We accidentally built a synthetic cell factory

koeng 2 days ago | |

I've worked in this field for many years. It's unfortunate that fears of AI have tarnished the field of synthetic cells so dramatically and yet so ignorantly. It's somewhat akin to believing we should ban charcoal because it is used to make (black) gunpowder, which is equally ridiculous

adrian_b 2 days ago | |

"Synthetic cell factory" seems a hyperbole, because what they make are not living cells, so there is no danger of their proliferation.

What they make performs a small part of the functions of a living cell, i.e. they make assemblages of nucleic acids and enzymes that synthesize proteins.

This is the actual definition of the PURE systems that they fabricate:

"PURE (Protein synthesis Using Recombinant Elements) is a fully reconstituted, cell‑free protein synthesis system containing only purified, recombinant components for transcription and translation, with no cellular lysate contaminants."

So their factory is better described as a factory of "synthetic non-cells", not as a factory of "synthetic cells".

ASalazarMX 2 days ago | |

Guns appeal to a very basic, dumb, violent side of ourselves. A college student being proficient and diligent enough to do experiment with synthetic biology doesn't sound like someone violent. Reckless, yes, but not very violent.

AngryData 2 days ago | | |

Sounds like a very privledged view to either so trust your government to manage our society or alternately choose death if your current position in society stops being feasible.

All of human history shows a need for an armed populous to fight against tyranny and my government has shown no signs of breaking that cycle.

snapplebobapple 1 day ago | | |

So true. The number one risk to your life and liberty is the government. The number 2 is rich guys. Both play a vital role if managed properly and proper management requires copious amounts of instrumenta od violenceto be available to the general populace. Its the deterence and rectification pathway for when all else has failed to keep the government and rich guys from abusing you.

ASalazarMX 14 hours ago | | |

You could convince yourselves that being a gun nut is a civic duty, but in my experience, gun nuts just really want the sense of power and safety firearms give.

There might be some that actually believe the patriotic stance, but for the ones I've met it's not about using them to fight the corrupt government (otherwise USA's democracy wouldn't be in the state it is right now); it's about the fantasies that they could dominate any violent conflict through overwhelming skill and firepower. They seem to think that having firearms puts them in the safe side of survival of the fittest.

I have to agree that weapons are very interesting from an engineering point of view, as any complex machine, you can appreciate the engineering and ingenuity... although thinking about their main purpose is a huge turn down. By all means let's keep making weapons, let's use them if needed, but let's not fall in love with them.