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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA wants to send Non-Unionized Earth Microbes as workers into Space

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Bacterial Integrated Circuits

By interfacing bacteria to silicon chips, NASA-supported researchers have created a device that can sense almost anything.

June 10, 2004: Like a canary in a mine, a microbe can often sense environmental dangers before a human can. It's easy to see a canary's reaction. But how can you can you tell what a microbe's feeling? How can you coax a microbe to communicate?

One way is to interface it to a silicon chip.

University of Tennessee microbiologist Gary Sayler and his colleagues have developed a device that uses chips to collect signals from specially altered bacteria. The researchers have already used these devices, known as BBICs, or Bioluminescent Bioreporter Integrated Circuits, to track pollution on earth. Now, with the support of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research, they're designing a version for spaceships



More here: science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/10jun_bbics.htm?list1069419

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The potential of contaminating a sterile environment is great. I don't think it such a good idea.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

This reminds me of a favorite movie of mine made in the '70's called "The Andromeda Strain"...

The government claimed that the virus brought back to Earth on a satellite was alien, quite lethal, and killing off a small town. A twist at the end confirms the govenments knowledge of the bug, to be used as a weapon.

Let's not go this route.

[NatureDevil]

I don't like the idea, and yeah, it sounds like the begining to bad[glow=red,2,300]science fiction.[/glow]

Reminds me of Hawaii. Years ago, around 300 A.D. when the Polynesians visited Hawaii, they brought with them about 30 different varieties of plantlife that was not natural to the biodiversity of Hawaii. The result: most of the natural plantlife died out and half of the bird population is now extinct.



Then, in the late 1700's the Europeans came and brought pigs, goats, cattle, and sheep. Between the vegetations being eaten, the ground being stomped on, and the pigs eating all the worms, the ground turned to crap for growing anything.

The good that eventually came out of it were the intoduction of cattle, sugar and pineapples to the islands, but it can never make upo for the loss of all the plants and wildlife that existede previously. There goes the cure for AIDS, cancer, and illegal taxation (although I tend to belive the government has all those cures already, but that's another story....).

Now, whenever you fly to Hawaii or the Netherlands or anyplace like that, they are usually really good with checking bags and stuff for fruit that may be carrying fruit flies and things of that nature, which impresses me. For all the crap enviromentalist idiots throw at us, I give credit to humans for catching on and learning from our mistakes. The environmentalist nuts haven't learned anything, but scientists have.

So if they keep a good eye on this project and can try to prevent any kind of unforseen disasters from occurring, this may be very useful, but again, only time and stupidity will tell.

NatureDevil

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

When it mutated to eat though the seals in the aircraft, it ate the pilot too. But when it did the same thing in the Wildfire lab, it didn't eat the hapless scientist trapped when it escaped nor the rat in the lab with him. What gives?

Well, the virus didn't eat the pilot, (Too fatty). What it did was to attack the red blood cells and dessicate them.

By the time the virus ate thru the seals in the lab, it had mutated to a non-contagious state. The computer did not know that, and started the self-destruct countdown. At the end of the movie, when they were debriefing, it was stated so. They made the poor bastard hyperventilate for nothing, although watching him freak out, while they turned off the sound on him was quite entertaining.

I have seen two versions of that movie. The original had the epileptic chick cover certain areas with her hands while they went thru the decontaminating procedure. And with more gore and dialog. The cleaned up one has them removed.

You know..I never had sterno. I wonder if it mixes well with a Martini? Could save me from an alien bug!

[astroviewerNGC2207]

Before the cart is pulled infront of the horse. Here is the complete info from nasa. science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/10jun_bbics.htm
Actually it is very intresting and amazing in the firld of bio-engineering. we still have a longwy to go but the future is very promising
It still isn't for certain that this is fesable to do, there are alot of hurdles to jump over.
But indeed it is fascinating what we can do and manipulate other living organisms for the better good of mankind.

[No Bones about it]

The scene with the pilot's bones is a mistake. The entire town did not get all boney...just had their blood turn to powder, like Tang, (which I had plenty of as a kid, so I am an authority).

The virus was incredibly lethal up to a certain point of mutation, (after numerous mutated cycles), and when it then lost it's killing power, it just gave infected people a bad case of syphilis.

Also, the lab specimen was being tested and bombarded with external stimuli, and possibly altered in it's growth and behavior. The chick missed it when she zonked out for a bit.


The rain washed it all away anyway.