[extropy-chat] Dali people

[Damien Broderick]

Reversine has been reported here previously, I think, but I wonder about the
possible weaponized implications:

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Scientists Turn Back the Clock on Adult Muscle Cells

Scripps scientists have found a way of turning back the clock on adult cells
to transform them into immature stem cells. It is hoped that the
revolutionary research by Dr. Sheng Ding and colleagues at the Scripps
Research Institute in San Diego, CA could provide scientists with an
entirely non-controversial source of stem cells. The researchers discovered
that a small molecule called Reversine causes cells programmed to develop
into muscle cells to go into reverse and transform back into immature cells
capable of developing into many different types of cells and tissues. Ding
says that the discovery could help to make stem-cell research more practical
as it will enable doctors to derive stem-cell-like cells from a patient's
own mature cells, while "avoiding the technical and ethical issues
associated with Embryonic Stem Cells." However, Ding warns that much more
research needs to be carried out to determine how Reversine works and to
refine their technique.

Ref: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 126, p. 410 (2004).

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Fiddle with it, get it into a common gut bacterium or infectious virus, and
see the people melt like Dali watches... Michael Crichton could write a
novel about it, and Prince Charles could warn his nation of the peril.

Anything to this fearful prospect, bio-dudes?

Damien Broderick