Chimeric bugs!

[Alondro]

Interesting...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070830/sc_livescience/parasitessneakentiregenomeintoflies

This was something I hypothesized a long time ago, given a virus' ability to insert its genome.  Will these parasites hold the keys to creating mammal chimeras?  Is the age of Dr. Moreau closer than we think?! 

Time to play in the genetics lab!   

[Zedd]

Dont you mean the inoventions of Shau Tucker from FMA is close too?

[Turnsky]

oh that crazy Takahn

[superluser]

Ho hum.  30% of human DNA is random viral sequences.  It shouldn't be surprising that bacteria can do this.

But it still is kinda cool.

[Brunhidden]

also nearly half the human DNA sequence is redundant code, who knows if changing any one bit will even work considering there may be as many as twenty backups

[superluser]

also nearly half the human DNA sequence is redundant code

If this is true, it's not terribly informative.  The vast majority of human DNA (Wikipedia says 80-90%) does not code for proteins.  We used to think that it was useless, but it's looking less and less that way.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9981624
(listen to the audio version, it's better)

[Tapewolf]

oh that crazy Takahn

Well, since you brought it up... http://foxfire.comicgenesis.com/d/20040222.html

[Alondro]

There are many sequences that don't code for proteins, but are quite vital genes.  The most obvious of these would be the rRNA and tRNA genes, without which DNA cannot be replicated or transcribed/translated.

There are also the transposable elements (likely the remnants of incorporated retroviruses), which seem to play a role in some cancers, but also in evolution in general by increasing the rate of genetic recombination.

Other sequences code for iRNA molecules, which serve roles that are now being recognized as quite important to gene expression regulation.

Sequences such as introns seem important in alternative splicing for variable isoform expressions of genes.  There are the large numbers of upstream and downstream regulatory regions, which serve as binding sites for an increasing number of recognized transcriptional control proteins, peptides, and RNA molecules.  And there are telomeric sequences that cap the ends of linear chromosomes, plus centromeric DNA sequences which are important in the sorting and ordering of the DNA strands into the metaphasic chromosome forms we are so familiar with, anchoring them to the cytoskeletal network for mitosis.

Last I read, about 15-20% of mammalian DNA still has no known function.  Much of that is made up of those enigmatic highly repetitive sequences and gene-like regions that are possibly genes that have mutated to such a degree that they no longer function, and since they aren't deleterious they simply have hung around (though they could cause disease if a cross-over event splices a promoter region close enough to reactivate them and produce a mutant protein).

Genetics is still a very open field.  We're finding out we don't know nearly as much as we thought we did!

And this finding that an bacteria's entire genome can be absorbed into another organism's all at one shot without seeming to disrupt the organism is just another example of how limited our understanding really is.

[Zedd]

Does this mean I have a plausable chance be a fur?

[KarlOmega1]

Does this mean I have a plausable chance be a fur?

If he's saying what I think he's saying...then it's possible.

[bill]

Yes. That is exactly what the article is saying.

[Zedd]

Yes. That is exactly what the article is saying.

You need a shave bill...Your looking your age

[bill]

no.

[Fuyudenki]

Does this mean I have a plausable chance be a fur?

In theory, though I'd go for a lifespan increase first.

To perform genetic engineering on an organism without requiring said organism to reproduce first completely changes the way I had always thought of genetic engineering.  Usually, you have to wait for each generation to come about for changes to surface, but if you could implant the new genetic code in a mature individual(without causing a catastrophic shutdown of the vital systems, of course), then genetic modifications could be performed on a subject, and the wait time would only have to be a couple of cellular growth cycles, for the changes to take effect before a new change could be made.

[Tapewolf]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6978384.stm

"It's not our intention to create any bizarre cow-human hybrid, we want to use those cells to understand how to make human stem cells better."

[Fuyudenki]

they're destroying the cow-people after 14 days?

wusses.

Yay, ethical gray area.  I'm not sure if I like this idea or not!

Genetics in general is rather fuzzy, I suppose.

[GabrielsThoughts]

they've already made human sheep hybrids, and as far as I know they're still kicking.


http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444436&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source


http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=10612

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21447945-5006007,00.html

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/UnNews:Scientists_make_a_sheep-human_hybrid,_bestiality_enthusiasts_pleased

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/02/13/us_denies_patent_for_part_human_hybrid/

and just so you know Americans aren't the first to do this

http://people.tribe.net/truthmovement/blog/e52ae07b-788e-4d92-b649-0b0cadbf0eb5

[Zedd]

they've already made human sheep hybrids, and as far as I know they're still kicking.


http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444436&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source


http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=10612

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21447945-5006007,00.html

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/UnNews:Scientists_make_a_sheep-human_hybrid,_bestiality_enthusiasts_pleased

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/02/13/us_denies_patent_for_part_human_hybrid/

and just so you know Americans aren't the first to do this

http://people.tribe.net/truthmovement/blog/e52ae07b-788e-4d92-b649-0b0cadbf0eb5

Now we only need to add some Blacksheep refrences and the circle will be complete

[Fuyudenki]

they've already made human sheep hybrids, and as far as I know they're still kicking.

oh yeah, that's right!
Half-man, half sheep, it's... the SHEEPMAN!

[edit]my mistake, this one's actually SFW.  Surprising, as far as Whatever Things go.[/edit]
[edit]except for the end.[/edit]

[R.A.M.]

kinda reminds me of that batman beyond episode,was it splicing they called it?whatever it was i thought it was pretty cool