‘Maybe the molecules of life aren’t that special…maybe we aren’t the only the solution…maybe we aren’t even the best solution…’ – Floyd E Romesburg
This guy just spent the last 20 years on this pursuit, and he’s created a new form of life that is likely going to be engineered to solve some profound problems facing us today…
First a few basics to get you going on the TED Talk…
DNA – the basis of all known forms of life – basically 4 letters (G, C, A, T – basically two pairs G-C and A-T) that represent the basis of protein pairings.
DNA and RNA are both incredibly dense in terms of the combinatoric storage strength, hell all life as we know it – is based upon the various combinations of these pairings.
I have been researching some fairly esoteric topics that are increasingly a blend between scientific/technological/biological and the energetic/spiritual/religious realms. It is amazing what arrives into your inbox/phone/life when you open up a bit to researching some things of interest. This is what I do more often than not, when I feel like watching TV or some other mass manufactured entertainment.
Well, I’ve mentioned TED Talks in the past. This TED Talk is 8 minutes longer than my typical 5 Minute Friday posts, and I could not resist. I have watched this video at least five times in the past week, and reflected on it with a very close, brilliant person in my life.
That conversation has propelled the sharing of this video as the post.
The punch line is this – we as humans being have created a new form of life, no joke. We did this by adding in 2 new protein pairs to a 6 letter DNA combination. The prospects of an additional pair that works alongside the existing quad of DNA are, really, really interesting if you join the video at about 10 minutes deep on the clip.
Protein-based treatments have been around since insulin was introduced for diabetes treatment. What is being described in this video is truly next level shit.
When you consider the bio-engineering going on coupled with the technological waves of change – this notion of longevity enhancements and quality of life uplifts are just mind boggling.
I strongly encourage you to check this video out, even if it is the last five minutes of the video – it will trigger some thinking that is likely out of your comfort and default zone…
He does a very good job of making the content accessible to anyone that has passed high school, and the metaphors of story telling based upon alphabets/letters is especially ‘triggerful’ of some new possibilities that have me looking into some other avenues of research.
The sculpture is from an artist named, Nathan Sawaya, and this sculpture is named ‘Yellow.’ More on his work can be found here. Amazing talent.