Man invents life
May 20, 2010
One hell of a headline.
Category: Science
Peak Everything
November 23, 2009
Biological lego
July 5, 2009
Thanks to Martin Anazco for linking to this video about creating custom DNA which led me to this: The Registry is a collection of ~3200 genetic parts that can be mixed and matched to build synthetic biology devices and systems. Founded in 2003 at MIT, the Registry is part of the Synthetic Biology community’s efforts [...]
The World According to Monsanto
June 28, 2009
I’ve just been watching ‘The World According to Monsanto’. It’s pretty compelling stuff. As one of the contributors says, “Seed is more powerful than bombs, more powerful than guns” and given that, you’d have thought that we’d be a little more careful about what we do it. 70% of the food in the USA contains [...]
I have nothing to fear from a DNA database
June 21, 2009
It’s tempting to think that DNA databases are OK, because it’s just a way of uniquely identifying someone, just like a long number which no one else has, which is intrinsically linked to you. If you believe that, I can see why you think you may have nothing to worry about. But the problem is [...]
Mass dolphin stranding linked to navy exercises
June 19, 2009
An investigation into the UK’s largest ever mass stranding of common dolphins has identified military activity as the most probable cause – although no single activity can be definitively linked to the stranding. via New Scientist.
DNA databases require so much regulation that abuse is inevitable.
April 17, 2009
Anyone who studied a little genetics in high school has heard of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine – the A,T,G and C that make up the DNA code. But those are not the whole story. The rise of epigenetics in the past decade has drawn attention to a fifth nucleotide, [...]. And now there’s a [...]
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge
January 19, 2009
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller The Buckminster Fuller Institute is awarding a $100,000 prize each year for comprehensive solutions that radically advance human well-being and ecosystem health.
Biggest news of the decade: Body repair ‘could be ramped up’
January 9, 2009
Quite amazing. “A combination of drugs could trick the body into sending its repair mechanisms into overdrive, say scientists. The technique could be used to speed the healing of heart or bone damage, they claim. The bone marrow of treated mice released 100 times as many stem cells – which help to regenerate tissue. ” [...]