Space
Where No Genome Has Gone Before
17/06/11 13:22 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — DARPA — called for abstracts for papers or topics and suggestions for discussion for its 100 Year Starship Study Symposium to be held in Orlando, Fla., this fall which could lead to the award of a contract in the ballpark of $500,000. Craig Venter, according to Rebecca Boyle in Popular Science, proposed that "fragmented human genomes could be shipped toward the stars and reconstructed upon their arrival, spawning the first interstellar citizens and avoiding the problems of long-distance space survival." S. Pelech sheepishly comments that 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. Read More...