The article states that they intend to extract DNA from a pup that has been preserved in alcohol since 1866. So it wouldn't be adult DNA used, nor embryo DNA, but whatever they can get out of a pickled infant.
Yet even Dolly's researchers haven't found that cloning an adult is all a bad thing. Dolly has had offspring, and they mature and grow just like any other lamb does. Therefore, even if they tried to clone an *adult* Tasmanian Tiger and succeeded, as long as they managed to produce a breeding pair, ideally they could *breed* a tiger that wouldn't have the DNA problems that Dolly does.
Personally, I'm rather hot and cold on this topic. I see a lot of uses for cloning that probably won't see light of day in any respectable lab (though I don't doubt that all sorts of research will be relegated to deep, dark basement labs under the direction of Mad Scientists(tm)), this is something I can see as being useful - especially if we ever decide to colonize other worlds. Imagine - terraform a planet, and you have an *entire* ecosystem to fill. I doubt that the animals we have left to us now would be able to populate and fill an entire, virgin world. More likely those that Man has managed to send the way of the Dodo (of course) would be just as useful as any we may have left at that point in whatever few 'wild' habitats there are left.
Besides, how better to study evolution than to terraform a planet, stick a bunch of dinosaurs and cockroaches on it, and see what happens?
When I was in high school and read Time Enough for Love (at least I think that was the correct title) by Heinlein, I thought "There's no way that this sort of thing could ever happen, but what if it did?" This Heinlein story is about an old, rich man with an active mind trapped in an inactive body. They basically transplanted not his head, but his brain and spinal column into the body of a mid-20s shapely secretary.
The book was an exploration by a dirty old man into the what-ifs of transsexual identity, and not a tretise on the future possibilities of immortality, but the issues raised are pertinant - would you only get a body of the same sex as your own? What if the only available body is of the opposite sex? Is a spinal cord transplatation feasible? If so, it would solve the nerve-attachment problem that would do away with the paralysm. But could you ever be sure of what was you and what was the body? In the book, the guy had the host body's personality riding around in his head, and he died in less than a year (I can't remember exactly what from, but probably a combination of rejection and other things). Is this really a long-term solution? The monkeys lived a week before they were put down. That's definately not a real test for length of life trials.
I don't know. I might prefer to see Futurama's Hall of Heads before we get (as my husband said) "the attack of the wheelchair bound killer decomposing head creatures." And most kids think it's bad enough to kiss their grandparents on the cheek. Imagine visiting your great-great grandmother - a 140 year old head on a 50 year old body. I just shudder to think about it.
I definately like the idea - especially after the arguement I had with my husband on whether to partition 2000 MB for a 2GB partition, or 2048MB. But 'kibibytes'? 'mebibytes'? 'gibibytes'? Could they have chosen *anything* that would have been more confusing? I suppose I can understand the desire to keep things similar, but for the first few years, lay people are going to think you an idiot - or at least in possession of an odd stutter - if you use these terms to them. It would have been far better to simply use something that had a totally different sound/first letter. Like... I don't know. Snazzybyte. Fluptybyte. Zurzabyte. *Anything*.
I find this very interesting. And a little bit scary. If they anticipate being able to build a 'brain' out of leech neurons, which can interface with the electronics of a robot, I have to wonder how long it will be before the next step - to use the fully developed brains of other animals - such as humans - as the CPU in, say, spaceships? McCaffery and Heinlein, among others, already have seen the future of such - taking the living brains from dead bodies and using them to power starships. Even the Superman comics have seen living brains planted into metal bodies.
It's a brave new world that's opening up. And I'm interested in seeing where it goes.
I *knew* that was CmdrTaco taking apart his Red Hat beer mug at the table next to us! Only a geek of such epic proportions would have brough his leatherman to a party. And taken apart the light-up plastic glass to see how it ticked.
On the Planet Red Hat party - it was a blast. The music was rather retro-80s in the main, and reminded me of the mixes they played back in high school - without the slow songs. The food was eh - the Obi-Wan Canolis and the Jedi Strawberries were the best. I didn't try one of the Naboo Star Fighters (chocolate-dipped cookies), but heard they were pretty bland. The beer was good - bottled all the way! Even if they did run out.
All in all, highly impressive for a gathering of geeks. There were even people dancing - after about an hour or two. And I might have even gotten a free boxed Red Hat outa the deal. Without having to give up the O'Reilly Open Sources T-shirt I was wearing at the time.
Actually, the name of our moon is Luna, not 'the moon'. Which is the reason we have 'lunar eclipses' and 'solar eclipses' - not solar eclipses and moonar eclipses.:)
We just call it the Moon, like we call our sun the Sun. It's name is Luna, just like the sun's name is Sol. And it's all greek (or is it latin?) to me.
Raleigh *does* have movie theaters. And I bet it'll be playing on almost every stadium-style screen in the Triangle. All you have to do is pick a listing, and flood the theater all at once - about an hour or so before showtime.
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The article states that they intend to extract DNA from a pup that has been preserved in alcohol since 1866. So it wouldn't be adult DNA used, nor embryo DNA, but whatever they can get out of a pickled infant.
Yet even Dolly's researchers haven't found that cloning an adult is all a bad thing. Dolly has had offspring, and they mature and grow just like any other lamb does. Therefore, even if they tried to clone an *adult* Tasmanian Tiger and succeeded, as long as they managed to produce a breeding pair, ideally they could *breed* a tiger that wouldn't have the DNA problems that Dolly does.
Personally, I'm rather hot and cold on this topic. I see a lot of uses for cloning that probably won't see light of day in any respectable lab (though I don't doubt that all sorts of research will be relegated to deep, dark basement labs under the direction of Mad Scientists(tm)), this is something I can see as being useful - especially if we ever decide to colonize other worlds. Imagine - terraform a planet, and you have an *entire* ecosystem to fill. I doubt that the animals we have left to us now would be able to populate and fill an entire, virgin world. More likely those that Man has managed to send the way of the Dodo (of course) would be just as useful as any we may have left at that point in whatever few 'wild' habitats there are left.
Besides, how better to study evolution than to terraform a planet, stick a bunch of dinosaurs and cockroaches on it, and see what happens?
When I was in high school and read Time Enough for Love (at least I think that was the correct title) by Heinlein, I thought "There's no way that this sort of thing could ever happen, but what if it did?" This Heinlein story is about an old, rich man with an active mind trapped in an inactive body. They basically transplanted not his head, but his brain and spinal column into the body of a mid-20s shapely secretary.
The book was an exploration by a dirty old man into the what-ifs of transsexual identity, and not a tretise on the future possibilities of immortality, but the issues raised are pertinant - would you only get a body of the same sex as your own? What if the only available body is of the opposite sex? Is a spinal cord transplatation feasible? If so, it would solve the nerve-attachment problem that would do away with the paralysm. But could you ever be sure of what was you and what was the body? In the book, the guy had the host body's personality riding around in his head, and he died in less than a year (I can't remember exactly what from, but probably a combination of rejection and other things). Is this really a long-term solution? The monkeys lived a week before they were put down. That's definately not a real test for length of life trials.
I don't know. I might prefer to see Futurama's Hall of Heads before we get (as my husband said) "the attack of the wheelchair bound killer decomposing head creatures." And most kids think it's bad enough to kiss their grandparents on the cheek. Imagine visiting your great-great grandmother - a 140 year old head on a 50 year old body. I just shudder to think about it.
I definately like the idea - especially after the arguement I had with my husband on whether to partition 2000 MB for a 2GB partition, or 2048MB. But 'kibibytes'? 'mebibytes'? 'gibibytes'? Could they have chosen *anything* that would have been more confusing? I suppose I can understand the desire to keep things similar, but for the first few years, lay people are going to think you an idiot - or at least in possession of an odd stutter - if you use these terms to them. It would have been far better to simply use something that had a totally different sound/first letter. Like... I don't know. Snazzybyte. Fluptybyte. Zurzabyte. *Anything*.
I find this very interesting. And a little bit scary. If they anticipate being able to build a 'brain' out of leech neurons, which can interface with the electronics of a robot, I have to wonder how long it will be before the next step - to use the fully developed brains of other animals - such as humans - as the CPU in, say, spaceships? McCaffery and Heinlein, among others, already have seen the future of such - taking the living brains from dead bodies and using them to power starships. Even the Superman comics have seen living brains planted into metal bodies.
It's a brave new world that's opening up. And I'm interested in seeing where it goes.
I *knew* that was CmdrTaco taking apart his Red Hat beer mug at the table next to us! Only a geek of such epic proportions would have brough his leatherman to a party. And taken apart the light-up plastic glass to see how it ticked.
On the Planet Red Hat party - it was a blast. The music was rather retro-80s in the main, and reminded me of the mixes they played back in high school - without the slow songs. The food was eh - the Obi-Wan Canolis and the Jedi Strawberries were the best. I didn't try one of the Naboo Star Fighters (chocolate-dipped cookies), but heard they were pretty bland. The beer was good - bottled all the way! Even if they did run out.
All in all, highly impressive for a gathering of geeks. There were even people dancing - after about an hour or two. And I might have even gotten a free boxed Red Hat outa the deal. Without having to give up the O'Reilly Open Sources T-shirt I was wearing at the time.
Actually, the name of our moon is Luna, not 'the moon'. Which is the reason we have 'lunar eclipses' and 'solar eclipses' - not solar eclipses and moonar eclipses. :)
We just call it the Moon, like we call our sun the Sun. It's name is Luna, just like the sun's name is Sol. And it's all greek (or is it latin?) to me.
Mur!
Raleigh *does* have movie theaters. And I bet it'll be playing on almost every stadium-style screen in the Triangle. All you have to do is pick a listing, and flood the theater all at once - about an hour or so before showtime.