Scientists Replay Movie Encoded in DNA
“For the first time, a primitive movie has been encoded in – and then played back from – DNA in living cells. Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health say it is a major step toward a ‘molecular recorder’ that may someday make it possible to get read-outs, for example, of the changing internal states of neurons as they develop.” NIMH
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…this to end up with mutant killer tomatoes terrorizing San Diego or something. Cool that they did this, cooler that it didn’t end up with something horrific per Mary Shelley, but….not quite getting the “why” of the deal.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
The further I got into that piece, the more conflicted I felt. If you can get cells to log a replayable history of changes in their chemistry, you could learn a whole lot from that. But the whole thing conjures images of human bodies being turned into living DNA computers. Probably not at all the concept, but these write ups are often too short and dumbed down (or not dumbed down enough!) to get a clear idea of where the science is headed.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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