Micro organism brought back to life after 30 years

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential for extracting and engineering the properties of tardigrades, particularly their resilience, into the human genome. It explores concepts related to genetic engineering, the feasibility of such modifications, and implications for space travel.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose the idea of using nanotechnology to implement tardigrade genes into the human genome for enhanced survival during space travel.
  • Others argue that current gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPR, are sufficient for inserting foreign DNA into human cells, though the modularity of biology complicates transferring traits from tardigrades to humans.
  • A participant notes that the hardiness of tardigrades may be due to their ability to dehydrate their cells, suggesting that modifying humans to achieve similar resilience would be complex and possibly unfeasible, especially concerning neurons.
  • There is a mention of other organisms that have been revived after long periods, indicating that there may be various methods to achieve similar properties.
  • One participant expresses confusion regarding the implications of a previous comment about A-Level students and the nature of the discussion, clarifying their intent was to engage in speculative thought rather than tangible research.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and methods of transferring tardigrade properties to humans, with no consensus reached on the practicality of such genetic engineering.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes speculative ideas and acknowledges the complexity of genetic modifications, particularly regarding the differences in biology between species.

Keiran OConnor
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http://gizmodo.com/frozen-tardigrade-brought-back-to-life-after-30-years-1753152359

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post am only posting to get a few good responses if possible :).

Is there any way we could extract the properties in the gnome of the tardigrade and genetically engineer them inside of our own gnome ?

Nanotechnology could be instructed to implement the genes ?. If we could we could probably stay alive through space travel.

If anybody is doing there A-Levels don't listen to what I am saying.
 
Biology news on Phys.org
We currently have decent technology to insert foreign DNA into the genome of human cells (the newly developedhttps://www.physicsforums.com/insights/dont-fear-https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/dont-fear-crispr-new-gene-editing-technologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/-new-gene-editing-technologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/), so no need to turn to nanotechnology. However, understanding which genes allow the tardigrade genome allow it to survive extreme conditions and whether these traits could be transferred to other organisms with very different biology is not clear. Not all of biology is modular and can easily be transferred between organisms, especially properties that rely on the system-wide function of the organism.

Tardigrades are not the only organism to be revived after long periods of time, so there may be different ways of achieving such properties. For example, plants have grown from 30,000 year old seeds: http://www.nature.com/news/wild-flower-blooms-again-after-30-000-years-on-ice-1.10069
 
I'm not a tardigrade expert but I believe their hardiness stems from their ability to dehydrate their cells.
Modifying humans to do the same would likely require a complete overhaul of the genome, and may not even be possible in the case of neurons. It would be an interesting experiment to see if the tardigrades retain learning after being frozen/desiccated.
In sum, I don't think it's necessarily impossible but there's probably far easier ways to put somebody 'on ice' for space travel.
 
Keiran OConnor said:
http://gizmodo.com/frozen-tardigrade-brought-back-to-life-after-30-years-1753152359

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this post am only posting to get a few good responses if possible :).

Is there any way we could extract the properties in the gnome of the tardigrade and genetically engineer them inside of our own gnome ?

Nanotechnology could be instructed to implement the genes ?. If we could we could probably stay alive through space travel.

If anybody is doing there A-Levels don't listen to what I am saying.

Highly improbable.

Are you implying that someone "doing there A-Levels" couldn't answer the question, or that they couldn't ask a better question than you have up there? Confused here.
 
Not implying any of those things, my first post on here was speculative and I was told people studying use this forum for tangible research. Basically saying this isn't tangible just a thought. I only have a A-Level no higher :).
 
Genome not garden gnome haha
 

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