Four years ago MARCUS WOHLSEN wrote about genetic engineering as a hobby. We are faced with a growing list of pathogens that with a little modification could bring about the end of civilization. It could happen tomorrow.
Four years ago MARCUS WOHLSEN wrote about genetic engineering as a hobby. We are faced with a growing list of pathogens that with a little modification could bring about the end of civilization. It could happen tomorrow.If you are afraid of guns in the United States, the only solution is to leave. There are millions of guns, many more than estimated, sitting in closets and packed away from when grandpa died. We face the same situation with the Hanta virus, and several others that are in the environment. There is no getting rid of them and no stopping anyone with not-too-expensive lab equipment from playing god and changing them into the end of the world.
The solution is survival colonies in space. Though it sounds bizarre, these colonies should be “manned” by fertile women and maintain sperm banks. 99 men and one woman is the end of the world, while 99 women and a sperm bank is a new one.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/25/do-it-yourself-dna-amateu_n_153489.html
http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/genetically-enginee…60709.html
Yes, it sounds bizarre but you are exactly correct. The minimum viable population for humans is about 1,000. So, a few women with a sperm bank containing the diversity of human genetics is what is needed. However, I would still start with couples as the earliest colonists. We need support from the public for government funding and so we need to be mindful not to come across as cooky.
“-we need to be mindful not to come across as cooky.”
Yes, I understand. Even though the government ignoring this stuff is what is really nuts.