Distributed Dirt Digging for Life-Extension Research

ReasonAtFightAging writes "When was the last time you really looked down at the ground you walk upon? The soil from your backyard - or the next street over, or a nearby graveyard, or the park across the way - could contain the key to advancing real anti-aging science: bacterial enzymes capable of repairing biochemical damage that accumulates with time and leads to age-related disease. So the dirt you stand on could contain a scientific breakthrough, and scientists want you — all of you, all around the world — to send a sample for analysis! One of the funding organizers notes: 'We're working hard to secure more funding to bring more manpower onto the project, so there is no danger of your sample being discarded because the researchers are swamped!'"

Comments

Hot damn!

[ForestGrump]

I'm going to submit a sample from stringfellow superfund site!

Yes, I knew there was a reason I live ~10 miles from it.

Grump

Excellent!

[idontgno]

I need to clean the cat box anyways!

Namaste

[maniac/dev/null]

Is this some kind of Hanso Foundation trick?

I can help!

[Doomedsnowball]

I'm going to send them dirt from a graveyard!

Re:I can help!

[oddwick11]

That isn't funny, that is the point! Bacteria from graveyards are specially adapted to breaking down animal compounds, some of which may be useful in creating anti-aging therapies.

Disclaimer, I am not a member of this research group, but they are in the same building.

Re:I can help!

[Doomedsnowball]

No, I'm actually sending them dirt from a graveyard. They mention graveyard in TFA, so I wasn't trying to be witty, just rallying the troops!

Swamped?

[thewiz]

One of the funding organizers notes: 'We're working hard to secure more funding to bring more manpower onto the project, so there is no danger of your sample being discarded because the researchers are swamped!'"

Shouldn't that be that the researchers are buried?

[rimshot]

Thank you, thank you; I'll be here for the rest of your life!

Irony...

[MojoRilla]

The irony here is that even if some magical anti-aging component was found in my dirt, it would take big pharma years to purify it, test it, and package it. And then they would sell my own dirt back to me for thousands and thousands of dollars.

Re:Irony...

[timster]

If you just want to eat dirt, go ahead. Nobody's stopping you. If you want somebody to analyze the dirt, extract interesting enzymes, test them in all kinds of different ways to figure out what they do, figure out a way to manufacture them reliably, and go through a bureaucratic approval process...

Then yes, you'll probably have to pay for that.

Re:Irony...

[SeanTobin]

I think what the GP poster was saying amounts to:

If you find a trillion dollar miracle cure from my dirt, what do I get out of it?

Re:Irony...

[QMO]

A miracle cure?

Re:Irony...

[spun]

And some dirt! Never underestimate the value of dirt!

Imortality

[GodInHell]

But... then when would we get to retire.

I don't want to work forever.

-GiH

Re:Imortality

[Anonymous Coward]

Sheez, just admit it will you..! Secretly you wish you could stay in your small cubicle for the rest of your life and all eternity for that matter.

You know maybe you will dream about it tonight! Tomorrow morning when you arrive at work you might just give a small yelp of happiness when you see your perfect little cubicle with the perfect little job waiting for you.. ..then you blink.. And you think you hear: "Corporate....jUSt a moment. ..."

Wonder what this guy's gonna think...

[johnthorensen]

...when his mailbox gets Slashdotted :)

Re:Wonder what this guy's gonna think...

[spun]

Slashdirted. There, fixed that for you.

total rubbish

[lovebyte]

Since I work in this domain, let me tell you that this is total rubbish. It takes years and millions of dollars to properly analyze one "dirt" sample.
This is just a publicity stunt to get some cash, or funding.

Re:total rubbish

[oddwick11]

I'm not sure what you do in the domain, but you certainly can analyze samples in short periods of time and without millions of dollars... it depends on what you are trying to do. I believe they are doing some variant of restriction plating, which is a fairly quick and inexpensive screen for bacteria which digest specific media.

I met the researcher at a seminar, as he works at my university, and they are analzying all of the donated samples. In fact, they have already isolated one target enzyme from a donated soil sample, one that degrades 7-ketocholesterol.

Re:total rubbish

[TheDreadSlashdotterD]

This is just a publicity stunt to get some cash...

Or a lot of dirt.

Biopiracy?

[slocan]

The first thing I thought of was: They want to recieve samples from all over the world (aiming for biodiversity), in order to build a huge DNA library (as is their stated goal) and, presumably, file patent applications and be granted patents (I did not find any IP policy on the sites I briefly browsed). Then, who would benefit from it all???

The donations they are inviting (free labor), that aim at obtaining biodiversity, look like a biopiracy effort, wherein the idea of appropriation and "exploitation" with lack of due compensantion is the main point - through patenting including.

May I add, I think compensation isn't due only to the source of biological samples, and not only through economic compensation. There should be compensation regarding the (public) access and use of such DNA and the ensuing developments based on it's discovery, for there's quite a part of discovery rather than invention in such sort of research. (Shouln't DNA be considered public domain?).

One of the problems is that the patent systems don't account for differences among scientific and techonological fields, treating all alike. Therefore such simplisitc and generalized approach built into the patent systems benefit some while others suffer.

Re:Biopiracy?

[pla]

The donations they are inviting (free labor), that aim at obtaining biodiversity, look like a biopiracy effort, wherein the idea of appropriation and "exploitation" with lack of due compensantion is the main point - through patenting including.

Patents expire.

The dirt I walk on has no value to me beyond its ability to grow plants. These guys don't want enough that it reduces my ability to have a nice perennial garden.

If some company can grant me immorality (even at a steep price) in exchange for something I have zero ability to use, good for them.

The whole "stealing from the natives" biopiracy argument really pisses me off. Those people have nothing not because we take their dirt, but because they lack the technology to do anything with their dirt, and exotic plants, and creepy insects, and the like. And when we leave them alone, what happens? Gee, they cut down the plants, kill the insects, and then complain that we exploited them when they discover that rainforests form the single most efficient organic recycling system known to man (ie, the dirt sucks and you can't grow anything in it for more than a few years).


I hate "Corporate America" as much as the next sane fellow... But let's give them credit where they deserve it. Literally in exchange for something worthless, they give the entire world the opportunity to live longer and better.

Re:Biopiracy?

[Anonymous Coward]

I got my immorality for free, it isn't that hard. Worth every penny, too!

Re:Biopiracy?

[LunaticTippy]

Copyrights used to expire, too.

I don't have a ton of faith in Big Pharmaceuticals not to lobby for patent extention when there are trillions on the line.

I'd say it isn't a bad idea to think about things like this.

Re:Biopiracy?

[slocan]

Patents expire.

<IMNSHO>

Yes, patents expire so that, in exchange for the monopoly that was granted, the people can obtain some benefit.

But do they expire soon enough? Is the duration of the monopoly proportional to the benefits obtained by the people when it finally expires? In matters of health, should there be limits to the extent of such patent monopolies? Should the duration of the monopoly be the same, whatever the technogocial or scientific field in which a patent is granted?

One point is that a patent system should work as an incentive to research and development: a monopoly in exchange of publicizing the steps necessary to reproduce the invention (wether a product or a process), and later end of the state enforced private monopoly.

But what happens in technological and scientific areas in which there is plenty of competition? What is the use of offering a monopoly as an incentive? Isn't competition incentive enough? So, if there is enough demand for anti-aging treatments (those who want it and are willing to pay a steep price for it), what good does a state granted and enforced monopoly bring to the public?

If some company can grant me immorality (even at a steep price) in exchange for something I have zero ability to use, good for them.

<IMNSHO>

And it it should be good for you too. Why not? After all, it was you who sent them your dirt. Dirt that they wouldn't have if it weren't for you.

On the other hand, it isn't exactlly your dirt. And patent systems aren't (or rather shouldn't be) an incentive for a gold rush. It shouldn't incentive discoveries, but inventiveness. It shouldn't be possible to obtain a monopoly on what is out there to be discovered. Patent systems should act as incentives when there is no or little demand, when research is costly, and when there are desincentives to pursue a given research path (e.g. when the results of the research could be easily copied. If it couldn't be easily copied or researched by competitors, whoever reaserched it would keep it a secret, for secrets don't expire).

The whole "stealing from the natives" biopiracy argument really pisses me off. Those people have nothing not because we take their dirt, but because they lack the technology to do anything with their dirt, and exotic plants, and creepy insects, and the like. And when we leave them alone, what happens? Gee, they cut down the plants, kill the insects, and then complain that we exploited them when they discover that rainforests form the single most efficient organic recycling system known to man (ie, the dirt sucks and you can't grow anything in it for more than a few years).

<IMNSHO>

The point I was making wasn't exactly about "stealing from natives". Unless you consider myself and yourself natives (which in a certain way we are).

But, since you wrote of natives, I allow myself to digress. Who said they have nothing? And who said they lack techonological skills? The concept of biopiracy also applies to traditional communities as people who have specialised knowledge about plants, animals, insects, their substances, their benefits, and how to use them. Biopriacy regarding traditional communities isn't only about obtaining (sometimes illegally) specimens (as my initial post may have mislededly implied), but knowledge too. E.g. knowledge regarding agricultural techniques.

E.g.: A teacher of mine once told a story about an aboriginal tribe in Brazil that knew how to induce a liver disease in macaws so that all their feathers turned yellow. Such technology has all but disappeared. And this is just one example.

Therfore, biopiracy also relates to the knowledge of "those people", that may be perceived as "having nothing" and lacking technological skills. And, while they might cut down plants and kill insects, I doubt they (aborigines) exhaust their natural resources, for they have lived sus

What if they find something?

[GogglesPisano]

Dear Sir:

Thank you for the kind donation of a sample of dirt from your back yard. We are pleased to inform you that we have isolated a fascinating compound from it and consequently we will require a larger amount for further study. We'll bring in the backhoes and dumptrucks around 1:00 this Tuesday.

Sincerely,
The Biodesign Institute

PS - Have you considered getting a built-in pool? Now might be a good time.

Re:What if they find something?

[shadowbearer]

Followed by a small army of bureaucrats whose potential for damage is actually greater; and I'm not just talking about the pool ;-)

SB

Re:Immortality

[Cybrex]

Secretly you wish you could stay in your small cubicle for the rest of your life and all eternity for that matter.

If the alternative is death, sign me up! I can think of worse ways to spend eternity than correcting spelling errors on Slashdot! :-)

article contributor's name

[GlacierDragon]

So, the first thing I noticed was this seems fishy because that username is just what the article is about. "fight aging" This feels like a total attempt at free advertising to me. I was kind of surprised it actually got posted.

Then when you click the link it goes to a page that is just like the ads in the back of magazines trying to get you to buy crap.

Did it strike anyone else that way or is it just me?

"Cities in Flight"

[CptNerd]

Sounds like someone's been reading their James Blish, lately

Is Biodesign expanding?

[Sleepy_Bozo]

I suspect they're planning for new buildings. Every project around here has a sign that says "FILL DIRT WANTED"!