Slashdot Mirror
Sequencing the Weed Genome
GNUman writes "Maybe soon we'll be able to genetically modify humans so that a specific action (e.g., tapping your nose, pinching your ear) triggers the release of THC directly from your own cells. From the Nature blog post: 'At last, the field of genomics has something to offer Cheech and Chong. DNA sequencing hit a new high last night with the midnight release of the Cannabis sativa genome. The raw sequence was posted on Amazon's EC2 public cloud computing service by a young company called Medicinal Genomics, which aims to explore the genomes of therapeutic plants.'"
Somebody needs to make a version of weed that causes cancer
They have that. It's called tobacco.
They do, it's called alcohol and tobacco.
i know i wish i could get natural cbd's to treat arthritis without messing up my mind.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
You girlfriend sucked my dick for an oxycontin and two vicodins.
with the Opera gestures.
Hold your arm and move to the right for the next high.
Boss coming? Minimize: down and then left.
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
DNA sequencing hit a new high last night ...
I don't like it.
signature is pants
Now all we need is for someone to take an existing food plant that is legal to grow (and that couldn't be banned) like corn and add some weed genes so that when its consumed, it gives the effects of weed (i.e. make the corn contain the THC and things that the weed contains)
No way for the cops to detect it short of chemical analysis and there is far too much corn grown in the US to make that possible.
Right, because what humanity really needs right now is the ability for the next generation to get high, whenever they want, from birth. It'd be like masturbation, but only this time it would actually affect brain development and social ability. In any case, I didn't see anything in the primary article relating to a connection between some sort of kinesthetic macro-action and THC release, so I don't see why it's included in the summary. Yay for decriminalization, but at least with smoking it there's some sort of limitation relating to resource production and regularity of use.
I think someone forgot to post anonymously. :p
Is Dave there?
Umm.. science?
Because luckily Slashdot isn't written for you.
Personally I think it's pretty cool the potential to create natural THC in other plants or even in our own cells. It goes from being something you have to smoke which has an association with cancer in peoples minds to something scientists can show they understand and can deliver to those in need of therapeutic THC in a form a little more friendly.
I'm not reading "high times", I'd rather not see this sort of junk.
I'm sorry, did this story get caught on your hang-ups?
what I can and cannot put in my body.
It's not your fucking business, or anybody else's.
Take the goddamn safety labels off of everything, for fucks sake.
I'm not reading "high times", I'd rather not see this sort of junk.
Then grow some thick skin and ignore it.
While you might think the world evolves around you, it doesn't. In fact, most of us don't even care what you think.
Sorry, did that hurt?
Seriously though, i don't give a fuck that you don't care about this. It's science and it's news.
Oh, and oddly enough, a lot of people smoke weed and don't see any problems with it. I know that hurts ya, but deal with it.
Be seeing you...
Add it to yeast. Houblon or Sugar + Yeats = Mari jeanne. And you don't need a field.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
Unfortunately, I foresee a new kind of prohibition. How long before the US Congress legislates to make a gene illegal?
once cannabis can be re-engineered for maximum potency, it can become the new self-perpetuating crack
Smoke from any burning organic matter is a carcinogen.
The thing is that people inhale less marijuana smoke than they do tobacco smoke so there's no definite link between the amount of smoke that even heavy potheads inhale and cancer.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I don't mind the story; it's interesting, and THC can have some beneficial medicinal properties.
Now, some of the comments are irritating and juvenile... kind of like high-schoolers talking about beer. Those can be ignored, though.
Does this mean Kona Gold and Maui Wowee is bk? Cool Bro, sign me up!
"Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
I'm sorry, I didn't notice I was reading slashdot , Thorgod edition. dam where was I....
"Computers are a lot like Air Conditioners" "They both work great until you start opening Windows"
lol yup.. but it could have been a great blowjob? just saying...
It's not true, of course - but even if it were, they'd just ban all oranges, like they did to hemp cloth.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
1.) They are certain that heredity is solely controlled by genes.
2.) They are certain that DNA is the sole mechanism for passing on genes.
3.) That looking at DNA sequences is a productive method of finding causes of things.
Personally I believe that they are uncertain in (1), uncertain in (2) and that (3) is not true. DNA is a waste of time with regards to 99.99999% of human behaviour.
John_Chalisque
I just can't help myself.
Ontopic (sort of), and funny, IMHO.
Real, or not, still funny.
Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
4:20 was four and a half hours ago, man. it's almost 8:21...roll another one!
French fries would be better.
sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
However cannaboids themselves are implicating as reducing cancer risks, while nicotine is implicated in the sort of genetic damage that can lead to cancer. It also greatly compound the damage Radon or asbestos can do.
Oh, I'm sorry, did you think I give a fuck that you don't give a fuck? Why don't you just grow a thick skin and ignore comments you don't like.
While you might think the world evolves around you, it doesn't. In fact, most of us don't even care what you think.
Sorry, did that hurt?
Seriously though, i don't give a fuck that you don't care about him not caring. This isn't on Slashdot because it's science (there's a lot more that goes unreported). It's here because hurr, I could get high by scratching my nose! Of course there's no science supporting that lead-in statement, but hey, pot!
Oh, and oddly enough, a lot of people disagree with you and don't see your point of view. I know that hurts ya, but deal with it.
PS: the difference between me and you is that instead of getting all sanctimonious and pretending to actually wound someone with my words, I'm just engaging in outright mockery. One is a sign that you actually do care, the other is a good way to show someone you don't.
Pretty damn anonymous too...
http://bitcoinpyramid.com/r/472
Then he can Bogart the weed with out actually bogarting the weed.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
You know, I never really understood why "fag" is supposed to be an insult. I have known plenty of gay men and women and you know what? they have nicer clothes, nicer cars, better jobs, and live in nicer neighborhoods than straight folks. So what you are basically saying is "I hope you dress well and have a good job with lots of money in a nice area, so there!" it really doesn't make much sense. Douchenozzle, shitstain, hell even halo player would probably be better insults.
As for TFA and the asshole that hoped people who smoke pot get cancer? Please kill yourself. this is not a joke, the world would be a better place without you. Suck the barrel of a gun, get a rope, buy a razor, kill yourself.
Alcohol causes more deaths in a single month than pot has EVER. Alcohol causes more misery, more illness, more suffering than all the other drugs combined frankly. As part of the nearly extinct breed known as a conservative socialist whatever you do in your home? None of my damned business and frankly shouldn't be any of the state's business either.
I don't care what God you believe in, what you put in your body, whom you share your body with (or even if you choose to sell it) frankly it should be none of the government's business as long as you are over 18 and not forcing anyone else. I only hope the endless greed of both the Ds and Rs will give us the legalization of what is commonly known as "sin" crimes even if it is only so they can tax and spend on their pet projects. Then maybe we can grow the fuck up and stop treating adults like 3 years olds that need mommy government to spank them.
Oh and before someone pops up with "what about health insurance!" I'll tell you what: I'll happily sign a contract that the government pisses off and takes away the taxes on my cigarettes or anything else I put in my body and if i get cancer the ONLY treatment i'll get is morphine which is cheap, kay? But we know that won't happen because just as we have seen with social security, the tobacco settlements, and every other dime that was supposed to ONLY go for X the second the politicos get their hands on it they are blowing it on anything and everything.
I believe everyone should have a roof over their head, food in their belly, clothes on their back, and free or low cost medical care, but I'm also a realist. How many wanna bet that if Obama gets that mandatory insurance bit passed the congress will blow that money on bridges to nowhere?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
I want to inform you that all the real smokers already know that Nate Dogg was passing nuthin but dope indeed.
could this be a "gateway" to the falsely promised "science over ideology?"
Frankly, I welcome it. The Apple/Google/Microsoft dueling astroturf was getting a bit old. Something about biology, and which has already developed into a political argument about drugs, is a nice change.
Great Intellect...
I hate to say it but citation needed.
Remember, people have actually evolved being exposed to burning organic matter. IIRC Homo Erectus had fire.
I have seen studies that show tobacco smokers who also smoke pot to have less of an incident of cancer then smokers who only smoke tobacco.
The studies I've seen on pot smokers and cancer have been inconclusive though there was a trend to show that smoking pot was as bad as taking an airplane flight, very minimal and within the error bars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
While you might think the world evolves around you, it doesn't. In fact, most of us don't even care what you think.
It does evolve around him. It doesn't revolve around him.If you're going to spew bile, at least do it accurately ;)
I hate to say it but citation needed.
Burning organic matter releases aromatic hyrdocarbons. They are carcinogens.
Remember, people have actually evolved being exposed to burning organic matter. IIRC Homo Erectus had fire.
You seem to believe that carcinogens are not found in nature. Wood smoke is particularly bad. There has been documented DNA damage done by exposure to wood smoke.
You need to get this bullshit out of your head that just because something's natural means that it's good for you.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
That's what you take to prevent malaria! Nothing to do with cannabis.
IIRC Homo Erectus had fire.
Homo Erectus were also lucky if they hit the ripe old age of twenty-five years old. Cancer was the least of their worries.
If it's in you sig, it's in your post.
CLC work was performed on a 64Gb RAM MacPro with 6.5Tb of Disk and 12 hyperthreaded Cores (24 threads total).
I looked at the README and cringed. These are really top-notch scientists, though they can't even get their (b)its and (B)ytes correct.
Going by what they said, the setup had 8GB RAM with 812.5GB of disk.
I hope that they don't mix up other measurements like this!
It's one of the things I don't get: Cannabis is by no means different from tobacco or alcohol (allegedly less addictive, I didn't test it myself), why not sell it to those that want it? Legally, and most of all, with a tax on it? And face it, ATFEC sounds a lot "rounder" than ATFE. That's missing an ending, don't you think?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Homo erectus also died a long time before cancer could kill him.
You know why cancer is the big killer today? Because we eliminated everything else that could kill us before cancer gets us.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
You guys are really harshin' my melloooowwwwww
All you need is lurv.
I think this argument that something is worth taking because it is 'natural' is a weak position, not well though out. There are a lot of things out there that occur naturally but are downright poisonous and will kill you. There are many synthetic products that are really helpful. I'd like to see a more rigorous discussion of the difference between 'natural' and 'unnatural/synthetic'. I have this suspicion that there are many borderline products and preferring 'natural' is just a psychological position that comforts people rather has medical benefits. Interested to hear further evidence....
Glanding?
Watch this Heartland Institute video
...And what about legal drugs?
Did you ever consider that there are legal drugs (meds) that are far worse for you -- amphetamines, strong narcotics (morphine) and other things -- than illegal things like cannabis?
Did you ever consider the fact that your own body produces cannabinoids? Those are called endogenous cannabinoids. Inhibiting their metabolism or their absorption/psychoactivity would mess up a lot of your bodily functions.
The world isn't as one-sided and simple as some self-centered assholes (ahem...) like to think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ruBtLIvJM
Which is false, ridiculous childhood mortality dragged down average lifespans, but like people living in Noelectricitystan today with no acess to medical care or high standard sanitation can live to 110 so could homo erectus, you just need a bit of luck and a healthy dose of social support.
Not necessarily. This is what Wikipedia says:
"The currently available literature indicates that nicotine, on its own, does not promote the development of cancer in healthy tissue and has no mutagenic properties. However, nicotine and the increased cholinergic activity it causes have been shown to impede apoptosis, which is one of the methods by which the body destroys unwanted cells (programmed cell death). Since apoptosis helps to remove mutated or damaged cells that may eventually become cancerous, the inhibitory actions of nicotine may create a more favourable environment for cancer to develop, though this also remains to be proven."
for the next 5 years. j/k
but you realize, there are a huge number of unemployed biotech people who have started up their own 'DIY biotech' movement? they have 'hack spaces' but instead of soldering irons they have PCR machines.
Smoke from any burning organic matter is a carcinogen.
This may be true, but unburnt tobacco is carcinogenic to begin with (hence the high rate of oralpharyngeal cancers in chewing tobacco users).
Interestingly, much of the carcinogen load is generated during the curing process -- steam-cured tobaccos apparently are much safer, but tobacco companies are prohibited from advertising this.
I went to go look what they consider current studies, but for some reason I can't access the site used as a citation.
Would this allow them to find a way to counteract the THC reaction? Two options off the top of my head:
1. The ability to turn off and stop the "high" affect
2. The ability to create a resistance to this affect.
What someone does in their own home is their own business as long as all present are willing and consenting. (apologies, trying to get this into a readable form, it is still early for me.) Plausible scenario, an individual is getting high and receives a call that their friend or family member was in an accident or some other tragedy. They are in a need to get to that friend/family member. If they could do something to suppress the high affect, they would have less "problems" getting to their friend. Full mental state to drive and make decisions. If pulled over for speeding, outside of smell, they would not give the officer reason to go through a drug check (other profiling withstanding). Arrival at location and the ability to hide the fact they were high from either authorities at the scene or family members who do not know of their hobby.
The ability for a government or group to create a way for THC to no longer be affective and the high affect will no longer be achievable. Therefore possibly eliminating a hobby that many groups see as evil/wrong/sinful. Possibly even breeding people to be immune to THC (yes, last sentence a longer shot, but who knows)
Any discussion on these questions?
You know, I never really understood why "fag" is supposed to be an insult. I have known plenty of gay men and women and you know what? they have nicer clothes, nicer cars, better jobs, and live in nicer neighborhoods than straight folks. So what you are basically saying is "I hope you dress well and have a good job with lots of money in a nice area, so there!" it really doesn't make much sense. Douchenozzle, shitstain, hell even halo player would probably be better insults.
Hmm, you seem to have ignore the actual characteristics that make someone a fag. Like dick sucking, ass-to-mouth-ing, butt fucking, anal fisting, gays 69s, rimming, and eating shit.
...or hate them. Depends right?
Seriously, haven't you ever had a bad week? I have. Haven't you ever gathered with friends, looking for a evening of social antics? I have.
One of the basic, simple pleasures in this world is a nice buzz, and there are many different kinds, some good eats, entertainment, and friends. Have a nice long chat, tickle the senses, and just wash away lots of painful things for a while, happy to just be, love, do, share.
Anything good can be abused. That goes with simple food.
I like a nice high once in a while. Lots of ways to get it too. Write some brilliant code, skydive, pot, opiates (poppy tea is particularly nice), booze (hate it generally), etc...
Before you expound on "those illegal drugs", maybe you should consider more fully why some are illegal and some are not, plug that into your AM radio morals, and get back to me.
Blogging because I can...
Uhhh...you DO realize that with the exception of...well no I can't even say with the exception of dick sucking because most females do suck the dick, you have described pretty much everything that goes on in straight sex as well, yes? Ass to mouth? Hell there is whole porn houses dedicated to THAT one, oh and there's pegging, butt fucking? Oh hell that one is popular, fisting? Not as big but there are quite a few that enjoy it.
Again not really finding the insult here, unless you think being a nice dresser is evil, or having lots of money is bad. if so i have a lovely trailer park that has a vacancy, perhaps you might be interested?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
The really interesting question is what the community will do with the data. First there's the problem of getting the data assembled. They should have the entire genome, they sequence 300x what they should have needed. Now that's all going to be random and in pieces though, so they've had trouble with a couple assemblers. This is the kind of thing that's done often though for other species, and should be doable with freely available tools.
Then, once you have the assembled contigs, you have to figure out what they mean. That means searching for open reading frames and then testing those for homology against known genes. THC acid synthase is already known, so that helps. But I don't think all the genes in the pathway are sequenced yet, so hopefully this helps nail that down.
Then what? Either extraction of that biosynthetic pathway into another system, or transgenic manipulation of the plant for better yields.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Maybe soon we'll be able to genetically modify humans so that a specific action (e.g., tapping your nose, pinching your ear) triggers the release of THC directly from your own cells.
I will pick up a gun and fight in the streets to put a stop to that. Just letting you know.
Your nerd card has been revoked. Please turn off and dismantle your computer immediately, you are no longer permitted to be exposed to mind expanding substances such as the Internet. The processes of abstract thought that you engage in while riding the hormone rollercoaster of browsing wide and varied content is illicit and wrong and is causing real damage to me by the fact that you would even think of doing it.
:P
Doesn't take much observation to realize that just about everything the human does is for a high. Doesn't take much observation to realize that abuse of prescription drugs has taken off to a degree that puts the drug war to even worse shame. If you're an honest nerd, nerd out and learn something, rather than anti-nerding like this
you just need a bit of luck
Yes, like I said:
Homo Erectus were also lucky if...
Furthermore:
Homo Erectus is a DIFFERENT SPECIES to us, and therefore may have had a lower life expectancy because of it.
The average lifespan of people living in poverty today is much higher than 200 years ago, even ignoring infant mortality.
Even so there are very few confirmed cases of people in poverty living to more than 110 years; admittedly some of that is because of much poorer record-keeping.
Additionally, you have a terrible understanding of statistics. The existence of supercentenials in ancient populations does not mean the median age was over 25.
Given that there are probably more individuals living in poverty today than there were Homo erectus in the entirety of history, if the chance of an erectus living to 110 was the same as a modern sapiens living in poverty, there is a very real chance that no erectus ever lived to 110.
If it's in you sig, it's in your post.
Dressing nice or having money is a characteristic of being upper middle class. A man sucking another man's dick is a characteristic of being gay. A man eating shit from another man's asshole is a characteristic of being gay. A man sticking his dick in another man's asshole is a characteristic of being gay.
Nicotine is absolutely physically addictive.
Marijuana is psychologically addictive and much easier to just quit using for a time by choice. (Planning to change jobs, for example). Cigarettes are chock full of added chemicals such as ammonia and that accounts for cancer causing properties. The jury is still out on pot. Though it does not have the added chemicals, it still is smoke and over time that has to do some badness.
I have heard an interested explanation. Since tobacco is so filtered, lung cells are able to survive the smoke. So, they live damaged and eventually can go cancerous. Since pot is often smoked through a bong or worse in an unfiltered joint, the smoke does not injure lung cells--it kills them. Paradoxically, that's better. You're never going to kill off all your lung cells but you surely don't want damaged ones. So, surprisingly, the effect of pot might be better.
A University of California study in 2006 tried very hard to find a link between lung cancer outcomes and marijuana smoking--and they were not able to find any such link.
Well It is legal here in COLORADO!
But yes, we are not hippie Calif. or Ohio Gangster that do not want legalization and cannot function without a nanny state..
God Bless america!
Name THC% CBD% CBN%
HYBRIDS
red island octopus 127.4 0.58 0.46
GreeninYellowzonker 138.8 0.29 0.21
Crampdown Racers 98.7 0.26 0.52
Sequencing of Tobacco is underway evidently. Funded in large part by Philip Morris.
I find it odd that tobacco and weed, two important cash crops no matter how you feel about their use, have not had their genomes sequenced yet, but the platypus has. I know that plant genomes are generally bigger, and platypi are very interesting, but, come on, priorities people.
More to the point, evolution doesn't care so much if you get cancer after you reproduce. Of course, from an evolutionary standpoint, humans are a miserably failed experiment. An average of, what, 3 kids, and 14 years to reach reproducing age? It's no wonder there are so few of us compared to bacteria.
Actually weed is already known to be carcinogenic.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
Perhaps you can tell us what kind of car a shitstain drives?
I think that you'll find that the priorities of the people who sequenced the platypus probably centred on doing something interesting with their limited resources.
These may not be your priorities, but they are the priorities of the people who chose to do the work - including the work of preparing and submitting the grant applications for funding to do the work.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Ummm, is there non-organic matter that you can burn?
Coal : organic?
OK, you could probably burn graphite, which is effectively not-organic-any-more, though some graphite deposits have the isotopic signatures of having been through several RuBisCo cycles, which means organic fixation at some point in the past.
You might just possibly be able to sustain a fire with pyrites, but it's going to be difficult. And even then, the sulphur isotope composition in many pyrite deposits shows strong evidence of the sulphide having been through organic action at some point in the deposition process.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
That is bullshit. I don't know how this entered the popular consciousness, but it's not true.
Cancer rates have increased at all age groups, and the reasons are not completely understood, but it's most likely dietary changes.
They regard the ./ community as a huge army of mindless marching morons
Didn't used to be true, but these days its largely is a statement of fact.
The internal synthesization of the cannabis chemicals would be a disaster for our country. Consider the revenue the government makes from tobacco. That in itself ensures that tobacco products will never be banned, and they are more destructive, more addictive than marijuana. It is only a matter of time before marijuana gets legalized and establishes another money cow for our government. Why, legalization of maryjane might even resolve our national debt issues and weaken organized crime. Don't any of our legislators have the balls to recognize this and propound legalization accordingly?
Depends on your defintion of "burn," no? Thermite is surely not organic but holy hell does it burn.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
Actually weed is already known to be carcinogenic.
Nope:
Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection
With the first link, the chain is forged.
Urban legend. The scion of a grafted plant does not rewrite its DNA to match the rootstock. Hops grafted onto Cannabis rootstock is still hops and lacks the genes for Cannabinoid production.
But then again, science doesn't stand a chance against anecdotal evidence. /botanist
I take it you've never heard of magnesium? There are plenty of inorganic combustibles.
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
Point, yes. Hadn't thought of that one. I was working through lists of things that people burn for fuel and didn't think more widely.
Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
Someone else beat me to the punch, but yes metal. You can burn metal and it's not organic. I wouldn't want to breathe in any of the gases that are released from that either, but they're not aromatic hydrocarbons and therefore carcinogens.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano