Just want to say, I wish every site had a text.foo.com version like this that was accessible/readable and ad-free. What a pleasure.
Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
11–20 of 35 posts
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#12Just FYI to potential future researches: if you go through my stuff and dig up my corpse it better not be because "we thought it'd be cool".
It's not your corpse. It's a corpse, you've left it.
And in this case his corpse was left to a still-extant body of friars:
“Local religious leaders consulted with Augustinians in Prague, their bishop, and finally Augustinians in Rome. Eventually, permission was granted.”
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#13Hmm this makes me feel uneasy - why did they do it? Apart from the "hey cool! We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? Sure now you know his genetics predisposed him to diabetes... Was that worth exhuming his body for? What will they do at 250 years? Dig him up again for selfies?
Agree. As a geneticist I have to say this is both scientifically vapid and ethically wrong. Mendel did not consent to this. Just like Henrietta Lacks did not know or consent to her tumor being used for research (which includes sequencing). Given how much bad publicity the biomedical research without consent has attracted this PR stunt is baffling and plain stupid. Poor Mendel.
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#142023 Movie: Genetics Park
A pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned geneticist to run loose.
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#15Just want to say, I wish every site had a text.foo.com version like this that was accessible/readable and ad-free. What a pleasure.
NPR gives me hope for humanity. Don't forgot to donate.
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#16Hmm this makes me feel uneasy - why did they do it? Apart from the "hey cool! We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? Sure now you know his genetics predisposed him to diabetes... Was that worth exhuming his body for? What will they do at 250 years? Dig him up again for selfies?
He was the father of modern genetics. Isn't it possible that this is a way to celebrate his accomplishments? By understanding the man using the very tools he provided the foundational discoveries for?
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#17Hmm this makes me feel uneasy - why did they do it? Apart from the "hey cool! We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? Sure now you know his genetics predisposed him to diabetes... Was that worth exhuming his body for? What will they do at 250 years? Dig him up again for selfies?
at what point do people stop caring about this kind of thing? 300 years? 500? a thousand? a few thousand?
in reality it doesn’t matter and this outrage is irrational sentimentality
when I die, you can throw my bones to the wild, but make sure to give me a stick to fight off the dogs
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#18Hmm this makes me feel uneasy - why did they do it? Apart from the "hey cool! We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? Sure now you know his genetics predisposed him to diabetes... Was that worth exhuming his body for? What will they do at 250 years? Dig him up again for selfies?
Agreed! There should be a better way to give tribute. Maybe a way to encourage more people to design and conduct experiments diligently, encourage curiosity among young children. So many other ways to honor the scientific mind without exhuming the body.
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#19Just want to say, I wish every site had a text.foo.com version like this that was accessible/readable and ad-free. What a pleasure.
indeed. I also have https://lite.cnn.com/en but in general it seems rare.
Re: Scientists dug up Gregor Mendel and analyzed his DNA
#20Hmm this makes me feel uneasy - why did they do it? Apart from the "hey cool! We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? Sure now you know his genetics predisposed him to diabetes... Was that worth exhuming his body for? What will they do at 250 years? Dig him up again for selfies?
> We sequenced Mendel's DNA!" what was the actual point? The article addresses that. Indeed, before I read the article, I too was tempted to write an angry dismissal. However, their approach and reasoning were very respectful. It was less about curiosity than honoring the fellow for his contribution to human knowledge. If they managed to enlist the support of the Augustinians themselves, I'm certain that we can entir…
Jeez you got really hung up over someone having the audacity to hit the comments with a reply before reading.