genpets - genetically engineered pets

MiGs · Post by **MiGs** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:09 am

I'd probably train my genpet to be an assassin, or a multipurpose companion in everyday life, like making breakfast and doing laundry. Then I'll name my genpet Yamamoto Himura Nigel Mussoulini, and carry him on my shoulder wherever I go.

Ok really..... this website is hilarious and pretty cool, but thats about it.

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:42 am

teraflop122 wrote:These things would have been several years ahead of their time if real. I am impressed with how well the website was made, and the ethical implications are interesting.

They would not meet all the requirements for life according to current definitions (the inability to reproduce). I would not consider such a product to be cruel, however, because these constructs would be serving their entire purpose.

I thought they technically still could be considered to meet the requirements for life since they must still reproduce at the cellular level. If of course they were real which they aren't.

Website · Post by **Life of Brian** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:54 am

That website was an interesting read. Very professionally designed, and I think it's a clever foray into the debate over the ethics of genetic engineering and capitalism. Hooray for food for thought!

totokan · Post by **totokan** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:12 am

If this were real, I wonder what would it taste like if you fried it up and ate it

.

teraflop122 · Post by **teraflop122** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:20 am

Clay ~_~

I thought they technically still could be considered to meet the requirements for life since they must still reproduce at the cellular level. If of course they were real which they aren't.

I'm not really sure. The individual cells in a body cannot survive outside of that body, but then you could argue that the body is the "environment," another prerequisite for life.

I'm not a big fan of the "current" definitions of life, because they are so narrow.

scherzo · Post by **scherzo** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:22 am

I feel like a complete idiot for thinking these were real. *crawls into deep hole*

Corscaria · Post by **Corscaria** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:14 am

If you want a genetically engineered pet, do it yourelf. Simple gene splicing isn't that hard to do with plants or invertebrates. Typically it's best to stay within a single phylum, but there has been quite a bit of success splicing DNA from other kindoms onto plants.

I won't tell you how to do it, you'll have to research it. But i will tell you, the easiest way to splice genes requires blank 22 shells.

Alternatively, you could use selective breeding of a short lived species to create a custom creature. Perhaps even accellerate thier mutation rate with a suitible radiation source, like thorium. (Uranium decays into lead, and thus is not suitable)

teraflop122 · Post by **teraflop122** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:32 pm

I won't tell you how to do it, you'll have to research it.

If you have something interesting, please share it. Otherwise I'm inclined to blame you of having no idea what you're talking about.

Corscaria · Post by **Corscaria** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:24 am

simply put the first methos of gene splicing, involved exctracting chromosomes from the cell of one species, and packing it into the open end of a 22 blank, and literally shooting the genetic material into seeds (arthrod eggs should be very simular).

the typical reciever plants are tobacco and marijuana. The technique is very random, with a low success rate. To combat the draw ack, the splicing is done in large batches, typically a 10 x 10 grid of sample (100 samples).

Those that survive and express the desired traits are then raised, and if possible cloned or even bred (less likely to be sucessful). The process is then repeated on the clones, or seeds.

in the case of arthrodopa, many pedies are capable of asexual reproduction, and thus are ideal for such experiments to make custom animals.

Shadeslayer · Post by **Shadeslayer** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:53 am

MiGs wrote:I'd probably train my genpet to be an assassin, or a multipurpose companion in everyday life, like making breakfast and doing laundry. Then I'll name my genpet Yamamoto Himura Nigel Mussoulini, and carry him on my shoulder wherever I go.

Ok really..... this website is hilarious and pretty cool, but thats about it.

If these were real you couldn't train them to do anything. Read the FAQ. It says they sit around and don't walk/crawl They are like babies. Just sitting there looking at you. Gives me the creeps lol