves more intimately with living things.

In any case, it was interesting - but still a long way away from altering our way of life. That other thread about the nano tech curing cancer was huge too.

I think the world and the way it will be when we're all long gone will be much stranger than we can ever imagine

[slickdtc]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

I think the world and the way it will be when we're all long gone will be much stranger than we can ever imagine.

Absolutely. Just think about the last 20-ish years. Cell phones, computers, internet, video games, iPods, iPads, etc. All that technology. Time machine to the 80's or 70's and the everyday things we use would be considered alien technology. "How do all those songs fit into that little contraption?"

Yeah, the world in 20 years... it's going to be wild.

[Cusefan]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

With Today's scientific breakthroughs, it is really not to far fetched that Humans could potentially live forever in the Not so distant future.

The Real problem is that in all likelihood we will discover how to keep humans alive indefinitely before we discover how to colonize another planet...

[superjames1992]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

With Today's scientific breakthroughs, it is really not to far fetched that Humans could potentially live forever in the Not so distant future.

The Real problem is that in all likelihood we will discover how to keep humans alive indefinitely before we discover how to colonize another planet...

Population is always limited one way or another. Even if we manage to extend human life to 150+ years, our population will be trimmed somehow, probably by a nuclear war, famine, ect.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Silly humans, always moving towards the discovery that will end us all.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Population is always limited one way or another. Even if we manage to extend human life to 150+ years, our population will be trimmed somehow, probably by a nuclear war, famine, ect.

Every population has a carrying capacity. We just haven't found/reached ours yet. There is no such thing as unlimited resources.

[SPTO]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Every population has a carrying capacity. We just haven't found/reached ours yet. There is no such thing as unlimited resources.

Um....6.5 Billion people on this world right now with 2/3rds starving and/or living in deplorable conditions.

I'd say we reached our carrying capacity a LOOOONG time ago.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Um....6.5 Billion people on this world right now with 2/3rds starving and/or living in deplorable conditions.

I'd say we reached our carrying capacity a LOOOONG time ago.

Not entirely accurate. We have enough resources...the problem is the distribution of it. Not that I'm advocating socialism, but therein lies the problem.

[SPTO]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Not entirely accurate. We have enough resources...the problem is the distribution of it. Not that I'm advocating socialism, but therein lies the problem.

Gotcha I was talking in terms of how the world is today. I agree with you though.

[Jistic]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Living forever....would be boring. Use a cheat code in any videogame that gives you god mode, and it's just not fun anymore.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Living forever....would be boring. Use a cheat code in any videogame that gives you god mode, and it's just not fun anymore.

You just don't wanna wait until 2474 for the Cubs to win a World Series.

[Cebby]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Um....6.5 Billion people on this world right now with 2/3rds starving and/or living in deplorable conditions.

I'd say we reached our carrying capacity a LOOOONG time ago.

No we haven't. We're not remotely close to running out of land or resources.

Also, 2/3s of people aren't legitimately starving. A large number of people may be undernourished by Western standards, but that's not starving. Same thing with living conditions. Would I want to live in those states? Hell no. Are they better than the conditions most people were living in 100-200 years ago? Easily.

[superjames1992]

Re: Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

Um....6.5 Billion people on this world right now with 2/3rds starving and/or living in deplorable conditions.

I'd say we reached our carrying capacity a LOOOONG time ago.

Yeah, but those places with poor living conditions are the places with the fastest population growth. Developing and third-world countries have rather explosive population growth while growth in the West has slowed down (or even stopped in some countries) over the recent years.

There seems to be a correlation between wealth and having less children.

If you look at countries ranked by population growth rate according to the UN (LINK), the first non-developing country to appear is the United Arab Emirates at #19. The first European/Western country to appear is Ireland at #69. The United States is #131 and the UK is #170.

Good 'ole third-world countries like Liberia, Burundi, and Afghanistan top the list.

There also seems to be some issue with producing children in the old Soviet Block with the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Estonia, Romania, ect. all sporting negative growth rates.