Thinking Big - Synthetic Biology

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StSusieB Female, 18-29, Southern US 15 Posts	Monday, May 14, 2012 2:27:35 PM I don't really see the "scary" part of this presentation. Probably because this is the field of my future career. Yes, there is the potential to abuse this power, and there are certain legal ramifications that need to be looked into (I`ll leave that to someone else who enjoy circuitous ethical arguments) but look at all of the positives! All of the people who could be helped and even saved by these products! There was an excellent Penn and Teller video (I know, counter-intuitive) that talked about the works of the genius Norman Borlaug and how his innovation and research was able to fed thousands of impoverished humans with his genetically-modified crops. Personally, this video only makes me realize what an amazing time we live in right now, and the amazing things humans can accomplish through sheer imagination alone. So long as the Human Ego is kept in check, I really do not see a problem with using this sort of technology. Keep your apocalyptic vision

OnlineAgain Female, 40-49, Southern US 98 Posts	Sunday, May 13, 2012 11:55:11 PM @CrakrJak: I never said I knew anything about the science of corn hybrids. I said that the Monsanto genetic strain was found growing in the farmers' fields. GM corn can cross-pollinate with other crops via the wind, contaminating them, by the way. When Monsanto investigators find corn with their GM traits in a farmer`s crop -and the farmer cannot produce documents showing they purchased the seeds- Monsanto searches the rest of their fields, sues them.. and many farmers settle even though they`re innocent because they don`t have the means to keep up the fight with such a large corporation. As patent owners, Monsanto has already sued hundreds of farmers and many were driven to bankruptcy and loss of their farms.

Tacos4Brkfst Male, 18-29, Western US 564 Posts	Sunday, May 13, 2012 3:22:56 PM wild vs 'organic` vs synthetic

CrakrJak Male, 40-49, Midwest US 14459 Posts	Sunday, May 13, 2012 6:33:57 AM OnlineAgain: Evidently you know nothing about corn hybrids. Hybrid corn can't produce viable seeds, that`s just the way it is. It`s not blown on the wind to other farms. What most likely happened is that one or more farmers had some left over seed and gave it to one of their struggling neighbors. There is nothing illegal about planting corn seed that you didn`t buy, Monsanto`s case is crap and is going to be thrown out of court. The resulting hybrid corn isn`t viable and can`t be resold as seed for next year, it simply won`t grow. So, any patent infringement claim is a load of crap. Think about it, if a neighbor gave you two tires for your vehicle and you used them, BF Goodrich couldn`t come out and sue you for patent infringement just because you didn`t buy the tires. They couldn`t couldn`t even successfully sue you if you sold or gave the used tires to another person.

Forplay2k Male, 50-59, Midwest US 174 Posts	Sunday, May 13, 2012 5:05:48 AM This poo has Umbrella Corporation written all over it.

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