> Plasmids inserted into agrobacterium can move into plant leaves through horizontal gene transfer.
So Bioshock was right all along.
The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
91–100 of 166 posts
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Engineering “bad stuff” with kits like this is virtually impossible. Synthetic biology is still difficult and expensive, and what can be done without a large budget for massive , robotically automated trial and error is still very limited. That said, to help evolve antibiotic resistant bacteria all you have to do is not properly finish a course of antibiotics.
You are underestimating how easy it is to email a lab service to synthesise a plasmid for you... Just first hit from google is this place in the EU https://eurofinsgenomics.eu/en/gene-synthesis-molecular-biol... But you can find them in less scrupulous countries with less well trained people, and in general it's widespread as a service. Almost nothing is done to actually check for how dangerous what's being produced…
I don’t think so, as a synthetic biologist I usually need to iterate hundreds of plasmid designs minimum to get even simple novel pathways working. What are you going to put on that plasmid that will be dangerous, and how? What are the chances it will work?
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Careful, you're at risk of being chained to a rock in a cave, with poison dripped on your head for an age...
At PLATO, we believe the future is going to be dominated by caves and people sitting in them, observing shadows will be a big part of that.
rotfl :-)
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#94As a parent of a child with a genetic disorder for which it is perfectly possible to develop a therapy using current technology, I'm delighted to see that biohackers are stirring things up. Let's hope this inspires the industry to rethink their approach to drug development.
I'm sorry for your child, but I'm not delighted. The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics. And this is what I take issue with. Sure genetic engineering has a lot of potential and could be used even to treat your child, but as every powerful tool, it has to be used by capable hands. Putting it freely in the hands of people that don't fully understand it (and I'm myself into that group) has the potential of creating great damages.
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, so that's what Odin is doing. Ensuring a safe, ethical future for our children. Autonomous weapons will literally be the result of our desires. Their absence could be as well, depending on what we do next. Making them go the way of bioweapons, blinding lasers or the neutron bomb will also require effective coordinated regulation, political will and cultural pressure, including publicly shaming those that seek to…
It doesn't work like this. If there is a war, there is always a possibility for it to escalate to an existential war. If there is an existential war, every possible weapon will be developed to the greatest extent possible to ensure the survival of your side. "The regulation" doesn't work when your country is attacked by an aggressor, and there are aggressors out there. So, unless there is a global world peace forever…
I take your point but it's removed from saying the "There will be autonomous weapon platforms everywhere regardless of our desires". As you say, "If there is an existential war", all bets may be off. Then maybe then we didn't desire peace enough.
But that doesn't take the responsibility of us to call out and shame unethical and careless misuse of technology as it arises. Fatalism isn't good enough.
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#96As a parent of a child with a genetic disorder for which it is perfectly possible to develop a therapy using current technology, I'm delighted to see that biohackers are stirring things up. Let's hope this inspires the industry to rethink their approach to drug development.
I'm sorry for your child, but I'm not delighted. The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics. And this is what I take issue with. Sure genetic engineering has a…
> The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics.
You mean the documentary unnatural selection. I have seen it, but I recall something quite different. He did infact advocate that at some point people will use this technology without understanding it. It surely feels like a premature opinion, but in retrospect people use many life changing technologies without understanding them either
Does everyone understand what they eat? how electricity works? how their smartphone works? the drugs their doctor prescribes?
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#97As a parent of a child with a genetic disorder for which it is perfectly possible to develop a therapy using current technology, I'm delighted to see that biohackers are stirring things up. Let's hope this inspires the industry to rethink their approach to drug development.
I'm sorry for your child, but I'm not delighted. The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics. And this is what I take issue with. Sure genetic engineering has a…
Starting from a baseline of people being able to make rational choices that further their own goals, who cares? Just don't go out of your way to make it seem safer than it is, and let people captain their lives through whatever risks they see fit.
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#98Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's also really difficult though. Just like people building their own nuclear bombs hasn't been a major worry. The real issue is the CIA, FSB, etc. doing it deliberately.
There's a difference. Building a nuke is actually really easy [1]. The hard part is getting and enriching uranium. For the bio stuff, you only need some lab equipment, where there's no reason why it wouldn't get really cheap and easy to procure. [1]: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/24/usa.science
But it still took the best physicists in the world with unlimited resources almost a decade to do so...
That article is a nice thought experiment, but they didn't actually build it.
Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sorry for your child, but I'm not delighted. The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics. And this is what I take issue with. Sure genetic engineering has a…
> The guy that you can see in one of the pictures drinking from a glass recipient was in a Netflix documentary (I can't remember the title from top of my mind) where he was advocating for everyone being able to use genetic engineering for self-improvement, even without any previous knowledge of genetics. You mean the documentary unnatural selection. I have seen it, but I recall something quite different. He did infac…
>Does everyone understand what they eat? how electricity works? how their smartphone works? the drugs their doctor prescribes?
True, but you always have to balance them with the potential issues that could arise. I don't understand how drugs works, and that's why I need a doctor's prescription to take them. Many people don't know much about electricity, and that's why there are laws regulating how electric wirings have to be made and that say that only trained electricians can do wirings in homes. Many people don't understand how smartphones work, but what's the greatest damage that can result from this and how likely is it to happen?