Tampering With The D.N.A.
 

There is only so many things that can be done to DNA without Mutations. The process of Genetic Engineering or tampering with DNA is to pull apart sections of DNA and rearrange them to code for a different protein or by reconnecting Chromosomes together in a different sequence. However bring Mutations into the picture and nearly anything becomes possible to a point. Eg: Being able to recode a plant to code for the Enzyme Luciferase and it will glow

Proof :)

http://www.newscientist.com/data/ima....000-1_300.jpg

That has not been Photoshopped :p Completely real

~Skxawng

Do want :)
Myself, I'd love to get Na'vi genetic characteristics...

I want my own tail... :P

This.:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...se-do-want.jpg
That flower looks incredible! What's holding up production of those things?

Interesting times ahead for science.

I too want a tail :D

There is a problem with the modified plants that are biolumenescent, if they were to ever get into the wild, it could have disastrous effects for our ecosystem (although we would eventually have a forest like Pandora's, tough choice :P)

Also, I think much of the work will go into pinpointing the places in our DNA which make us susceptible to diseases and illnesses, maybe even the DNA Death-Clock to make our live longer...

Ohh, I like this! The plant looks awesome... :gshock:

Alright, well, I never shared my thoughts on all of this on the other thread on AF, since they go against the grain (I'm chicken sometimes)...so I'll trust you guys to hear me out, here. :)

Genetic modifications scare me a little, simply because biologic systems are *very* chaotic, and we have a pretty loose understanding of the whole process as it is, right now. There are many areas of the gene sequence we just don't fully understand (the example of telomeres and their potential to extend the body's life is one of them). We're manipulating things around and getting some really interesting results from it, but it's hard to say what the negative outcomes might be...right now, it's kind of down to trial and error.

I can't deny some of the thing we've come up with are pretty neat...the bioluminescent plants are pretty cool. :) But generally speaking, it feels like playing with fire, to me. Biological systems are just so complex, and there are very few hard and fast rules like there are in the other sciences. ;)

Anyway, just my take on it. I hope it's alright. :shy:

(I admit, it *would* be cool to have a tail...)

I think it is a fantastic idea to get into the DNA modification era but as stated previously in this thread, it is a very dangerous procedure and consideing we know so little of what the outcomes could be, I think we should practice it on other things first.

Now I'm totally against animal related testing but we eat plants all the time and I'm sure some would like to sacrafice themselves for DNA modification!
IF we go through with this (most likely), I think that they will test DNA modifications on monkeys and apes first (as their DNA is relatively similar).
They will almost guaranteed test DNA modification on animals first.

I think we are only within 50 years max of having DNA manipulation at our hands, when we want (probably very controlled for the public).

How long do you guys think it will be before we manage to get DNA manipulation for the public?

Yeah, tech advances at such a rate that buying a £1,250 processor will be 'out of date' in about a year.

Quad cores...they are like £100 now, they were thousands last year!

P.S Holy crap, R-D-A is online! I'm at college so I might not reply as much! :(

Thanks for reading. :) And of course, there's always a cost to any kind of research, unfortunately...it's just unavoidable. It *will* be interesting to see what branches of research will be developed, and the practical applications they'll have. I really do find the field fascinating, just feel the need for caution. ;)

Oh Eywa, I want a tail. And a billion of those flowers to plant in my backyard and frolic through :P But in all seriousness, this stuff sounds incredible. I can't wait to see where we'll be in 30-40 years :)

DO WANT :D
But what I REALLY want, more than anything else, is a queue :)

Of course! That goes without saying :P! The queue is definitely a necessity :)

Its a bold statement, but some futurists believe that our technological advance will just increase in speed and magnitude until we can create AI in a computer, that can create a smarter computer which can create an even smarter computer... you get the idea.

http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6...ooreslawai.jpg


The idea is great, because we all want to discover the holy grail and achieve immortality - Who wouldnt want to live on and see what happens in 100 years ? NASA Stated that they want manned shuttles on mars in 2030, so what happens after then ? Will we ever be able to develop Anti-matter rockets that boost our traveling speed so we can send props even further into space and such.... Will we ever find E.T ? I sure as hell want to be around to find out!

However, we already posses the power to destroy our world with explosivs, soon enough we might be able to wipe out our own world on a molecular level... its dangerous and we have to approach it with caution.
It's just im afraid someone will screw up eventually in order to make sure his name goes down in the great books along with einstein, bohr, newton, hubble and so on...( I gotta present this before anyone else, i can test if its dangerous later... BOOM.. bye bye )
Someone will forget to respect what they are working with and unleash something baaaaaaaaaaaaad -.-
So its a very fine line of balance!

I do like the idea of gene therapy because we can eliminate congenital defects that are no longer being erased by natural selection without resorting to action-T4 style sterilising or killing the sufferer.

On a side note, if your interested in the topic of genetics I do recommend renting the movie Gattica. It how this technology can affect people that don't have access to it!

Those are GENETIC monstrosities for crying out loud!:war::angry::war:

You cant deny people the right to hold absolute sovereignty over their own bodies.

This is not a Tattoo we are talking about we would be creating another species or multiple species on the face of the Earth and different species fight sooner or latter.

Considering we're already such a kind and caring species that fight among ourselves regularly, I don't see an issue there.

So the answer for you is to create more than one sentient species so they all fight each other to extinction? Great plan...

No... the more successful species will always emerge, it's called Gause's competitive exclusion principle.

That applies to Animals not 2 or more warring sentient species fighting for dominance over a planet with WMDs and all sort of nasty weapons out-there.

Not too mention there is untold danger in tampering with DNA like that. In the long run it could very well spell the demise of our species as a whole as well. This has been explored in Science fiction too many times. In fact there is a really good Outer Limits episode just about this scenario. A group of university students and a professor discover a ship that has been buried for millions of years, get inside it and get trapped in it and at the end they find the ship is from the future, a future in which intense genetic engineering and modification led to humanity's extinction so they made that ship to bring back a group of humans and use their DNA to kick-start humanity once more.

Currently we do the exact same thing over religion, politics, and geographical location. You still haven't given a convincing reason why somebody shouldn't be able to alter their body if they want too.

Actually I have there is an inherent danger of messing with DNA which could lead to humanity's demise even more surely than environmental collapse could.

So in order to save the whole, you limit individual freedoms. Not exactly sounding like a free nation there.

It applies to all living organisms. You persist in being ignorant don't you?

Because scare mongerers like the catholic church told you? Oh what.... your now using science fiction as a basis for your argument. Get off the grass champion if your going to argue like that.

Sais the good professor and his university students in an outer limits episode. You've got to be kidding me.

Oh House, your so crazy.

I agree with Spock here... There's no sudden unexplainable way that modifying DNA will suddenly destroy all life, because that's impossible.

That's a great movie.

All of this stuff is neat, but it won't be available to us, not with any reasonable price tag anyways, and even then, I dunno if I would want it, I think the best way to make ourselves better is to do it naturally. If you want stronger bones, drink more milk, be more active and your bones will get stronger. I'm not saying that you can jump off a 10 story building and not break a leg but you will be able to do many things within reason. Just watch what those people who practice Parkour and Free-running do.

I can see tampering with DNA to worm out diseases and genetic problems and such like mental illnesses, cancer, and other problems and I think that would be good, but I think that is as far as it should go-IMHO.