Where No Genome Has Gone Before
17/06/11 13:22 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Fri, 06/17/2011 - 13:22.
Rather than sending fragmented human genomes, wouldn't it be simpler to send frozen human embryos that are nurtured with robotic systems. It might be a good idea to also include the embryos and seeds from a wide range of other organisms too, because it would be pretty dreary with only humans around. Of course, we wouldn't want to contaminate any planet that already has an ecosystem in place, even if it is relatively primitive by our standards. If it has a breathable atmosphere, then it will probably already be inhabited by animals as well as by plants and bacteria. Morally, we should look elsewhere. If we start with a "dead" planet like Mars, may be in a few thousand years with planetary engineering it could be made habitable. In retrospect, perhaps we should just take better care of the planet that we are blessed to be born on and not subject our future descendants to exile in the galaxy just so that we can preserve human gene sequences.
Link to the original blog post.
Rather than sending fragmented human genomes, wouldn't it be simpler to send frozen human embryos that are nurtured with robotic systems. It might be a good idea to also include the embryos and seeds from a wide range of other organisms too, because it would be pretty dreary with only humans around. Of course, we wouldn't want to contaminate any planet that already has an ecosystem in place, even if it is relatively primitive by our standards. If it has a breathable atmosphere, then it will probably already be inhabited by animals as well as by plants and bacteria. Morally, we should look elsewhere. If we start with a "dead" planet like Mars, may be in a few thousand years with planetary engineering it could be made habitable. In retrospect, perhaps we should just take better care of the planet that we are blessed to be born on and not subject our future descendants to exile in the galaxy just so that we can preserve human gene sequences.
Link to the original blog post.