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panspermia
Posts Tagged “
Dna
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panspermia
advertising
A Special DNA Surprise for Daddy
In the category of weirdest product pitches, you can now include the email I got from Intigene. The company's rep suggested that Father's Day would be a good time to remind people that they could buy Identigene's home DNA paternity tests. At first I thought it was a joke because their website looked so much like something out of one of my fantasies about crappy quack DNA tests online. Their number is even 1-800-DNA-TYPE, which just reeks of used-car sales techniques. But no, it was all too real. More »
mad genomics
Should Google be Able to Read Your Genome?
Gene-sequencing technology is taking off, but George Church at Harvard University is taking it to the next level: he wants to sequence the genomes of 100,000 people. Right now, about 12 human genomes have been sequenced and Church's ambitious plan is likely to cost cost around $1 billion to complete. Recently Google — who in February announced its Google Health software for storing electronic medical records — agreed to foot a major part of the bill. Google gives us free email, chat, search, a shopping client, and so on and all they've ever asked is that we let them look at all over our most private information. Seems like a fair trade, but does that extend to our DNA? More »
nano engineering
Fake DNA Will be Scaffolding for Next Gen Nanotech
The building blocks of life just got a little weirder. Natural DNA strands are also a favorite construction tool for nano-engineers because of its tendency for individual strands to automatically bind to one another, snapping into a range of useful shapes, like the famous double helix design. Now scientists at Arizona State University have taken things to the next level and created GNA (that's Glycerol Nucleic Acid). More heat-tolerant and able to twist in ways its natural cousin can't, scientists want to use GNA as a self-assembling scaffold for the nano-robots of the future. No word on the danger of GNA escaping from the lab and spawning a race of killer synthetic, self-assembling aliens. (from EurekAlert, image: TurboSquid)
evolution
The Ancient Apocalypse
Finally, a reason to think we'll survive the next apocalypse. Last week, a study that traced the origins of humans through mitochondrial DNA concluded that 70,000 years ago humanity underwent its greatest disaster ever. Africa experienced a massive drought at the time and it devastated our population, leaving perhaps as few as 2,000 people alive on the entire planet. Yet somehow we recovered — a warm thought for all the cold nights we spend dreading nuclear war, the next pandemic, dwindling water and food supplies, and global warming. More »
splicers
Splicers Goes Back to the Old Human-Animal Intermingling Formula
All those headlines about geneticists creating "chimeras" in the lab — mingling human and animal DNA for experiments — have finally spawned a new flick. But Splicers, coming out next year with stars Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley as beleaguered DNA mixers, isn't exactly the cool movie one might have hoped for. More »
triviagasm
The Genetic History Of GATTACA
A collector's edition of GATTACA will be out in two weeks, and it's getting the full Blu-ray treatment from Sony. Maybe this box-office flop will finally get the respect that it deserves, especially now that we're getting closer and closer to being able to build superhumans. Find out more about the strange and awesome history of GATTACA below. More »
nanotechnology
Watch Your DNA Replicate In Real Time!
Long strands of DNA wind themselves around a chromatin "spool" made out of the protein histone in this picture taken with a new 3-D atomic-force microscope, the NanoWizard BioAFM. Histone plays a crucial role in DNA replication because it allows your 1.8-meter-long strands of DNA to fit inside your cells. New microscopes, like the NanoWizard, offer stability across three axes and image buffering, allowing scientists a better look at genetic duplication as it happens. [Azonano]
New 'Gattaca' DVD Brings High Def to Genetic Fascist Dystopia
Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca seems like it's been swept under the carpet and behind the radiator lately, which is surprising given the current obsession with stem cells, in utero fetal testing, and the human genome. In fact, there's a whole generation out there who haven't even seen this film. Breathe easy, because you'll be able to help them see it when a brand-new edition comes to DVD and Blu-ray on March 11th. Can you believe Danny DeVito produced this thing? The new disc features all new interviews with Ethan Hawke and Jude Law and an expose on DNA testing.
Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca seems like it's been swept under the carpet and behind the radiator lately, which is surprising given the current obsession with stem cells, in utero fetal testing, and the human genome. In fact, there's a whole generation out there who haven't even seen this film. Breathe easy, because you'll be able to help them see it when a brand-new edition comes to DVD and Blu-ray on March 11th. Can you believe Danny DeVito produced this thing? The new disc features all new interviews with Ethan Hawke and Jude Law and an expose on DNA testing.
advertising
What if Sony Really Did Have Corporate DNA?
Synthetic biologist and science blogger Keith Robison is sick of seeing advertising campaigns for companies that say "such-and-such is in our corporate DNA." So he strikes back by explaining what it REALLY means for you to have something in your DNA. The results are hilarious. Find out what Sony is really saying about itself in this ad about HD being "in our DNA" after the jump. More ».jpg){kind=tracking}
mad science
Secret Gene Sequencer in "Undisclosed Institution"
A relatively unknown biotech company in Waltham, Mass has secretly rolled out a machine that's capable of sequencing an entire genome in 24 hours for $5,000. This is an extraordinary claim: current cutting-edge gene sequencing tech takes at least twice as long, and costs about $100,000. Intelligent Bio-Systems, the company who dropped this genetics hype bomb, says they've secretly deployed one of their sequencers in an "undisclosed institution," and that they'll be rolling out three more in "undisclosed" places next year. More »
An Icelandic genetics lab has announced that for a just under $1,000, it will combine overnight shipping and genetic profiling into a single, irresistible package, called DeCodeMe. Hello, genome envy!
genetics
