[Carlhole]

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/06/2]· New progress towards synthetic organism
· Hope of fuels, drugs and ways to fight pollution
[/url]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Guardian', 'T')o the untrained eye, the tiny, misshapen, fatty blobs on Giovanni Murtas's microscope slide would not look very impressive. But when the Italian scientist saw their telltale green fluorescent glint he knew he had achieved something remarkable - and taken a vital step towards building a living organism from scratch.

The green glow was proof that his fragile creations were capable of making their own proteins, a crucial ability of all living things and vital for carrying out all other aspects of life.

Though only a first step, the discovery will hasten efforts by scientists to build the world's first synthetic organism. It could also prove a significant development in the multibillion-dollar battle to exploit the technology for manufacturing commercially valuable chemicals such as drugs and biofuels or cleaning up pollution...

[Carlhole]

You didn't answer the question.

[Carlhole]

Thank you, FG.

Would anyone else care to venture an opinion?

The question is: What do you think will be Mankind's most advanced achievement in Science and Technology before we again find ourselves scraping the hides of dead animals with a fractured CD at the bottom of the Olduvai Gorge?

[fluffy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ferrelgiraffe', 'A')s an advanced microbe specialist...

[Ayame]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')Would anyone else care to venture an opinion?

[peaker_2005]

If Peak Oil doesn't end modern society, a scientist will somehow...

"Hmm, let's see what this does!"

*earth implodes*

Errm, oops, sorry about the mess... So long and thanks for the fish.

If we ever succeed in creating AI it will destroy us as the most logical conclusion.

Either that or bureaucracy. Red tape kills, folks.

[strider3700]

Even if it works it's decades away from being useful.

The doomer in me says we don't have decades.

The doomer in me says a couple of years will be a luxury.

[Carlhole]

No one answers the damn question!

What do you think will be Mankind's most advanced achievement in Science and Technology before we again find ourselves scraping the hides of dead animals with a fractured CD at the bottom of Olduvai Gorge?

[jboogy]

Hyper-alloy combat chassis surrounded by living tissue ---in other words /TERMINATORS!!!!!!!!! , seriously I believe travel at the speed of light would eventually be achieved but it would take another 1000 years , years that we will not have . Once that pinnacle was achieved the only thing beyond would be time travel, impossibility for humans , IMHO. I realize some say time stops at the speed of light but that's not the time travel I'm talking about.