From An Outdated Lab In A Community College: Real Life Genetic Research Vs. Orphan Black

[The Crazed Spruce]

I've noticed a lot of the discussion in some of the threads tends to veer towards the actual science behind cloning and genetic research. I figured it would make for a great topic all on its own, so here we are.

I was inspired by an article that showed up on my home page this morning about scientists who added a pair of chromosomes to an E. Coli bacteria, essentially creating a new form of life. Totally something you could see DYAD trying to pull off.

http://video.news.canoe.ca/video/hub/news/2525479625001/scientists-create-first-life-form-with-manmade-genetic-code/3545434002001

(Sorry, couldn't find an embeddable link.)

*****

Okay, after rewatching the video, I realized they added synthetic nucleotides, not chromosomes. It's still the same first step down a slippery ethical slope, though, you ask me.

Edited May 8, 2014 by The Crazed Spruce

[RapBert]

E. coli is a fun little organism.

 

A very interesting article. A pair of extra nucleotides opens up a lot pf possibilities. Instead of 64 codons, nucleotide tripplets could now encode 216 codons. Since there is already lots of redundancy for 20 aminoacids, many different things could be encoded.

 

The problem I see and that the article doesn't mention (maybe the paper does) is how the cell knows what to do with these new bases. There are lots of mechanisms involved in translating the DNA into proteins, and unless they added artificial t-RNA or other molecules that could interpret the new structure, the cell won't do much of anything.

 

I'll report back once I've read the paper, which I just noticed I can't access right now. I downloaded it on my home computer which is connected to the university network, but I forgot to copy it. And apparently the "institutional access" on the site doesn't cover my university. Bugger.

[hardy har]

Figured I'd post this here......Cosima Herter wrote up a piece for The Hive after episode four and mentioned an article by Rebecca Skoot titled Taking the Least of You and it's completely fascinating. Check it out of you get the chance. It's about what happens with patient's tissue samples that they leave behind after doctors appointments/surgeries etc and discusses whether or not we have "ownership" over our tissue one it is no longer on our body. It touches on commercialization, patenting cell lines, and legal cases as well.

 

It's really really interesting.

[Omnie]

The problem I see and that the article doesn't mention (maybe the paper does) is how the cell knows what to do with these new bases. There are lots of mechanisms involved in translating the DNA into proteins, and unless they added artificial t-RNA or other molecules that could interpret the new structure, the cell won't do much of anything.

 

I read the paper, and they actually don't get that far. The paper's about getting these new bases into the cell and having them be replicated when the cells multiply (and not get discarded by the cell's DNA proofreading machinery). They haven't even yet gotten to the stage where the new bases are transcribed into RNA, much less translated into proteins. Really cool paper, though, and I'm sure they're working on those next steps.

 

I'm a genetics researcher and I've generally been really impressed with the science on this show. I got way too excited back in season 1 when Cosima said she does evo devo (for evolutionary and developmental biology) - that's totally what people actually call it, and it's the kind of little detail that most shows would never bother to get right.