Slashdot Mirror
Canadian Lab Unravels SARS With A Beowulf Cluster
Amad writes "A Canadian Genetics Research Lab in BC, Canada has used a Linux Beowulf cluster to help sequence the genetic code of the virus linked to SARS. This lab is the first to crack it, and has posted the data to the public. You can read an article about the discovery, or check out the lab."
well now maybe they can get this disease under control and get back to finding cures for the diseases that are killing more people than SARS
(disclaimer: i understand that the fear is of SARS becoming a larger killer, but so far it seems to be under control.)
mechanicos ergo cogito
Well there are plenty of nasty virii sequenced and deposited for all to see in genbank. For every 1 scientist using information for evil, there are 5,000 using the information for good. -Andy
I'm glad that they appear to be giving the information out freely. I applaud that.
Now imagine that they went and {patented | copyrighted | appropriate IP protection} the information first so they could commercially leverage it. Wouldn't there be a worldwide public outcry?
Then why isn't there one when other genetic information, that could possibly save even more lives, is locked down? Just my thoughts...
My legal education, in nifty podcast format
Seeing as you're a reader of Slashdot, you must agree that the Internet is an incredibly useful central location for sharing information. The international scientific community will only benefit from this information. Pharmaceuticals can be developed, futher mechanistic principles and models may be developed; it would be a much slower process otherwise. Which would you prefer if someone in your immediate family were affected with this? Would you like a solution now, or later? Besides, the influenza genome is out there too; why not fuss about that? It has a higher mortality rate.
In addition, scientific journal articles are just as accessible on the internet. Some are free to the everyday user, others require subscriptions. If you're out to do evil and happen to be working at an institution which have subscribed for access, we'd be screwed anyway!
But I ask again, what is someone going to do with a string of letters? Just because you can replicate a piece of genetic material (which is only an organic polymer) doesn't mean you have a fully functional organism.
Let's put this into perspective. What amount of explosive chemicals have been used since its development? Would we have trains going through mountains? How much coal and precious metals have been mined for? How often have we watched fireworks ignited to celebrate something? Obviously others have found less than nice ways to use the materials. It's the same with more advanced knowledge, but the bad stuff always gets to the media first and the way they present the material obviously can have a significant affect on society.
You can't be serious. If "evildoers" were planning on using SARS as a biological weapon, they would not download the gene sequencing information from the internet. They would need lots of expensive equipment to manufacture the virus from that data. If they wanted SARS, they'd just get some real samples somehow--like kidnapping an infected person. Much cheaper. Much easier. Requires no scientific knowledge.
Hmm...could they be posting on the internet, so every scientist in the world can work on it if they want to, so a cure may be discovered more quickly? Naahh...they just want to give to terrorists!
What are you saying? That "we" should keep all the knowledge about this disease locked up in a single room, so only a handful of reasearchers can work on it?
You sound like the "zero tolerance" schools, homeland security, and the DRM cartel. "We have to act like jack-booted thugs and take everything away. Lest one single person may use a 'weapon of mass destruction' / 'tweety bird keychain' / P2P to wipe out the entire world!"