I missed the Staff meeting, but the Memos showed that Brian McDonald
wrote on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:40:29
GMT in alt.books.david-weber :
>On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:23:59 -0800 (PST), Ben H
> wrote:
>
>>With the new ability to synthesize DNA, we're approaching the level of
>>technology the founders of Grayson had when they hacked their genetic
>>code, via similar means, i.e. using existing bio-mechanical processes
>>to splice DNA together.
>>That said, are serious questions being raised in regards to ensuring
>>that stuff like what happened to Grayson don't occur, and we
>>inadvertently create a chain of Angus beef cows that all have cystic
>>fibrosis?
>>Any thoughts and feelings on how quickly we've reached the level of
>>technology the founders were able to smuggle into Grayson?
>
>
>whether the cattle have a genetic predisposition toward say hip
>dysplatia (sp?)seems almost irrelevant since very few of the cattle
>would live long enough for that to be a problem.
>
>i'd worry about the consequences of human engineering which is going
>to be breaking out in the not too distant future with god knows what
>in the way of unintended consequences.
Using the Grayson model,the unintended consequences are as likely
to be the result of fumble fingers tinkering as they'll be the "side
effects" of a finessed tinkering. E.g. the genies who can handle high
gravity, but eat a third more than "normals".
Combat soldiers who have quick coagulating blood, which means they
start dying of heart attacks at age 35.
A "syndrome" which restores your physical youth - including your
brain, which wipes out your memories back to your "reset point".
"Methuselahs, who live forever. What sort of culture do you have
when the old folks aren't going to die off anytime soon? What sort
will you have if the technology is expensive? A One Time procedure vs
something done every N Intervals?
Questions I have already - what will be the reaction when we
actually get "proto-cyborgs"; permanent prosthesis which are wired
into the nervous system? A guy with a number of "arms" - one for
social settings, another for work. A technician who can put a
screwdriver or probe in place of the finger ... does he get more or
less pay that the other techs?
When we get around to cloning humans, what will be their status,
ethically, morally, spiritually and legally?
--
pyotr filipivich
The two oldest cliches in the book are "The Good Old Days were
better." and "After all, these are Modern TImes."
>> Stay informed about: Synthetic Bioengineering 
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