Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

lanternbioworks.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 312 posts

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#211

Post by Auracle »

tashoecraft wrote: post #184
luminouslow wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just cant take this seriously. Why are Americans so afraid of death?

I honestly can’t think of a dumber take. Longevity isn’t really about adding more years. No one wants to live another 10,20,30 more years how we currently do. But, if you can improve everyone’s health span, the amount of healthy, able bodies years, why wouldn’t you? It would be a great relief to our health care system. People can spend more time doing what they love without worrying about their body giving out on the…

I'll raise my hand and say I'll gladly live another 30, 300, or 3,000 years longer than we currently do. Why in the hell would I want to cease existing?

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#212

Post by apsec112 »

kelnos wrote: post #209
apsec112 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! These are friends of mine. There is much more detail in the Google Drive (linked from the About page): https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/18ZDSe92LgLmS0sUb...

Sorry, but we don't know you either, so a word-of-mouth referral doesn't tell us much here. The Google Drive link doesn't provide anything substantive, like links to peer-reviewed, published research.

This comment describes the research: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37635401

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#213

Post by justsomehnguy »

karaterobot wrote: post #199
boredpeter wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$20k per dose Jesus H Christ. Rent seeking galore. Hopefully the patent has run out by now and others can get in on the action and make it affordable. There’s no way in hell this could possibly cost $20k. Is capitalism ever going to produce innovation that’s affordable to regular people again and not just benefiting the profiteering VC parasite class?

> Is capitalism ever going to produce innovation that’s affordable to regular people again and not just benefiting the profiteering VC parasite class? No way, those capitalist parasites will never make anything affordable. Sent from my iPhone On an IKEA sofa Drinking coffee from another hemisphere

Hardware sales are not the primary revenue stream for Apple, it's services. Would iPhone be the same if there was no need to sell iCloud and iTunes?

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#214

Post by nemo44x »

adastra22 wrote: post #76
nemo44x wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s a fair price? Spending well over $20k on dental work over a lifetime is easy for many people. Adjust for inflation and it’s a steal. Cavities often lead to eventual root canals which require a crown which one day will probably require an extraction and a dental post and prosthetic tooth. That is probably around $8k or more for a single tooth at todays rates.

The time-value of money means the adjustment goes the other way. $20k is absolutely insane. That’s three times the cost of a full orthodontic treatment. They’ll get a handful of customers, if that. $2k is more likely as a price point for mass adoption.

Healthcare (including dental) costs have outpaced inflation though. The price of all those procedures is likely to increase more than inflation.

Similar to how it would be a bargain to have paid for a college education today 20 years ago.

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#215

Post by kelnos »

IshKebab wrote: post #179
jozvolskyef wrote: post #109

A conversation with my friend who was a dentistry student, ~2013. > [The friend, let's call her L, trying to dissuade me from drinking some fizzy drink] > J: But I won't get a cavity if the liquid doesn't touch my teeth. > L: Cavities are caused by the ensuing low ph environment, not by contact with teeth > J: Does that mean I can drink as much of it as I want as long as I rinse my mouth with water afterwards? > L, w…

> one on most years What?! Did you never brush your teeth or something? That's an insane rate.

Genetics seems to be weird when it comes to teeth.

I (foolishly) stopped seeing a dentist at all after college. I finally managed to force myself to go around 15 years later. My enamel was worn down, my teeth discolored (not terribly, but noticeably), and my gums were not in great shape, but I ended up with only two cavities that needed to be drilled and filled. After resuming regular dental visits, my teeth are fine. My general oral hygiene prior to that was ok, but not great (2x daily brushing most of the time & mouthwash, very occasional flossing).

A friend of mine does everything right: mostly avoids sugary foods, brushes after meals), mouthwash, flossing, and he goes to the dentist every 4 or 6 months for a cleaning. But he still has many dental issues to deal with, and has had quite a few cavities filled.

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#216

Post by nemo44x »

LegitShady wrote: post #101
nemo44x wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s a fair price? Spending well over $20k on dental work over a lifetime is easy for many people. Adjust for inflation and it’s a steal. Cavities often lead to eventual root canals which require a crown which one day will probably require an extraction and a dental post and prosthetic tooth. That is probably around $8k or more for a single tooth at todays rates.

thats not the way this works. Paying $20k over a lifetime vs an up front $20k payment means the up front $20k payment also includes the opportunity cost of the interest made - your up front payment of $20k is much more valuable than $20k over 60 or 70 years. That same $20k might be a large part of a downpayment on a mortgage and you'd get back many more times the value than if you spent it on your teeth all at once.

Right but the price of dental work goes up in price over time too. And healthcare has dramatically outpaced inflation.

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#217

Post by tashoecraft »

Auracle wrote: post #211
tashoecraft wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly can’t think of a dumber take. Longevity isn’t really about adding more years. No one wants to live another 10,20,30 more years how we currently do. But, if you can improve everyone’s health span, the amount of healthy, able bodies years, why wouldn’t you? It would be a great relief to our health care system. People can spend more time doing what they love without worrying about their body giving out on the…

I'll raise my hand and say I'll gladly live another 30, 300, or 3,000 years longer than we currently do. Why in the hell would I want to cease existing?

I was referring to how a lot of the elderly live where they have no community, their body is shot, their mind is going, and modern medicine just keeps them in pain longer (if you were commenting directly to me)

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#218

Post by kelnos »

luminouslow wrote: post #139
unsupp0rted wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ray Kurzweil will outlive us all, if taking 200 pills a day works: https://www.wired.com/2008/03/ff-kurzweil/#:~:text=He%20is%2... .

I just cant take this seriously. Why are Americans so afraid of death?

As a big science fiction fan who has been reading his whole life about fantastical possible futures for humanity, I'm not so much afraid of death as just super bummed that I'm going to miss out on things like exploring the solar system and hopefully beyond. The universe is such a mind-bogglingly fascinating place, and we know so little about it. I'm intensely curious to know how that's all going to pan out.

That is, if humanity doesn't destroy itself before then.

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#219

Post by LegitShady »

nemo44x wrote: post #216
LegitShady wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats not the way this works. Paying $20k over a lifetime vs an up front $20k payment means the up front $20k payment also includes the opportunity cost of the interest made - your up front payment of $20k is much more valuable than $20k over 60 or 70 years. That same $20k might be a large part of a downpayment on a mortgage and you'd get back many more times the value than if you spent it on your teeth all at once.

Right but the price of dental work goes up in price over time too. And healthcare has dramatically outpaced inflation.

Sure, but you're literally throwing an opportunity to own property which historically is the best possible return to get preventive work done on your teeth. And not all healthcare is the same, so I'm not even sure dental costs are rising at the same rate as "healthcare".

Re: Gene-Engineered Mouth Bacteria

#220

Post by jjallen »

brokencode wrote: post #165
hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the rinsing needed, strictly speaking? Is there something special about spitting the water out afterwards instead of e.g. swallowing it?

Who said they spat it out? Rinse doesn’t necessarily imply spitting something out. You spit out mouth wash after rinsing because you can’t drink mouth wash. But sugary water is something you can drink.

Yeah I don't necessarily spit it out. It's getting it off of your teeth that is the important thing.

Your stomach is already full of whatever it is you just ate. 0.1% more from whatever remains in your mouth is not going to hurt it.

Post reply on HN