DailyDirt: Attack Of The Bioengineered Organisms And Clones

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

We're getting closer and closer to creating designer life forms. People can almost build a single-celled organism from scratch, so we're not too far away (in terms of logical steps, not time) from intelligently designing our own little creatures someday. Instead of a "grey goo" nightmare, maybe we should be more worried about a "green goo" disaster. Here are some quick links to research that might lead to this unexpected biotech revolution:
  • Dolly the sheep has been revived again. Clones created THREE years ago in secret? Yah, nothing wrong with that at all.... [url]
  • Solar-powered hornets! Okay, these were discovered, not designed -- but it's just a matter of time before mad scientists start creating other solar-powered insects. [url]
  • Scientists have made bacteria with genes that can be used as logic circuits. Will Moore's law apply? Probably not, but self-assembled, exponential growth of a biological "chip" would be kinda cool. [url]
  • A mouse with two fathers still needs a mother to be born. But apparently, the rodents can be made with two genetic fathers or two genetic mothers. Weird family trees ensue. [url]
  • A human lung on a chip could lead to more "organ on a chip" developments. Great, now we can all breathe easier. :) [url]
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    Filed Under: bacteria, biotech, clones, dolly


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    1. identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2010 @ 5:15pm

      *Hilarity ensues.

      link to this | view in thread ]

    2. icon
      Michael Ho (profile), 17 Dec 2010 @ 6:33pm

      Re: Hilarity...

      Hmm. A mouse version of My Two Dads... sounds like a really bad Disney sitcom?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Two_Dads

      link to this | view in thread ]

    3. icon
      Marcus Carab (profile), 18 Dec 2010 @ 8:13am

      Have you seen DARPA's cyborg beetles?

      I kid you not when I say these are living, breathing beetles with chips installed in their nervous systems so DARPA can fly them around the goddamn room witha remote control, using their own muscles and wings.

      http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/2009-09/darpa-project-releases-v ideo-remote-controlled-cyborg-beetle

      link to this | view in thread ]

    4. identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 18 Dec 2010 @ 7:59pm

      http://groups.csail.mit.edu/locomotion/perching.html

      How about robots that imitate birds and land on wires?

      The guy is also working for Disney to develop a Tinkerbell that lands on a lantern.

      link to this | view in thread ]

    5. identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 18 Dec 2010 @ 8:00pm

      Re:

      Although not bioengineering it is biomimetic, is that close enough?

      link to this | view in thread ]

    6. icon
      sprearson81 (profile), 10 Jun 2012 @ 8:33am

      Close enough for me.

      link to this | view in thread ]


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