Human Cloning Deemed "Impossible"

[Mark S]

I think that it's kind of premature to jump to the conclusion that human cloning is doomed to fail because it won't work with CURRENT techniques. Who knows what will be thought up.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Minor nitpick. A home-grown tomato found in your backyard is the result of countless generations of primitive biological engineering. And more recent strains were probably the result of more sophisticated forms of biotech.

Ah, my friend, but it grew in the wild, not in a company greenhouse.

How do you know the genes of that very plant aren't otherwise derived from engineered versions?

I'll admit, the organic industry is certainly thriving thanks to the media and their ever present lack of proper knowledge, buy you pay more for usually inferior products.

Just the other dayI saw organic Belgium chcolate for sale in Sainsbury's. No one was buying it, they had to slash the price at least thrice before anyone even looked at it. That and the organic fruit and veg area is far smaller than the GM area (stated as normal produce since organic is the one that is different).

I have no qualms with those growing their own and saying it's nicer, but in reality GM foods are not going and the results this summer of the world's largest GM crop experiment in England will show that fears about GM crops are greatly illfounded.

[Mark S]

Isn't the taste of your home-grown tomatoe have more to do with what's in your soil that the tomatoe's eating than the thing's genes?

[Sokar]

Dammit, I'm not opposed to biotech crops used to feed the starving millions. I just don't want it to take over everyting. I want to have a choice of natural crops vs. engineered crops. If I were starving, I wouldn't care.

And you always will, there will always be some hippy couple in Napa Calif. willing to charge you $10 apice for their 'all natural organic tomatoes'. However you actively wished for the downfall of major biotech companies, the same companies whos research is saving lives and cutting the need for harsh pesticides. Please tell your arguments to farmers in South America , South Asia or Africa , where GM foods produced by thoes biotech companies, have ridden to the rescue and averted famine and death by allowing the local farmers to produce sufficient food to keep at least one of the horsemen at bay.

[UltraViolence83]

Isn't the taste of your home-grown tomatoe have more to do with what's in your soil that the tomatoe's eating than the thing's genes?

Yes.

[UltraViolence83]

I really didn't know how pervasive this biotech shit was in our society. Well, since it doesn't cause any horrible problems and it makes food cheaper for more people to have it, so be it.

That chocolate problem may be due to its label, perhaps even regardless of its taste. When people see "organic" they think "fucking hippies." When they see "biotech" they think "dark, dystopic future."

[Dennis Toy]

They, like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, were a result of a chemical spill at a weapons plant in Yemen.

they were actually created by a chemical plant explosion in henderson NV, the Ammonium Plechlorate combined into a comet containing spores from a planet in the gamma quadrant. It turns out the comet contained Vorta embryos. The Embryos then began mutating into the boy bands and gals we all love....

[BrYaN19kc]

BBC News

It may never be a good scientist who says something is impossible unless they absolutely see no way something can be done, but this seems a real knock-back for the biotech industry if it becomes reality.

Thoughts.

Has anyone noticed a change in stock prices in the biotech industry? I hadn't heard anything more about it since the article was released this morning.

[Sokar]

BBC News

It may never be a good scientist who says something is impossible unless they absolutely see no way something can be done, but this seems a real knock-back for the biotech industry if it becomes reality.

Thoughts.

Has anyone noticed a change in stock prices in the biotech industry? I hadn't heard anything more about it since the article was released this morning.

Nope , fairly steady as always, 99% of the biotech industry cares nothing about the potential for out and out cloning, they are far more interested in designer gene-therapies, life extension, hybrid food stocks, and organ replication, which they see as cash cows of the 21st Century. For most biotech companies I think the finding that human cloning is far more difficult that previously thought is actually a relief as its the one aspect of their businuess that a majority of people find icky in the whole idea of biotech. Now they can say , "See, were not a 'cloning' company we just want to find a way to make bigger and more tender salmon, or cattle that produce 50% more edible beef" its probably seen as a bonus rather that a negative.

[Superman]

Well, you what all the fundies are going to now say...

[Admiral Valdemar]

Well, you what all the fundies are going to now say...

They can say what they want. Cloning is about as useful to biotech as remaking the wheel for the automobile industry.