Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
A programming language for living cells — Parallax Forums

A programming language for living cells

Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    'Hard to tell, given this snippet from the article:

    "... which they describe in the April 1 issue of Science ..." :)

    -Phil
  • jonesjones Posts: 281
    Seems legit. Here's the PI's bio: http://be.mit.edu/directory/christopher-a-voigt
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    Its real. That means that there is the potential to take a short viral protein... figure out what the RNA was used to create it. Take that information... and figure out a protein analog, which matches the RNA conformation, in terms of binding potential... then translate that into a DNA script... have the bacterial produce that protein... put two of those on the end of an IgG molecule, rather than the normal binding sites. What you get is mono-clonal antibodies for any virus... this is the perfect anti-serum... for any virus or cancer.

    Now if these guys can get some industrial strength funding... which they apparently are appealing for... and then we wait 20 years.

    Or... give the problem to the DOD... give them a deadline and ask how much it will cost... 3 years max:) Not NIH... DOD!!!
    Someone deep down in the DOD probably already has it, but if you don't pay for it, you'll never see it. Eventually it will leak to a major company that will patent the whole thing. Pay NOW!!!! That's the way these things work and it is better not to be a cheapo pinko when it comes to issues like this.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    rjo__
    ...it is better not to be a cheapo pinko when it comes to issues like this.
    So, you pay taxes, the government uses your tax money to develop things via the DOD or whatever. Sounds like a full on command economy like any good communist regime.
    Eventually it will leak to a major company that will patent the whole thing.
    So, you now have to pay for the thing that you already paid for above and the profits go to said major company.

    Ah I get, it's a welfare system for corporations and their owners, not the people.

    Make me want to turn "pinko".



  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    It's the same process on both sides of the spectrum. Just faster and cheaper, if you use the right people.
    The alternative is to wait for someone to steal it and then use punitive pricing to charge for stuff we already paid for.
    Too cynical?
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    rjo__

    No idea, but the way capitalism is playing out, ownership of nearly everything in the hands of the few, peasants having to rent everything, totally surveillance, starts to make the worst of the cold war police states look positively inviting.

    If it's the same process on both sides of the spectrum then why put down the other side as "pinko" as if they are worse?



  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2016-04-11 14:20
    Bah rubbish, us old guys program our cells in assembler:
    AUG         // The start codon
.
.
UUA         // leucine amino acid codon 
.
.
UAG         // A stop codon
    See here for all the 64 "opcodes" (codons). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_code

    It's the only way to get really efficient code. None of the bloat of high level languages.

    Of course Peter Jakacki will say he can do just as well in DNAForth :)
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    If I understand what they are doing, I think the product has to be wrapped for delivery into the bacteria by a virus. Generally what happens is that when a virus infects a bacteria, it takes over the genetic machinery for its own purposes.
    I think what the guys are doing is automating the process of attaching the snippet into the virus... which then infects the bacteria... which then produces whatever snippet you want. Could be they have figured out a different way to do it... but that was the approach a few years ago and I think that is what they are doing. There is a little chemistry involved... so you put what you want in... and the program figures out the chemistry, engineers the virus and away we go:).

    This is the only technical approach that I know of that has the real potential to deal with the various epidemics ... including cancer, but it is going to require industrial strength automation of the processes to get us there... many billions of dollars for a "Manhattan Project" approach. Medicine is stuck in the 20th century. To actually moving medicine into the 21st century.. we are going to need this.

    I really don't like the idea of this stuff being in the public domain, but there it is.
Sign In or Register to comment.