Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the this-is-just-swell dept.
jrrl writes "USAToday is reporting that Craig Venter's research group has synthesized a virus from scratch and that it "became bioactive" (started reproducing). Particularly interesting is that it only took them two weeks to build, rather than several years that previous attempts had taken."
16 years ago, we (biotech) created the first virii that reproduced itself. It took us about 14 months to create it, but yes, it was a working virii. I would just like to point out that my cock has been itching for the past 16 years.
Interesting thoughts...
by
Sheetrock
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
In its own way, this seems to validate some scientific theories I've heard about recently that struck me as being somewhat far-fetched but become all the more possible now that this breakthrough has been made.
As I understand it, evolution/natural selection is the natural effect when
beings are subjected to adversity: only the strong survive. Thinking about
this, it becomes clear that in a model where evolution is the sole factor
traits that affect survival are gradually weeded out over time because those
without such traits are more likely to survive. So too beings that experienced
beneficial mutation are likely to preserve such traits.
But this
article raises an interesting consideration. When I was in junior high,
we took a brief field trip to collect pond water to view under microscopes,
and one of the most interesting things was how those little critters with the
thing called a flagellum would zoom around. This article brings up the point
that this device, which is not exclusive to pond scum, is "irreducibly
complex": it is made up of several parts, none of which separately would
be of beneficial use to the creature employing it (in fact, such a creature
would probably die off under natural selection.) The odds of a mutation
creating all parts simultaneously are astronomical, and consequently, the only
accepted theory that can sanely describe such a thing is intelligent design,
which has been hinted at in many different real-life examples as well as
probabistically explained by Pascal's Wager.
This theory is currently derided and discriminated against in favor of older
theories, mind you, much as Galileo was in favor of the theory that the Earth
was flat, because it threatens to dredge up the uncomfortable unknown. But like
any theory, the more evidence that is found to support it particularly to the
exclusion of existing theories, the more likely it is correct. So as skeptical
as I am of intelligent design, I can't help but notice how much of our biological
model it predicts. Has anybody heard anything more about this?
--
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try. -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
Sometimes...
by
AKAImBatman
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
...it just all falls into place. It's funny how people can spend years and years worth of man hours on solving a problem, then one guy comes along with an intimate understanding and solves the problem in a few hours. It's especially fun when you *are* that person.:-)
One of my favorite examples of this is the System.out problem in Java. There's only one System.out stream, but you might be running multiple threads that should all have their own log. To date, I have seen people do everything from rewriting bytecode on the fly to replacing the System class. Then I run into a situation where I REALLY need this fixed, and I come upon the idea of using ThreadLocals. Very simply, I replaced the output stream with my own. My own stream uses a ThreadLocal for each thread (and its children) to get the proper output stream. All output written to my custom output stream is then redirected to the correct stream. Bam! Problem solved.
"I just love it when a plan comes together" -Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith
Slashdot Mirror
Oops, there goes another kitty.
could not resist
16 years ago, we (biotech) created the first virii that reproduced itself. It took us about 14 months to create it, but yes, it was a working virii. I would just like to point out that my cock has been itching for the past 16 years.
As I understand it, evolution/natural selection is the natural effect when beings are subjected to adversity: only the strong survive. Thinking about this, it becomes clear that in a model where evolution is the sole factor traits that affect survival are gradually weeded out over time because those without such traits are more likely to survive. So too beings that experienced beneficial mutation are likely to preserve such traits.
But this article raises an interesting consideration. When I was in junior high, we took a brief field trip to collect pond water to view under microscopes, and one of the most interesting things was how those little critters with the thing called a flagellum would zoom around. This article brings up the point that this device, which is not exclusive to pond scum, is "irreducibly complex": it is made up of several parts, none of which separately would be of beneficial use to the creature employing it (in fact, such a creature would probably die off under natural selection.) The odds of a mutation creating all parts simultaneously are astronomical, and consequently, the only accepted theory that can sanely describe such a thing is intelligent design, which has been hinted at in many different real-life examples as well as probabistically explained by Pascal's Wager.
This theory is currently derided and discriminated against in favor of older theories, mind you, much as Galileo was in favor of the theory that the Earth was flat, because it threatens to dredge up the uncomfortable unknown. But like any theory, the more evidence that is found to support it particularly to the exclusion of existing theories, the more likely it is correct. So as skeptical as I am of intelligent design, I can't help but notice how much of our biological model it predicts. Has anybody heard anything more about this?
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
...it just all falls into place. It's funny how people can spend years and years worth of man hours on solving a problem, then one guy comes along with an intimate understanding and solves the problem in a few hours. It's especially fun when you *are* that person. :-)
One of my favorite examples of this is the System.out problem in Java. There's only one System.out stream, but you might be running multiple threads that should all have their own log. To date, I have seen people do everything from rewriting bytecode on the fly to replacing the System class. Then I run into a situation where I REALLY need this fixed, and I come upon the idea of using ThreadLocals. Very simply, I replaced the output stream with my own. My own stream uses a ThreadLocal for each thread (and its children) to get the proper output stream. All output written to my custom output stream is then redirected to the correct stream. Bam! Problem solved.
"I just love it when a plan comes together" -Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
... and not a single one containing the word Outlook... Slashdotters, I am disappointed!
"liberate"
You know what I hate? "Wallah."
"Viola" is also annoying (assuming they mean "voila," and not the stringed instrument)