Why do people object to genetic modification?

[Uknow_me72]

Natural source of production? Are you suggesting we should all become plants?

Need I remind you that for the majority of living things on this planet have a lifespan measured in hours? Not only are we outnumbered by micro-organisms, but each one of us is a separate ecosystem, with hundreds of species growing on and inside us.

No I am not saying that we should all become plants.

I'll give an idea to consider. Your body is biological, the plants, animals, water, etc all biological and work a certain way because the code the creator choose to use to create said being.

So why must you think this need improvement on?

I think we are jumping way ahead of where the world is at on this subject, how can we talk about engineering things like food/humans/animals and understand the effects if them if we can not conclude an optimal and have an agreed upon source of beingness?

It's like playing with fire.


I'll conclude with this, this is not exact but here is an example if how DNA works when you eat food. This is barney status at the best.

Lets say Apple

APPLE DNA - AAABBBAABBBCCCBBBBAAA (however it looks to the body)
Body response - mmm apple let me harvest the nutrients
Outcome -

Genetically modified apple dna - ABCCCBAAABCCABCBCA ( because we like big tasty apples)
Body Response -yuck wtf is that, thats not an apple I don't know what to do with that.
Outcome - Fat, syst, cancer, increased aging.



A little theatrical for you:

What we already have genetically modified food?!?!?! You mean, wtf this why people are fat, ugly, and sick looking. They all turned into trolls.

Yes, they did.

That wasn't really food billy.


I just thought the last snippet is something we over look.

/other note, your brain is your command center and conducts all your bodily functions and what seems automatic... but is it really or we telling our body to computate and and commanding all those functions be done constantly at such a speed that we do not reconize it? I have a strong feeling if you stop and listen or have a problem with your body you can do something about it yourself. You just have to find yourself.

more pennies.

 

[JBeukema]

Why do people object to a science that could make our species hiv-resistant, remove genetic defects, improve out overall health, increase life expectancy...

For one thing, once you decide to genetically engineer people, you have to admit that some genetic pools are substandard.

some are. improperly copied DNA that contains a genetic mutation that will put all subsequent generations at a highly elevated rish of heatrt attack,. stroke, cancer, or whatever is inferior and less fit or desirable to a mutation that leads to an increased resistance to such a thing

The #1 genetecist in the world dared to say that and was nearly stoned for it. He said that because blacks have been historically poor, malnourished and uneducated, their capacity to learn and likelihood of genius has been affected.

so politics and the feelings of the ignorant masses come before reality and progress?

So which standard would you breed to?

clarify

You must love the idea of cannibalism, huh?

sexual cannibalism, mostly; why do you ask?

It's wrong to breed humans to a standard. Hence our disgust with the Nazis.

Incorrect. The disgust with the NAZIs comes from their extermination of millions of people. if breeding to a standard were despised, women would not like handsome men, men would not like pretty women, noone would want healthy children, and our species would die out

I'll conclude with this, this is not exact but here is an example if how DNA works when you eat food. This is barney status at the best.

Lets say Apple

APPLE DNA - AAABBBAABBBCCCBBBBAAA (however it looks to the body)
Body response - mmm apple let me harvest the nutrients
Outcome -

Genetically modified apple dna - ABCCCBAAABCCABCBCA ( because we like big tasty apples)
Body Response -yuck wtf is that, thats not an apple I don't know what to do with that.
Outcome - Fat, syst, cancer, increased aging.

You do realize that our digestive sstem breaks food down to the composite proteins, sugars, etc, right. You DO realize that our bodies don't go 'wait... analyzing DNA.. this is a Gala apple'

A little theatrical for you:

What we already have genetically modified food?!?!?! You mean, wtf this why people are fat, ugly, and sick looking. They all turned into trolls.

Yes, they did.

That wasn't really food billy.

are you totally ignorant or dishonest?

 

[hjmick]

Why do people object to a science that could make our species hiv-resistant, remove genetic defects, improve out overall health, increase life expectancy...

Three words: Khan Noonian Singh

We all know how that turned out...

 

[AllieBaba]

I genetically engineer microorganisms to make them more useful. I mostly use site-specific homologous recombination via suicide plasmid vectors. And yes, the suicide plasmids are artificially constructed, modeled after a bacteriophage plasmid. I'm still quite new to the field, honestly.

I'm not so good at playing with eukaryotes, though. I'll be practicing more with eukaryotes next year, once I'm done with my bacterial projects! The nuclear membrane and histones are a pain to work around...not to mention you need to target non-terminal cells.

You know, I was just going to say that. Especially all that stuff about the suicide plasmoids, eucarids and hystermones.

If you're curious, there's plenty to learn!

Viral Vector = Delivery Boy for genes, derived from known viruses
Eukaryote = Large, advanced cell that can perform glycolysis (unlike prokaryotes), includes all multi-cellular organisms, like humans
Histone = large protein that acts as a spindle for eukaryotic DNA, makes genetic engineering difficult

Also, all the gear you need to start up a garage genetic engineering lab will only run you $13k-25k if you buy second-hand equipment off Ebay! $350 for a working thermal cycler is a steal!

Holy moley, I thought I was brainy because I read Richard Preston!

 

[eots]

There's already too many damned people in the world..

Feel free to kill yourself and help save the earth

There aren't too many humans on Earth; there are too many people in certain regions. It's kinda like how people say earth can't feed us all, when to actual problem is distribution


Besides, genetic manipulation and transhumanism could, in theory, help alleviate Man's need for food in a n umber of ways

You must love the idea of cannibalism, huh?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeDLzTObXFY]YouTube - King Missile - Eating People[/ame]

 

[hjmick]

Holy moley, I thought I was brainy because I read Richard Preston!

Hot Zone and Wild Trees were my favorites, but I do like all of his work. His brother is a damn good author as well, both his solo work and the stuff he writes with Lincoln Child. For a very good read, check out Douglas Preston's Monster of Florence.

 

[KittenKoder]

Okay, addressing the only thing that I find rather ... well ... excruciatingly lame in this thread because the rest of the lameness is just too boring at this time.

Genetically modified fruit = cross breeding ... nothing more ... even now.

As another already pointed out, the body doesn't "read" the DNA of what it eats anyway, it dissolves the whole thing, breaks it down into little molecules, then uses those molecules ... the DNA of the object consumed is also broken down as well. Sheesh, people will find anything to fear these days, won't they.

 

[eagleseven]

No I am not saying that we should all become plants.

I'll give an idea to consider. Your body is biological, the plants, animals, water, etc all biological and work a certain way because the code the creator choose to use to create said being.

So why must you think this need improvement on?

1.More birth defects than any one person can memorize.
2.Cancer
3. Parkinson's, Huntington's, etc. etc. etc.

If your creator gives little girls incurable, painful cancers like leukemia, I want nothing to do with your creator.

I think we are jumping way ahead of where the world is at on this subject, how can we talk about engineering things like food/humans/animals and understand the effects if them if we can not conclude an optimal and have an agreed upon source of beingness?

It's like playing with fire.

It's like me making a new recipe, say a new way of making beans and rice. You might not like my recipe, but I do, and others around me do. I'll use that recipe of beans and rice to make others around me happy, regardless of what you think of my cooking abilities.

I'll conclude with this, this is not exact but here is an example if how DNA works when you eat food. This is barney status at the best.

Lets say Apple

APPLE DNA - AAABBBAABBBCCCBBBBAAA (however it looks to the body)
Body response - mmm apple let me harvest the nutrients
Outcome -

Genetically modified apple dna - ABCCCBAAABCCABCBCA ( because we like big tasty apples)
Body Response -yuck wtf is that, thats not an apple I don't know what to do with that.
Outcome - Fat, syst, cancer, increased aging.

That's....that's not how it works at all.

First off, the letters in DNA are A,T,G,C. Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine.

When a regular apple is consumed, little molecules inside your intestines known as deoxyribonuclease find the apple DNA, munch it up and convert it to sugar, which you then absorb.

When a genetically modified apple is consumed, little molecules inside your intestines known as DNAase find the genetically modified apple DNA, munch it up and convert it to sugar, which you then absorb.

It doesn't matter what combination of A,T,G, and C are in the food's DNA, they all get munched up and absorbed by the body all the same.

A little theatrical for you:

What we already have genetically modified food?!?!?! You mean, wtf this why people are fat, ugly, and sick looking. They all turned into trolls.

Yes, they did.

That wasn't really food billy.


I just thought the last snippet is something we over look.

This is the reason why we're fat and smelly. Nothing genetically modified in that meal. Just 100% natural junk food.

/other note, your brain is your command center and conducts all your bodily functions and what seems automatic... but is it really or we telling our body to computate and and commanding all those functions be done constantly at such a speed that we do not reconize it? I have a strong feeling if you stop and listen or have a problem with your body you can do something about it yourself. You just have to find yourself.

If I shot you in your stomach, no matter how hard you meditate or think, you won't stop that bleeding without a bandage.

Without medical treatment, you would die. If not from blood-loss, then from the resulting infection. Believe what you want, but I'm more interested in saving lives. I'll leave dealing with souls to people like you.

Familiar with the Id, Ego, and Superego? If not, I suggest you read up.

 

[Uknow_me72]

Okay, addressing the only thing that I find rather ... well ... excruciatingly lame in this thread because the rest of the lameness is just too boring at this time.

Genetically modified fruit = cross breeding ... nothing more ... even now.

As another already pointed out, the body doesn't "read" the DNA of what it eats anyway, it dissolves the whole thing, breaks it down into little molecules, then uses those molecules ... the DNA of the object consumed is also broken down as well. Sheesh, people will find anything to fear these days, won't they.

Apparently you don't understand what is DNA. How does it break it down and know what to dissolve absorb if it doesn't read it some way?

What happens with all the modified molecules that it doesn't use?

This is why I answered for you in the barney explaination, you are the one that didn't understand the concept I portayed. How can you understand what a micro biologist explains to you can't comprehend.

I have more... be back later.

 

[eagleseven]

Holy moley, I thought I was brainy because I read Richard Preston!

Richard Preston??? Now I'm the one admitting ignorance...

*A moment later*

Just checked wiki. Dark biology? I kinda like it! Beats reading journal articles, that's for sure...

 

[geauxtohell]

Okay, addressing the only thing that I find rather ... well ... excruciatingly lame in this thread because the rest of the lameness is just too boring at this time.

Genetically modified fruit = cross breeding ... nothing more ... even now.

As another already pointed out, the body doesn't "read" the DNA of what it eats anyway, it dissolves the whole thing, breaks it down into little molecules, then uses those molecules ... the DNA of the object consumed is also broken down as well. Sheesh, people will find anything to fear these days, won't they.

What's more, all fruit has been cultivated since the dawn of time. So every fruit you eat today has been genetically modified (so to speak). Have you ever seen an original banana? You wouldn't want to eat it.

A slightly funny twist on this is the "Kirk Cameron/Ray Comfort Banana's As A Way To Debunk Evolutionary theory theory".

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLqQttJinjo]YouTube - Atheists nightmare debunked. Ray Comfort/Kirk cameron[/ame]

Seedless fruits are the result of polyploidy (excess chromosomes (I believe, it's been a while, the pros can correct me if I am wrong).

But yeah, it's highly doubtful that the genotype of a gentically modified fruit is going to interact with your genotype or cause you any problems (though I don't think it would necessarily all be degraded in the stomach).

Frankly, I don't see why people freak out about antibiotic use in animals. You aren't going to absorb another animal's antibiotics through your GI tract.

I can see the concern about hormones.

 

[geauxtohell]

Apparently you don't understand what is DNA. How does it break it down and know what to dissolve absorb if it doesn't read it some way?

I am sorry, are you suggesting that our ribosomes translate our food's DNA?

Excuse me: are you suggesting that our ribsomes translate RNA from our food's DNA that has been coverted by some sort of magic reverse transcriptase?

You realize that is absurd, right?

 

[KittenKoder]

Okay, addressing the only thing that I find rather ... well ... excruciatingly lame in this thread because the rest of the lameness is just too boring at this time.

Genetically modified fruit = cross breeding ... nothing more ... even now.

As another already pointed out, the body doesn't "read" the DNA of what it eats anyway, it dissolves the whole thing, breaks it down into little molecules, then uses those molecules ... the DNA of the object consumed is also broken down as well. Sheesh, people will find anything to fear these days, won't they.

Apparently you don't understand what is DNA. How does it break it down and know what to dissolve absorb if it doesn't read it some way?

What happens with all the modified molecules that it doesn't use?

This is why I answered for you in the barney explaination, you are the one that didn't understand the concept I portayed. How can you understand what a micro biologist explains to you can't comprehend.

I have more... be back later.

You don't understand DNA or biology at all, I recommend you learn about them instead of parroting the idiotic fears. Seriously, too many damned morons talking about science without even understanding it and all they have are fearmonger slogans or parroting myths and lies from some special interest group rung by dumbasses who have not even studied a day in the subject they address.

 

[eagleseven]

Frankly, I don't see why people freak out about antibiotic use in animals. You aren't going to absorb another animal's antibiotics through your GI tract.

I can see the concern about hormones.

You're right, we don't generally absorb any significant amount of antibiotics through our food. So what's the problem?

Our GI track is like a jungle, LOADED with bacteria. Most are beneficial, some are harmful. By eating foods laced with antibiotics, we exposed those bacterial forests to the antibiotic....thus making them antibiotic-resistant.

If you happen to have harmful bacteria in your gut, and don't wash your hands or wipe well (or simply don't flush), those newly anti-biotic resistant pathogens can spread.


In fact, this is a major way antibiotic resistance spreads in hospitals; via bedpans. Nurses get colonized by pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria in droplets released from bedpans, and then transfer the pathogens to every patient they then go and interact with.

 

[geauxtohell]

You're right, we don't generally absorb any significant amount of antibiotics through our food. So what's the problem?

Our GI track is like a jungle, LOADED with bacteria. Most are beneficial, some are harmful. By eating foods laced with antibiotics, we exposed those bacterial forests to the antibiotic....thus making them antibiotic-resistant.

If you happen to have harmful bacteria in your gut, and don't wash your hands or wipe well (or simply don't flush), those newly anti-biotic resistant pathogens can spread.


In fact, this is a major way antibiotic resistance spreads in hospitals; via bedpans. Nurses get colonized by pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria in droplets released from bedpans, and then transfer the pathogens to every patient they then go and interact with.

I fully buy that corporate farms over-vaccinate and create novel bugs that can be a problematic in pandemics/epidemics (I know there is some speculation that this might be the root of the swing flu).

I also know that C. difficile induced colitis is a big problem that comes about from people getting antibiotics like clindamycin in hospitals (and other nosocomial infections like MRSA which is not in our gut flora).

I've yet to hear or see any academic work that says that antibiotics from livestock could cause pseudomembranous colitis or induce resistance among our own G.I. flora. It seems like a stretch to me. But I'd be willing to check it out if you have any links.

 

[eagleseven]

You're right, we don't generally absorb any significant amount of antibiotics through our food. So what's the problem?

Our GI track is like a jungle, LOADED with bacteria. Most are beneficial, some are harmful. By eating foods laced with antibiotics, we exposed those bacterial forests to the antibiotic....thus making them antibiotic-resistant.

If you happen to have harmful bacteria in your gut, and don't wash your hands or wipe well (or simply don't flush), those newly anti-biotic resistant pathogens can spread.


In fact, this is a major way antibiotic resistance spreads in hospitals; via bedpans. Nurses get colonized by pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria in droplets released from bedpans, and then transfer the pathogens to every patient they then go and interact with.

I fully buy that corporate farms over-vaccinate and create novel bugs that can be a problematic in pandemics/epidemics (I know there is some speculation that this might be the root of the swing flu).

I also know that C. difficile induced colitis is a big problem that comes about from people getting antibiotics like clindamycin in hospitals (and other nosocomial infections like MRSA which is not in our gut flora).

I've yet to hear or see any academic work that says that antibiotics from livestock could cause pseudomembranous colitis or induce resistance among our own G.I. flora. It seems like a stretch to me. But I'd be willing to check it out if you have any links.

You are right, there isn't a whole ton of data available, and I would imagine setting up a study for this hypothesis would be quite difficult.

That said, I found this juicy tidbit from the CDC...

A third possible reason that antibiotic resistance is a food safety problem is that the food supply may be a source of antibiotic-resistant genes. Harmless bacteria present in food-producing animals could be resistant, and humans could acquire these bacteria when they eat meat products from these animals. Once ingested, resistant genes from these bacteria could be transferred to bacteria that cause disease. Quantifying the extent to which this contributes to a food safety problem is difficult.

Not the exact mechanism that I was suggesting, but this has the same dangerous long-term effect. Even they say it is very challenging to test such a hypothesis.

 

[Uknow_me72]

Okay, addressing the only thing that I find rather ... well ... excruciatingly lame in this thread because the rest of the lameness is just too boring at this time.

Genetically modified fruit = cross breeding ... nothing more ... even now.

As another already pointed out, the body doesn't "read" the DNA of what it eats anyway, it dissolves the whole thing, breaks it down into little molecules, then uses those molecules ... the DNA of the object consumed is also broken down as well. Sheesh, people will find anything to fear these days, won't they.

Apparently you don't understand what is DNA. How does it break it down and know what to dissolve absorb if it doesn't read it some way?

What happens with all the modified molecules that it doesn't use?

This is why I answered for you in the barney explaination, you are the one that didn't understand the concept I portayed. How can you understand what a micro biologist explains to you can't comprehend.

I have more... be back later.

You don't understand DNA or biology at all, I recommend you learn about them instead of parroting the idiotic fears. Seriously, too many damned morons talking about science without even understanding it and all they have are fearmonger slogans or parroting myths and lies from some special interest group rung by dumbasses who have not even studied a day in the subject they address.

A lot of people can say the same thing about you, before you pretend your rightous and I'm a complete moron what is your life experiance and why are you so judgemental to me when I just gave you a senario?

I understand if me saying something against your favorite subject might make you angry but you should practice diplomacy, imo.

I always make sure people understand I am just objective, because I do not swallow the medicine like you doesnt mean anything different.

 

[eagleseven]

Apparently you don't understand what is DNA. How does it break it down and know what to dissolve absorb if it doesn't read it some way?

What happens with all the modified molecules that it doesn't use?

This is why I answered for you in the barney explaination, you are the one that didn't understand the concept I portayed. How can you understand what a micro biologist explains to you can't comprehend.

I have more... be back later.

You don't understand DNA or biology at all, I recommend you learn about them instead of parroting the idiotic fears. Seriously, too many damned morons talking about science without even understanding it and all they have are fearmonger slogans or parroting myths and lies from some special interest group rung by dumbasses who have not even studied a day in the subject they address.

A lot of people can say the same thing about you, before you pretend your rightous and I'm a complete moron what is your life experiance and why are you so judgemental to me when I just gave you a senario?

I understand if me saying something against your favorite subject might make you angry but you should practice diplomacy, imo.

I always make sure people understand I am just objective, because I do not swallow the medicine like you doesnt mean anything different.

I was being polite before, but I won't be now.

You've demonstrated a 5th-grade understanding of biology, at best. Please, go read a Biology 101 textbook before you embarrass yourself further.

 

[RodISHI]

When all their kind has died, humanity can finally move forward, unbound by the glorified ignorance and backwardness of the vast majority of the world's religions

Dream on....

I know, you're like a plague. You just keep mutating into new strains and you won't fucking die. I think religion is a social ERV that can only be removed through eradication of the carriers or precision modification of the germ cells prioor top reproduction to prevent the infection of children

Lovely, akin to how Obama's latest appointee for the school programs feels about Christians, "drop dead".

 

[JBeukema]

Frankly, I don't see why people freak out about antibiotic use in animals. You aren't going to absorb another animal's antibiotics through your GI tract.

My personal objections to the over-use of antibiotics is fear of fueling the evolution of new, more virulent strains that we can't kill, much like appears to have happened with MRSA