sweasel.com

Yeah that “we’re almost like monkeys!” DNA nonsense is just obnoxious. Guys. We’re both carbon based air breathing mammals with four limbs and two eyes, hair, etc. Of course we’re similar, there’s a tremendous amount similar between almost any land animal.

Of course we’re similar, there’s a tremendous amount similar between almost any land animal.

So, you’re saying that Alan Spectre, Harry Reid, and Michael Moore probably represent a whole new species? Or maybe three of them?

The only practical way to find out is interbreed them <shudder>.

Every living thing on this dirtball is related in ways we probably can’t imagine. Sci fi writers have burned out many a braincell trying to figure out what life would look like if it descended from some other planet’s protozoa.

I have a theory… Actually it’s both evolution and Panspermia. Us normal humans evolved from the base earthbound material. Politicians and such were repellent viruses scooped up from other planets to make them safe and ejected into space by really nice aliens.

Unfortunately, those viruses subsequently landed on earth and evolved seperately. Thus the disconnect twixt us and them.

OK, I need a drink. Just think, Obama is going to make Joe Biden the new CEO of GM. Arrrggghh! The new WonderCar from GM: The Joe Metro.

Panspermia sounds like one of those *really* unpleasant .avi files from Japan.

So let me get this straight: they haven’t cured cancer yet, but as a consolation prize, they developed the blueprint to build a cow.

Which is a challenge that a cow, a bull, and some Barry White tapes figured out a long time ago.

Like, take bilateral symmetry. It’s a very stable shape — you know. Two of things on either side — and good ol’ physics dictates it would be a stable shape in all sorts of gravities. But is it really the best shape, or is it just something so common on Terra that we make that assumption?

“So let me get this straight: they haven’t cured cancer yet, but as a consolation prize, they developed the blueprint to build a cow.”
Two thoughts. First of all, learn how to cure enough stuff, and we’ll all live forever. . .until nature comes up with something unexpected. Mind you, I lost a sister to ovarian cancer, and I still mourn but, well, every time you change a variable in a working system, you change the system. So, I don’t think you can denigrate the considerable achievement of mapping any genome just because it isn’t a cure for cancer.
Second thought–well, isn’t mapping any genome an important step on one of the many roads leading to curing cancer? With, one hopes, some careful thought in the interim about just what we are going to do when we all do live forever. . .

On a completely unrelated technical note: how do y’all do that thing where you make the quoted text show up in a blue box?

A trilaterally-symmetrical cow would be more stable. Can you picture trying to tip one of those things?

I don’t think you can denigrate the considerable achievement of mapping any genome just because it isn’t a cure for cancer.

If by some chance this discovery leads to fartless cows made entirely of porterhouse and t-bones, I will be mollified. Until then, I will continue to insist they should’ve spent the time on something more useful, like crossbreeding bears with Lipizzaner stallions.

Because, hey, Bear Cavalry.

I have a theory… Actually it’s both evolution and Panspermia.

Where did the spermy aliens come from?

Unfortunately, those viruses subsequently landed on earth and evolved seperately. Thus the disconnect twixt us and them.

Politicians are Yetinsyny.

Can’t think of any intelligent comment. Can’t think of any wisecrack. So, I guess I’ll just go with 1st impressions.
THAT IS ONE SERIOUSLY COOL PICTURE!!!
Can you do it on velvet, with several cows, all holding cards?

That’s a lovely picture of Jim Bowen.

Blue box! It looks blue on your screen? Anyhoo, you go:

<blockquote>This is a blockquote.</blockquote>

Blue box! It looks blue on your screen?

Well, evidently my memory was crossing wires because, nope, it isn’t blue on my screen (I should have been suspicious of a memory of blue on the grayscale site). But thank you for the help! I have just previewed this and am undeservedly proud of myself for how great it looks.

I love the cow in the suit. Babar the Elephant books were some of my favorite.

Oooo blue(grey) box fun!

Humans share 80% of those cow genes…

Considering the results of our last election I’d have to say that 52% of the U.S. population have 99% sheep genes.

So does this mean we can finally breed a critter that will nip off and shoot itself, like the main course in The Restaurant at the End Of the Universe?

Sequencing the genome of an organism is really cool, and distinctly SciFi ten years ago (projections were that it would take 7-8 years to do the human genome, and then Craig Venter came along and threw serious coin at it and did it in months). Problem is, it turns out this is the easy part. Actually finding out how genes do what they do is proving to be a lot harder than anyone expected. Just getting the code doesn’t give you much of a clue how the machinery needed to make it all work does its stuff. It’s the Jurassic Park fallacy (as someone pointed out, whereas in the movie they spliced the dinosaur DNA into frog DNA, chickens would have been more appropriate, and even humans are closer relatives to dinosaurs than frogs.) An analogy is a ROM dump of a floppy disk controller is pretty useless unless you also have the notion of a floppy disk drive.

Right, all they do is map it with that, they don’t understand exactly what each bit DOES much MUCH less how they each interact.

Think of mapping genomes like getting all 100 million puzzle pieces face up.

Now put the puzzle together.

And remember all the DNA they decided was junk because they couldn’t figure out what it did? They’re only just deciding it might have a purpose after all.

‘Tscha! You think?