Researchers One Step Closer To Creating Life 292
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute are potentially one step closer to creating life. In an experiment they recently created enzymes that can replicate and evolve. 'It kind of blew me away,' said team member Tracey Lincoln of the Scripps Research Institute, who is working on her Ph.D. 'What we have is non-living, but we've been able to show that it has some life-like properties, and that was extremely interesting.'"
Bots... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:wtf? (Score:5, Interesting)
Biotech research, and particularly creating artificial, but organic life like systems, is a parallel, and often directly contributory line of research in relation to robotics and AI. The two fields have a steady exchange of ideas.
Re:wtf? (Score:5, Interesting)
How many self-replicating-self-assembling robots have you seen. .. 0? The DIY stereo lithograph is close, but that self-assembling bit kills it.
-ellie
Re:Oblig (Score:3, Interesting)
People are going to jump for the creatures that don't exist anymore: wooly mammoths, sabretooth tigers, dinosaurs, etc.
Man: "Look honey, I made a dragonfly today!"
Wife: "Greaaaaat. I just squashed like 5 of them out back..."
Replacing God (Score:3, Interesting)
Nope, this does not serve as a proof that a deity is unnecessary, since the research is based on observations of life. In other words, even if this is successful, already existing life was a prerequisite.
Regardless, unless there's an angle I'm missing here, man creating true life from scratch... real, living creatures from nothing... wouldn't that disprove the existence of God according to scriptures? Because according to the ones I read, only the God of the Bible can create life. If some scientist actually managed to create real life, then it seems to me that would prove that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob doesn't exist.
Which is why I don't believe it'll ever happen. Any other Biblical scholars/philosophers, if you see a hole in this argument, by all means, throw it out there.
Re:And where...and where...and where... (Score:3, Interesting)
And yet you missed the point, science does not prove anything nor does it claim certainty.
"you cannot *prove* that a tree falling in the woods with nobody around to hear it doesn't make a sound"
There is evidence that a tree falling over makes a sound, ie: it can be observed. The only leap of faith required to belive a falling tree makes a sound when nobody is listening is that the real world continues to exist when nobody is watching it. In other words sticking ones head in the sand and pretending the real world does not exist will not save ones arse no matter how stong their faith is.
"[Dawkins is] a dimwit with too much backing."
Yea right, and an over rated zen riddle about trees is EVIDENCE for that.
"I am a Muslim."
What made you pick that particular god, why are you an Athiest when it comes to (say) the Hindu gods?