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Issue 4
The Future Of Controversy
Transgenic Animals
Lygers, and Tions, and Bears, Oh my! Since the new millennium new strings of genetically altered animals have been born. For example, in 2000 Canadian company Nexica created a genetically altered goat containing the DNA of
a spider. Scientists were then ableto extract spider-silk from the goat’s milk. Spider-silk fibers when woven together are more durable than Kevlar, more stretchable than nylon, and stronger than steel. The silk is currently being used for military
body armor. Genetic alteration of animals is a livid debate, and apparently more than PETA is interested.
The Brain
Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have created a new brain analysis technique that display images of human thought onto a computer monitor. Currently only black and white images can be read, but Dr. Kang Chen, a researcher at RIKEN Brain Science Institute predicts improvement on the process, “In as little as 10 years, advances in this field of research may make it possible to read a person’s thoughts with some degree of accuracy.”
http://www.pinktentacle.com/tag/riken
Transgenic Plants
Genetically altered plants are more extensively produced than their animal counterparts. Crops in many countries are now genetically modified. The majority of these crops are herbicide and insect resistant, or nutrient enriched. The major controversy over transgenic plants is the ability for natural plants to be taken over or breed with engineered plants. Super-crops could create super-weeds, and a change in a single species of aggressive plant can ecologically damage
a vast area.
The Universe
The Large Hydron Collider (LHC) was developed in early 2000 by the European Organization of Nuclear Research. The machine spits out protons at near speeds of light, the molecules are then kept circulating for hours guided by thousands of superconducting magnets, and finally at a specific point they collide in a shower of technological magnificence. Sound too good to be true? Some skeptics believe the project will create miniature black holes and dangerous particles, but most scientists such as those from the American Physical Society diffuse such skepticism. Of course you just don’t know what to think about a program designed to look for the origins of mass, extra dimensions, and dark-matter.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/
2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html
- John Gallagher
