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The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

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Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#121

Post by imachine1980_ »

gptgpp wrote: post #118
GTP wrote: post #94

Earlier 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…

I'm inclined to agree with you; the thought of just "some dude" mucking about with the genetics of a virus is horrifying. And yet, computers are extremely powerful tools, arguably the most powerful we have created. And look what free access to them has accomplished... Sure, it has caused quite a bit of cyber crime, but it's all balanced out by a massive amount of open and freely exchanged innovation. Now imagine an a…

You can't kill yourself writing c++ code, a buggy local server means your webpage is down, you aren't advocating for making your own insulin analyzer firmware, and using it for people whiout diabetes symptoms.

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#122

Post by staunton »

karaterobot wrote: post #110
staunton wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> The hard part is getting and enriching uranium. That is an important part though.

Which was exactly my point: you can't argue that "wide access to biotechnology will do no harm, after all, people haven't started building nukes in their back yard".

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#124

Post by gptgpp »

GTP wrote: post #100
josalhor wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 ha…

I mean... regulations are actually a lot more flexible than you're implying.

I was looking to wire up some solar panels to a cottage in the countryside. Since municipal regulations didn't apply, provincial ones did, which were that if you've built the structure for your own occupancy and follow the electrical code, this is completely legal.

So the code applies, but it's not restricted to trained electricians in some cases.

Same goes for drugs in much of the world. Personally I think it's a little ridiculous people need to get a script for stuff like viagra or tretinoin or finasteride.

It becomes almost farcical when online clinics exist which will do a consultation without obtaining medical records or even seeing you via video and write you a script. Or that celebrities can get private doctors who will write them whatever. Or when you consider most countries outside NA and the EU where you can get pretty much whatever you want OTC.

Not to mention you can order TONS of different research chemicals and "nootropics", completely legally, online.

If you were to pass a regulation that was essentially "only registered genetic engineers can experiment in any way with this" it would be way more restrictive than anything we have for pharmaceuticals, or even domestic electricity.

What you're suggesting would be on par with regulations for nuclear technology. IDK seems maybe a bit excessive...

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#126

Post by gptgpp »

imachine1980_ wrote: post #121
gptgpp wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm inclined to agree with you; the thought of just "some dude" mucking about with the genetics of a virus is horrifying. And yet, computers are extremely powerful tools, arguably the most powerful we have created. And look what free access to them has accomplished... Sure, it has caused quite a bit of cyber crime, but it's all balanced out by a massive amount of open and freely exchanged innovation. Now imagine an a…

You can't kill yourself writing c++ code, a buggy local server means your webpage is down, you aren't advocating for making your own insulin analyzer firmware, and using it for people whiout diabetes symptoms.

You can absolutely kill yourself writing C++ code...

To my shame, I almost did when I was fucking around with a microcontroller hooked up to some fairly powerful motors.

Not everyone uses code to make smartphone apps and video games, or computer applications. A vast amount is used to control everything from your car to your toaster :/

edit: Oh, I also botched the charging for some lithium ion cells and caused them to combust.

Shit, now I feel like I'm refuting your point about death-by-C++, but also supporting that we need more regulations to protect against idiots like myself.

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#128

Post by Georgelemental »

eternityforest wrote: post #28
sockaddr wrote: post #10

> 70% of the world’s population was killed by NEOBOLA-26 but at least they signed the EULA. I’m making fun, but this is one class of knowledge I’m worried about. However, outlawing it doesn’t seem like a solution either.

We need some way to detect germs in realtime, without knowing in advance what they are, so people can evacuate buildings that have them. There's gotta be some miniature electron microscope that can look at viruses in the air or something, right?

Electron microscopes can only see atoms with lots of electrons (high atomic number). So to observe a biological specimen with one, you need to coat the sample with heavy metals first

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#129

Post by codeguro »

stevemadere wrote: post #112

To all the folks who are so concerned about bad actors trying to develop organisms that will harm people: Have you forgotten that the world is full of bad actors who are literally trying to eat people? There are not merely thousands of them but hundreds of trillions of them. They spend all day long everyday trying to find a random path to something that can eat you. It is the height of hubris to imagine that humans c…

> Have you forgotten that the world is full of bad actors who are literally trying to eat people?

Your premise here is false. If X thing is bad, a number of other people doing it doesn’t make it OK. If anything, it makes it worse, not better. If all your friends jumped off the edge of a cliff to suicide, would you do it?

Re: The Odin – DIY genetic engineering

#130

Post by catskul2 »

karaterobot wrote: post #110
staunton wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> The hard part is getting and enriching uranium. That is an important part though.

I think that's the point they were making.
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