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New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

sciencealert.com

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Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#22
post #13

> "The other reason we don't need to be freaking out, says Romesberg, is that these molecules have not been designed to work at all in complex organisms, and seeing as they're like nothing found in nature, there's little chance that this could get wildly out of hand." This is how the plot of every horror/disaster movie starts.

I'm no expert, but aren't there non-complex organisms and structures that are pretty dangerous? "Brain Eating Amoeba", Prions, and so forth...

Recently on HN: a "Cursed City of the Monkey God" features flesh-eating bacteri! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13396968

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#24

Star Trek depicted one of the scarier applications of such a technology: There, The Jem'Hadaar are a genetically engineered race of warriors controlled by the Dominion, who exert power over them by being the sole provider of a substance (Ketracel-White) that they need in order to survive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_(Star_Trek) http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Ketracel-white If my reading of the paper is…

That was also part of the plot of the original Jurassic Park novel. The dinosaurs were [edit][edit]bred[/edit][/edit] with a need for lysine.

The dinosaurs were bread?? The film never showed the bakery!

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#25

Star Trek depicted one of the scarier applications of such a technology: There, The Jem'Hadaar are a genetically engineered race of warriors controlled by the Dominion, who exert power over them by being the sole provider of a substance (Ketracel-White) that they need in order to survive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_(Star_Trek) http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Ketracel-white If my reading of the paper is…

I just watched an old X Files episode (season 1) apparently aliens have six base pairs.

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#26
Can the organism replicate the XY pairs during DNA replication (and pass it on to divided cells)? I haven't seen that mentioned, only that it "holds onto it for its entire lifespan" which is not clear to me.

There's also nothing about the interaction of these pairs with existing mechanisms, like transcription (DNA-->RNA) and translation (RNA-->protein). Could the new new pair increase the space of aminoacids from which proteins can be formed?

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was also part of the plot of the original Jurassic Park novel. The dinosaurs were [edit][edit]bred[/edit][/edit] with a need for lysine.

The dinosaurs were bread?? The film never showed the bakery!

autocorrect and I have a strained relationship

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#28

Star Trek depicted one of the scarier applications of such a technology: There, The Jem'Hadaar are a genetically engineered race of warriors controlled by the Dominion, who exert power over them by being the sole provider of a substance (Ketracel-White) that they need in order to survive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_(Star_Trek) http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Ketracel-white If my reading of the paper is…

That was also part of the plot of the original Jurassic Park novel. The dinosaurs were [edit][edit]bred[/edit][/edit] with a need for lysine.

bred* :)

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was also part of the plot of the original Jurassic Park novel. The dinosaurs were [edit][edit]bred[/edit][/edit] with a need for lysine.

The dinosaurs were bread?? The film never showed the bakery!

You made me laugh out loud. Thank you for bringing humour to hackernews.

Re: New organisms have been formed using the first ever 6-letter genetic code

#30

Very interesting. I like how about half the article was about reassurance that this won't lead to out of control monsters. Along with the recent article about pig embryos, I wonder if the not-too-distant future will lead to bizarre custom pets, like something out of the Spore video game.

When I was very young I spoke with a man who informed me in no uncertain terms that the digital age was old news and the next big thing would be bio-entertainment.
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