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GM Organism Produces New Amino Acid
blamanj writes "Scientists led by Scripps Research Institute chemistry professor Dr. Peter Schultz have engineered a version of the E. coli bacteria that can produce an amino acid not found in nature. Story at the Environment News Service and Science Daily."
How do we know that this amino acid is not produced in nature? Last time I checked we had not catalogued every living creature on earth let alone analyzed all of the chemicals that each of them produce.
From the article:
"This allows you to have a totally autonomous organism that you can 'race'in one pot by evolving the new bacterium alongside its ancestors with 20 amino acids," says Christopher Anderson, a researcher at Scripps and another author of the paper. By racing the organisms -- exposing both to selective pressures at the same time and watching their development -- the researchers hope to see if the organism with the expanded genetic code has an evolutionary advantage over natural organisms.
Geez, is this where the reality tv show "Survivor" is going? "Don't miss the new SURVIVOR 6: YOUR COLON where natural and unnatural E. Coli bacteria compete for control of your ASS!" We already knew it's a shitty show, but it CAN get worse.
Other useless thoughts...
"It's a bona fide unnatural organism now."
--Wasn't this a bad guy's line from a SciFi Channel original movie?
"Our unnatural organism will always live in the lab. We have no intention of putting it out in the wild or in commercial products where it could 'get out.'"
-- Oh yeah, it wasn't the bad buy that said these things, it was the unwitting scientist-stooge of the bad guy.
"We are now focusing on more 'useful' unnatural amino acids such as ketone- and PEG-containing amino acids," Anderson says. PEG stands for polyethylene glycol, a polymer that can be connected to proteins used in medicines to enhance their therapeutic value. "I don't think it is at all unrealistic to imagine that in the not-too-distant future there will be a transgenic goat that can biosynthesize a PEG amino acid and incorporate it into therapeutic proteins secreted into the animal's milk," Anderson says.
--Isn't polyethylene glycol otherwise known as antifreeze? Imagine ice cream that melts in the freezer -- YUM!! Now THAT'S REALLY USEFUL.
I guess that's all for now.
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Cerebral cortex failure imminent.
What Would Satan Do?