Synthetic Life Has Been Streamlined And Is Ready To Be Put To Work - Newsy

[yuiyoshida]

[smiley]

1. This has huge implications...

that I find both amazing and terrifying all at the same time.

You always have interesting posts.

[yuiyoshida]

3. what could go wrong?

[forest444]

5. What indeed.

[downeastdaniel]

2. Potentionlly very prone to jumping off the tracks and losing control...be careful.

[newthinking]

4. We are not ready for this.

We don't even fully understand how all the genes work together yet we are going to fool with the foundation blocks of life anyways. Idiocy.

[valerief]

6. It's no dumber than using fossil fuels for our energy sources. nt

[AdHocSolver]

9. Letting loose genetically modified organisms is far dumber than your example of fossil fuels.

There is still the ability to reduce the burning of fossil fuels by replacing them with solar, wind, and less polluting renewable energy sources.

Creating microbes in the laboratory through experimentation, when you only half-know what you are doing, could wind up creating a "demon" microbe that has unintended consequences that becomes totally out of control.

The over use of antibiotics, that led to antibiotic resistant microbes, is one of the first examples that comes to mind.

[valerief]

10. If it's so easy to replace fossil fuels, why hasn't it been done? I don't think it's that easy.

TPTB won't allow it. And the planet cooks like the frog in the pot. While fossil fuels are killing us, the GMO organisms may kill us (but probably will). Either way, we're cooked, because there will always be stupid men with guns defending the whims of TPTB.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. The main risk is accidentally creating a virus.

[AdHocSolver]

8. This post reminds me of the story of Pandora's box.

These people know a lot less about what they are doing than what they want you to believe.

The improper use and overuse of antibiotics led to strains of antibiotic resistant microbes or "super bugs" such as MRSA.

There are already problems with genetically modified organisms getting "loose" in the wild and modifying existing organisms in unanticipated ways.

Moreover, all the hacking going on does not bode well for security at these research outfits.

These issues will add to the problems we already have with pollution, global climate change, nuclear waste. and more.