Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generations

[farmkid]

Re: Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generati

Yes, it is fascinating. I remember wondering at the time what would happen if one made a transgenic mouse or dog or something with the human FoxP2 promoter instead of it's natural one. I vaguely remember finding a study where someone did that or something like it in a mouse, but I don't remember what the outcome was. I believe the mouse exhibited changes in vocal ability, but I don't remember the nature of those changes.

 

[scotpens]

Re: Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generati

I'm just afraid that if we make animals too intelligent, they'll start to fight back. Have you never seen Planet of the Apes?!

Or read Orwell's Animal Farm?

I, for one, welcome our new porcine overlords.

. . . I recall that my first thought was that they would enhance an already venomous species, such as a honeybee, but those just aren't quite aggressive enough.

What about the Africanized so-called "killer bees"? At present their sting is no more venomous than that of the European honeybee, but they're aggressive little fuckers. And it's real easy to piss them off.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Re: Geneticists Breach Ethical Taboo By Changing Genes Across Generati

I think that by now the appearance of a second species with human-level intelligence and communication ability has become nearly inevitable. At worst it will happen after a long time, but if I were to make a bet, I'd say that it will be soon, possibly very soon.

There are three or four separate courses that could lead to that on their own, and we are pursuing at least three of them. We have a lot of possibilities, and at least one of them is bound to happen:
1. We are closer to cloning the Neanderthals, and we should expect them to be very close to humans in terms of intelligence and language ability.
2. We have the ability and the willingness to apply genetic engineering to animals that seem to lack very few things in that regard, and are also close enough to us for their genes to be compatible.
3. There is still the language research done on non-modified non-extinct species, which, while unlikely, might still make a discovery. Dolphins, for example, do seem to possess some communication ability that we do not even understand as of now.
4. Our understanding of the intelligence and communication skills of animals is based on the average animals in most cases. We know little about the outliers, and a few generations of selective breeding with intelligence and communication being the central criterion might be a game changer. As far as I know that hasn't been tried (except indirectly with dogs).

And hey, dogs are already learning how to use the subway on their own, fear what they are going to do when we start helping them in a focused way. If they figure out the escalator, we are fucked.

Very unfortunate times for homo sapiens exceptionalism ahead.