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Photoshop for DNA

Posted by Zonk on from the mix-your-own-nematode dept.

pafischer writes "Forbes is reporting on a Biotech startup company trying to make DNA manipulation as easy as Photoshop. From the article: 'The goal is to move from having to merely tweak the proteins that are used as biotech drugs to being able to design them, even taking material from multiple organisms and using them to create new, functional genes.'"

13 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Oh No! by justforaday · · Score: 4, Funny

    Judging from the quality of some of the Photoshopped images I've seen out there, I really don't want to see what people will create with this...

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
    1. Re:Oh No! by Gadgetfreak · · Score: 2, Funny

      You'll just get people having a competition for who can manipulate the most amusing biological result.

      Although I can't say that was much different than the goals of my friends in high school bio class.

      --
      "No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
    2. Re:Oh No! by MikeDX · · Score: 3, Funny

      DNA?? What on earth does the National Dyxlesia Association have to do with Photoshop???

  2. Plugins! by jolyonr · · Score: 3, Funny
    It's going to be fun writing plugins for this!

    Ultra-Sharp-Teeth Plugin

    Breathe Underwater Plugin

    Bigger Breasts Plugin
    Jolyon

    --


    Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
  3. lets hope... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    that those tards at fark don't get ahold of this program.

  4. Gimp by suso · · Score: 4, Funny

    How about making it as easy as Gimp instead. I like the interface better.

    *Ducks*

    1. Re:Gimp by BandwidthHog · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but it won't be able to manipulate the Y Khromosome.

      --

      Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
  5. Re:Dislexia is such a drag by justforaday · · Score: 3, Funny

    "what do multiple orgasms have to do with DNA research?"

    Quite a bit, actually... : p

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
  6. Re:$42.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda by Kainaw · · Score: 2, Funny

    Mark me as a FOB (Fan of Bill), but kudos to him and his foundation for their contribution to science...

    Of course, he has a motive. He's donating money to help develop a user-friendly gene manipulation tool in hopes that it will cut into the market of the Open Source gene manipulation. Then, when people become dependent on the new gene manipulation, Microsoft will buy the company and merge it with their next version of windows, leaving geeks as the only ones doing gene manipulation the old way (by hand at the console). It always the same with that guy.

    --
    The previous comment is purposely vague and generalized, but all of the facts are completely true.
  7. NOOOOOO! - Cock Tease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Um, let me get this straight... Bigger Breasts and Sharper teeth? What were you thinking?!?!

  8. orgasms and DNA research by doublem · · Score: 2, Funny

    I thought, "what do multiple orgasms have to do with DNA research?"

    Oh that's easy.

    Every woman will have not one G-spot but four, one of which will be at the back of the throat.

    Every man will have a unit built from horse DNA.

    And don't forget, everyone will be multi orgasmic!

    Reinforced back muscles to support the standard DD chest. (That's the small model)

    And of course, everyone will have a FANTASTIC rump.

    And then King George W Bush will get wind of this and have everyone's DNA rewritten to be more moral. All pleasure will be taken out of sex, women will be programmed to be subservient to their husbands and submission to authority will be enhanced to the point where average citizens will shoot themselves in the head if anyone in uniform asks them to do so.

    And the Conservative Christian utopia will come to be.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  9. Re:Oh, great. by Synbiosis · · Score: 2, Funny

    "That's just what we needed -- a bunch of no-good self-proclaimed "genetic engineers" "creating" "new" genes by doing copy-paste hacks."

    Drew Endy.

    If a professor of Biological Engineering from MIT isn't a genetic engineer, I'd like to know what is.

  10. Re:Photoshop NOT easy enough by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 2, Funny

    If they come up with Frontpage for DNA, I just might become an investor.

    Then we'll have humans with an extra 30 useless chromosomes - so we'll have to wait until Dreamweaver DNA, DNA Tidy and DNA validator. :)