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Craig Venter: On the verge of creating synthetic life



Uploaded by: TEDtalksDirector
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http://www.ted.com "Can we create new life out of our digital universe?" asks Craig Venter. And his answer is, yes, and pretty soon. He walks the TED2008 audience through his latest research into "fourth-generation fuels" -- biologically created fuels with CO2 as their feedstock. His talk covers the details of creating brand-new chromosomes using digital technology, the reasons why we would want to do this, and the bioethics of synthetic life. A fascinating Q &A with TED's Chris Anderson follows (two words: suicide genes).


Tags for this video: alternative Craig creativity energy genetics global invention issues technology ted tedtalks Venter

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your fat ( 3 months ago by windex72)
your fat
Using Wikipedia( ... ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
Using Wikipedia(Mass--energy_equivalence) and michaelbluejay(dot)com/electricity/cost(dot)html for energy prices, I've come up with this:
Going beyond nuclear power, the ultimate power source we currently know of is all power that is contained in a atom (actually the atom is the energy, but I'll skip that ^^). 1 gram of mass (a US dollar bill) = 89.9 terajoules (89.9 trillion watt seconds). 89.9 terajoules = 24972222222.22 kilowatt hours or $4994444444444.44 US (at 5 cents per kilowatt hour).
I don't think ... ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
I don't think you'll have to do the math to see that no living organism will ever be able to compete with the power that makes up everything. Even a fraction of that power, let's say only ONE-TEN-THOUSANDTH that power, you would still have just short of half a billion $US in energy (granted, were this technology to exist on the free market, energy prices would be lower than water (by a lot)).
And that is why I say it's silly to screw with nature (more dangerous than nuclear power) for power.
Also, the pronouns ... ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
Also, the pronouns "Your" and "You" aren't capitalized in the English language. However, since it placates my ego, it's acceptable in this case. ;P
Yes, I know that ... ( 3 months ago by qwertybaa)
Yes, I know that officialy they aren't but that's my way to pay some respect to my interlocutor;)
In Your calculation You (or maybe I should say the author of it) didn't consider costs of building a nuclear power station and warehousing the wastets Some time ago I've read an article the author of which wrote that in fact building a nuclear power station without guarantees of government is uneconomical
I'm not against nuclear power but I think that we should explore many different technologies
This is true; any ... ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
This is true; any machine that is capable of stripping an atom of all power is going to be something special, as the only way we know it occurs so far is when matter meets with it's opposite antimatter, causing both of them to nullify their existence and release enough energy to make nuclear power look like child's play. There is also a HUGE problem with nuclear energy, where two-thirds of the heat (aka energy) is wasted.
I'd still think ... ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
I'd still think this geneticist would benefit the world greater if he were working on retroviruses or something else threatening human survival, but honestly science is all about gaining an understanding of everything (and energy production from living matter is part of everything). Plus it's a free world (most of it, anyway), so he's free to choose what it is he studies (provided it has some purpose, which it does). You haven't lost sight of that, and I did, so let's say you won the debate. =)
It wasn't about ... ( 3 months ago by qwertybaa)
It wasn't about winning or losing, just talking;)
Making science for me is all about fun. As R. Feynman said: 'Physics (make that any branch of science) is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.'
maybe that's very selfish point of view but in the end there're some practical results.;)
Array ( 3 months ago by Truthiness231)
Well said ^.^
Another fantastic quote on physics: "All science is either physics or stamp collecting." - Ernest Rutherford
this is awesome.... ... ( 2 months ago by iurak6868)
this is awesome......
think of the posibilities, you could create new lifeforms,
but what lifeforms do we want to create?
exactly the ones that this guy is working on, the lifeforms that can help human race
and helping human race is to help the enviroment, and the world.
they could create ... ( 2 months ago by iurak6868)
they could create bacteria that can recycle plastic, glass, and other toxical waste...
could they make it grow food?
there's another issue.... what if we get so good at it, that we create all that we need, all the other organism on earth would be obsolete, we would not need them to keep the balance.... i wouldn't like that...
Fascinating. Venter ... ( 2 months ago by DarkCloudRising)
Fascinating. Venter is a fantastic genius.
Won't it take ... ( 2 months ago by RammatRamzi)
Won't it take STUPID scientists to finally create life? I mean, they can't be intelligent if the DO create life, finally, true?
All the other ... ( 1 month ago by Darthwillburr)
All the other organisms on earth do not NEED us.. so whats your point?
i didn't said they ... ( 1 month ago by iurak6868)
i didn't said they needed us, i said we need them, we for example need all the trees in the amazonas to purify the air for us, plants are a key part of the ecosystem.
How about creating ... ( 1 month ago by leevi1234)
How about creating a virus that only targets specific groups of people. Everyone agrees that there are too many humans. So lets have a clear cut solution. Let's put something out there that just infects people with certain genes that others dont have. And lets start at those countries witch are most overpopulated. Not very PC solution but wouldn't this be better than that everybody suffers.
Die off, fuckin ... ( 1 month ago by trakkaton)
Die off, fuckin cro-magnon Nazi!!!
Every new technolgy ... ( 1 month ago by trakkaton)
Every new technolgy has been abused by the elite (and their crazy chanting brainless cheerleaders like levi...)
Es gibt nichts ... ( 1 month ago by leevi1234)
Es gibt nichts falsch mit dieser Lösung.
Natur kümmert sich um uns, wenn wir nicht.
Und Sie sind die ein aus Deutschland.
Ei natseissa mitän vikaa ollut.
Duche.
"Fascinating and ... ( 1 month ago by 0lord0kinbote0)
"Fascinating and scary. Ever see the movie Jurassic Park? Evolution is awesome however, it has always been in a slow constant balance with itself."
Evolution has never been in balance, as it is unbalanced by nature.
i know this work ... ( 2 weeks ago by keithellington)
i know this work seems scary, but really this is quite safe compared to naturally occurring genetic phenomena like retroviruses.
if any of you saw I Am Legend, be assured that this kind of genetic engineering is nothing like the virus they created in that movie.
even the most harmless natural pathogens have evolved into much nastier form than the Venter group or any other human lab could create.
Actually this ... ( 1 week ago by s1d3fx)
Actually this wouldn't work seeing as all humans have the same genes. I think what you meant to say is that they should create a virus that would only target specific alleles. Perhaps they could engineer one that causes only racist morons like yourself to asphyxiate. This not only rids us of your idiocy, but simultaneously prevents your from wasting oxygen while you die.
Quite anry are you. ... ( 1 week ago by leevi1234)
Quite anry are you. What is wrong with racism? Everyone is not equal. Look to the facts.
Do you think Hitler ... ( 4 days ago by leevi1234)
Do you think Hitler was the first to think that the white race is supreme. But i'm not defending anyones choises.
But look how different races act. Inside their own societies and inside of others.
There is only one truth and being PC is the worst thing you can be. Be truthful.
But it wont take long now. Lot's of humans are going to die in a short time period.
And what is your argument for your idea that everyone is equal. In who's eyes. Maybe in your eyes.



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