Off base?I usually tend to downplay worries about research in genetics, but I was quite concerned after reading "Expanding the genetic code" (SN: 4/2/05, p. 222). The researchers surely have plans to keep whatever they create contained. But adding a fifth base to the DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. of bacteria with a genetic mutation Noun 1. genetic mutation - (genetics) any event that changes genetic structure; any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism chromosomal mutation, mutation rate 10,000 times that of normal bacteria seems unnecessarily dangerous. I guess my concerns were primed by "Quick Fix: How invasive seaweed repairs its wounds" (SN: 4/2/05, p. 214), which discusses an "alien green alga green alga n. Any of the numerous algae of the division Chlorophyta, such as spirogyra and sea lettuce, that have chlorophyll unmasked by other pigments. that's currently wreaking havoc in the Mediterranean Sea." ANDY ANDY Andrew ANDY US Popular Abbreviation for Andrews AFB OLESIN, PRINCETON, MASS. The concerns connect in your articles about man-made seaweed and scientists creating a fifth base for DNA in bacteria. These human-modified species get loose, and bad things happen. GIL GIL Global Interpreter Lock (to protect Python objects from being modified from multiple threads at once) GIL Gerenciador de Informações Locais (Brasil) STEVENS, FAIRVIEW, TEXAS It's unlikely that a bacterium would survive with such a high mutation rate. What's more, should such modified organisms make their way into the environment, they would need a constant supply of 3-fluorobenzene, and there's none of that chemical in the environment. Furthermore, the seaweed wasn't genetically modified. |
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