Pentagon to Rewrite Evolution, Create Immortal Life
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
Seriously? I'm still anxiously awaiting the batallions of glowing pigs and rats with human ears on their backs.
Pfff. Why save lives when you can make new ones? If I could create synthetic immortal life, I would declare myself GOD.Crossborder said:
Good thing we have only good, level-headed people wroking in the Pentagon. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some canned food to hoard.
Uh, guys? Did anyone notice the tiny detail, that this shit is being developed by DARPA? As in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency? You know, the space-age superweapon factory for DoD, the Department of Attacking Defensless Countr Defense in the US?
I mean, if they accidentally invent the fountain of youth or the cure for everything, they are going to share the technology with the rest of the world, right?
It's not like they are just going to amass a huge army of immortal super-soldier-cyborgs firing OMGLAZOR cannons, and take over the world in the name of freedom, nah, they are not like that...right? Right?
I mean, if they accidentally invent the fountain of youth or the cure for everything, they are going to share the technology with the rest of the world, right?
It's not like they are just going to amass a huge army of immortal super-soldier-cyborgs firing OMGLAZOR cannons, and take over the world in the name of freedom, nah, they are not like that...right? Right?
It's already possible to make immortal life forms, you can take human cells and make them immortal by simply overexpressing the right gene. Give those cells the nutrients they would otherwise need for normal activity and they can survive indefinately until you decide they aren't needed. It's similar to cancer.
The telomeres (the ends bits on chromosomes) get shorter every time a cell divides, so as you get older your cells will eventually reach a point where they can't divide any more, so those cells will ultimately get removed from your body and fresh cells will take their place. But cancer cells have a mutation that allows for the ends of the chromosomes to be repaired, so they can divide as many times as they feel like it and still survive themselves. So those clever scientists found the gene that encodes telomerase (the enzyme that catalyses the reaction to repair telomeres) and use it to make immortal tissue cultures.
I'm not sure exactly what DARPA plan on doing but if they've only got $6 million I'd hazard a guess that it won't be as revolutionary as some may think and will just be mashing together some existing technologies.
The telomeres (the ends bits on chromosomes) get shorter every time a cell divides, so as you get older your cells will eventually reach a point where they can't divide any more, so those cells will ultimately get removed from your body and fresh cells will take their place. But cancer cells have a mutation that allows for the ends of the chromosomes to be repaired, so they can divide as many times as they feel like it and still survive themselves. So those clever scientists found the gene that encodes telomerase (the enzyme that catalyses the reaction to repair telomeres) and use it to make immortal tissue cultures.
I'm not sure exactly what DARPA plan on doing but if they've only got $6 million I'd hazard a guess that it won't be as revolutionary as some may think and will just be mashing together some existing technologies.
WTF?!? Self destruct mechanisms?
These guys forget one thing - this is cells we are talking about. You can't change DNA so something will 'self destruct' or have a 'serial code'. Biological cells are infinitely complex. You can't just make something immortal, general ageing and other factors affect that. And if they want to create some kind of miracle that will 'skip evolution' from $6 million, they should just forget it. They should put it to a better use like cancer research or curing the common cold.
sorry that i keep on using 'apostrophes', but i like them
These guys forget one thing - this is cells we are talking about. You can't change DNA so something will 'self destruct' or have a 'serial code'. Biological cells are infinitely complex. You can't just make something immortal, general ageing and other factors affect that. And if they want to create some kind of miracle that will 'skip evolution' from $6 million, they should just forget it. They should put it to a better use like cancer research or curing the common cold.
sorry that i keep on using 'apostrophes', but i like them
We don't feel like waiting fifty million years to evolve, so It's pretty cool to see something like this.
Now if they would just allow genetic manipulation.
Now if they would just allow genetic manipulation.
There's stupid... and then there's stupid. Why the fuck is the science community full of stupid?!
If Mother Nature wanted immortal beings, she would have evolved them naturally. We got death and disease and age because evolution demands it. While I'll give them an A for effort, they still get a F for everything else.
If Mother Nature wanted immortal beings, she would have evolved them naturally. We got death and disease and age because evolution demands it. While I'll give them an A for effort, they still get a F for everything else.
I hereby volunteer, as a citizen of the United States of America, to be researched on for the creation of these crimes against nature.
On another note, I really love this country.
On another note, I really love this country.
As I mentioned in my post, you CAN make cells immortal. And as a matter of fact you can also make cells self-destruct. Both mechanisms are involved in cancer development and there is enough research out there to know at least part of the pathways involved. Apoptosis is one way that an organism can make cells 'self-destruct', it just tells them ' Oi, die now!' and they obediently follow orders. It can work differently in different organisms but it can definately be controlled to some degree as long as you know where to fiddle.olcohalic said:
Why not?Pegghead said:
Supposedly he created us in his image, so if anything we should be good at it.
So, let me get this strait...
researching the use of stem cells to cure just about everything is immoral and considered criminal, but basically ripping of the X-Files is not only A-OK, but not even worthy of a "Top Secret" stamp or even secret lab beneath an old mansion?! What the hell are they even trying to accomplish with immortal Furbies, anyway?!
On the bright side, I cant wait for the guys in butterfly suits to show up.
researching the use of stem cells to cure just about everything is immoral and considered criminal, but basically ripping of the X-Files is not only A-OK, but not even worthy of a "Top Secret" stamp or even secret lab beneath an old mansion?! What the hell are they even trying to accomplish with immortal Furbies, anyway?!
On the bright side, I cant wait for the guys in butterfly suits to show up.