Daily Quiz

March 27

T/F
1. The idea of teleportation originated with Gene Roddenberry.

2. The biggest misconception about teleportation is that it involves sending material stuff.

3.  With synthesized DNA, says Venter, it will eventually be possible to create all forms of life.

4. The digital transmission of DNA code likely will result in customized medical treatments.

5. Antibiotics are all destined to become useless after a while, and genomics cannot help.

6. Venter thinks we on Earth are probably alone in the cosmos.

7. The day when we can send a robotically controlled genome-sequencer to distant planets is far off.

8. Venter's genome is already in outer space.

9. There is as much biomass in the subsurface of the Earth as in the entire visible world.







1. F-160. 2. T-162. 3.T-165. 4. T-165. 5. F-171-2. 6. F-177. F-180. 7. F, 186. 8. T-187. 9. T-182

DQ: More on life extension. I'm always surprised when I hear a young and healthy person say they don't want to live a lot more than four-score. Why not? Bored with life? Not enough to keep yourself occupied and engaged? Hope you die before you get old? Or, ...?

DQ:  How do you feel about the prospect of humanity's extended presence (courtesy of digital teleportation etc.) in the cosmos?

DQ: What difference does it make to you that we might confirm the existence of more near-earth planets? [On npr I heard an astronomer say this was an exciting possibility because then they get to name them. Planet Biden? Surely that's not the real cause for excitement?!]

DQ: What difference does it make to you that life might once have existed on Mars? Or that life on earth may in fact have come from Mars? Should we devote resources to studying such questions?

DQ: What should we do about antibiotic resistance?

DQ: Can you explain what Venter means when he says fermions are responsible for the whole of chemistry and biology? 163

DQ: What kind of regulation do you think will be required in order to insure the appropriate, safe, and fair use of  personal 3-D printers? 177

FQ: What are some possibilities enabled by the ability to send DNA code anywhere on the planet instantaneously? 165

FQ: Why are phage therapies controversial? 176

Andromeda Strain 185

DQ: Where do you think biology is heading in the next 70 years? Are you confident that the "voyage will be empowering"? 187

FQ: What are some key producers of genetic mutations?
(oxygen and UV) p.181.

FQ: What makes phages a possible alternative to anti-bacterial disease?
(their specificity for the targeted bacterial culture)

DQ:  Do you agree with a quote made by Claude Bernard that was used by Ventor in the Acknowledgments section of his book, ''Art is I; science is We?''

link: http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/tardigrade/index.html
This link talks about one of the most durable animals that we know of: tardigrades. Animals like these make the theory of panspermia more plausible.