Gene Splicing

[Darth Ravenous]

I got this idea from the cloning thread would it be morally acceptable to cross spliced animals to make new ones.

[Thanatos]

Wait, you mean like the regular tiger * lion = liger thing?

[Darth Ravenous]

That's the general idea yes. But I was thinking more advanced like crossing a crocodile with a shark to make a Shard.

[dwringer]

Well ligers are real, and it requires no gene splicing other than that which is done so expertly by Mother Nature

However I don't think we currently have the technology to create a new hybrid animal that way. I suppose given enough funding and maybe a decade to work on it we might be able to put something together, and I don't personally see a problem with it.

We already can (and DO) splice in particular bits of genetic information when it comes to agri-business. Of course lots of people do have a problem with it; I don't care as long as it gets me cheap delicious food

[Thanatos]

I don't know about this sort of thing. It seems... wrong, somehow. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of person who goes around spouting that animals have rights or that kind of bunk, but I do believe they have a certain type of common dignity as a fellow creature, and they shouldn't be the guinea pigs in our ever-constant quest to see how far we can push the God envelope.

[Darth Ravenous]

I don't know about this sort of thing. It seems... wrong, somehow. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of person who goes around spouting that animals have rights or that kind of bunk, but I do believe they have a certain type of common dignity as a fellow creature, and they shouldn't be the guinea pigs in our ever-constant quest to see how far we can push the God envelope.

I didn't mean take an already living being and morph it but take it's DNA and create something new I personelly don't think God would mind or that it's cruel.

[Phalanx300]

Mmm, its interesting, but its just feels wrong to me to.

I read about making backup organs, fine with me but making living beings, mutants or clones seems just wrong to me .

[Ruin]

I'm personally all for pushing the God envelope till the letter goes through his letterbox saying "Congratulations! You have been made defunct! You will be given a retirement package of one billion followers, the rest will be given to Steven Hawkins to save God-funds"

I'm fairly certain that advanced genetic splicing is not possible, but it has been done repeatedly on a small scale. For example mice have been given the rat growth gene to cause them to grow to much larger sizes.


And the ever popular spindermunk

[Noremac]

SPIDERMUNK!!!!
AWESOME!!!!!!!

But no I don't thinks it right to go overboard with the gene splicing, if it's possible.

[Ruin]

I personally believe if we can, we should when it comes to new borders of science. It does nothing any harm, other then the result of the experiment if something goes wrong. If we do produce some kind of monstrous eight-legged, 4m tall, gargoyle-skinned behemouth, good for us!

[Chaigidel]

they are already engaging in an extremely haphazard handling of genes and applying them in ways they dont even understand yet.

It will be remembered as quite a time scientifically ( for genetics)

[Noremac]

But could you imagine one of our gene spliced animals getting in the wild? The effects could be distastorous. One example is the Killer Bee. We created that in Brazil(we as in humans).

[Ruin]

The killer bee was not gene splicing, not even close. It was more similar to producing a labradoodle from a labrador and a poodle. Two races/breeds of the same species.

Yes, there may be side effects if released to the wild. But that is because as of yet we know almost nothing of genetic splicing and it's effects, and we would not be mass producing something we don't know the result of. That's like immediately mass producing a very unstable kind of explosive before investigating it's properties on a small scale first, it's suicide.

[Noremac]

The killer bee was not gene splicing, not even close. It was more similar to producing a labradoodle from a labrador and a poodle. Two races/breeds of the same species.

Yes, there may be side effects if released to the wild. But that is because as of yet we know almost nothing of genetic splicing and it's effects, and we would not be mass producing something we don't know the result of. That's like immediately mass producing a very unstable kind of explosive before investigating it's properties on a small scale first, it's suicide.

I ment something we created by it going out of control, not just gene splicing.

[Ruin]

Killer bees are somewhat poorly named, as they have caused only a tiny number of deaths, normally after provocation, and are actually just like normal bees. As a cross between african and european bees, they unfortunately gained the defensive agression of african bees.

Anyway, the difference between the bees and human controlled creation is that the bees were produced directly in the wild. Things like genetic splicing could only be done under controlled laboratory conditions, where not much can go wrong to cause a going out of control incident.

[Thanatos]

Killer bees are somewhat poorly named, as they have caused only a tiny number of deaths, normally after provocation, and are actually just like normal bees. As a cross between african and european bees, they unfortunately gained the defensive agression of african bees.

Anyway, the difference between the bees and human controlled creation is that the bees were produced directly in the wild. Things like genetic splicing could only be done under controlled laboratory conditions, where not much can go wrong to cause a going out of control incident.

Actually, killer bees are named such simply because they *can* attack without reason or provocation. The amount of deaths they have caused (however little) is a secondary reason.

[Noremac]

Actually, killer bees are named such simply because they *can* attack without reason or provocation. The amount of deaths they have caused (however little) is a secondary reason.

DAN, DAN, DAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aetius]

Look at this crazy real picture. Evidently the chicken has dinosaur genes in it that can be brought out.

Source: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=...ken-grows-alli

[Ruin]

Actually, killer bees are named such simply because they *can* attack without reason or provocation. The amount of deaths they have caused (however little) is a secondary reason.

The whole 14 deaths in seven years? More people die in shark attacks, or even venemous snakes. Of these most will have died of a hyper-allergenic reaction they would suffer if any bee stung them. All bees can attack without provocation, and all only attack when under a percieved threat of attack.

[Erlinggra]

Scientists have already spliced the genes of different mice species. (or was it gerbils?)