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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/13/09
[www.ted.com]
This talk was from last year but outlines that kind of work which Venter is involved in. It is relevant to this post on synthetic biology.
11/13/09
As for the possibility of destroying the Earth...early on some scientists were convinced that a nuclear detonation would incinerate all the atmosphere of Earth, they detonated the devices anyway.
As for can we destroy mankind with a virus....hat just comes down to Hubris. We believe we are great and powerful, and we are taking our first steps to being so....but we are not all powerful.
We need to get over our scared kid locked in a dark closet phase with biotech. We are moving towards a better world... I want it to happen.
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Specter is correct to point out the groups silliness in attempting to ban this or that, but then it totally flies over his head that maybe the ACTUAL problem is that we permit this to be a political decision at all. THAT is irrational in my point. If party A and party B want to do business with each other and they agree to the terms, then what the hell right does some party C have to say "no you're not allowed to do that". Even going past the fact that for C to even be able to make that case he must assume to have some sort of property right over the persons A or B (since he is in fact telling them what they can and cannot do with their property, thus inferring an ownership power), what the hell makes party C so special that they should have that authority? Are they super beings who have some magical ability to say that some market exchange is "wrong"?
Perhaps the answer should be to get the government out of scientific research entirely, and instead just give back that tax money and let individuals fund what they want. then the only question to ask would be "ok, who owns this?" "they do?" "ok then, it is their decision". End of story. #syntheticbiology
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And while there's nothing wrong with genetically modified crops, there is a problem with Monsanto's control of the market and their anti-competitive behavior. #syntheticbiology
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So Daniel Clowes had it right. #syntheticbiology
11/13/09
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Why people try to hinder any kind of progress is beyond me. Instead of the old "If it ain't broke" mentality....we should always be thinking..."How can we make this better" Everything has room for improvement! #syntheticbiology
11/13/09
Nah, I agree with you. There's always room for improvement. #syntheticbiology
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I mean, zombies aren't that bad, but a biological disaster that wipes out the universe keeps me up at night.
11/13/09
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Bottom line, there are risks involved with everything and more often than not, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. We should embrace those risks to be able to understand them so we can prevent them from happening. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer... #syntheticbiology
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Then again, Pascal's wager never held any sway on me, so whatever. #syntheticbiology