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<DIV>Joel--The article you sent, the one below, is not only amazing.
It dovetails with a piece of poetry I wrote as a treatment for a short film in
2001. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As usual, the poem was inspired immensely by my interchanges with
Eshel. Take a look:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
swarms of robo-microbes<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Made by
humans and biology<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">The
techno teams <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">That come
from dreams<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">The wet
dreams of technology<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
cyborg microbes by the trillions<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Launched
as space communities<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Explore
the dark beyond our skies<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Thrive on
starlight, climb and dive <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">through
wormholes and through nebulae?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
they re-landscape Einstein’s space <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">And tame
time with phrenology?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
they ride herd<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">on mass
stampedes <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">of x-rays
and raw energy<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">corralling
flares spat by black holes <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">at the
cores of galaxies?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
genes retooled<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">In swarms
of cells<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Become
our new conquistadors?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could
they explore<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Galactic
shores<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">And
synapse reports<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">To our
brains?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">From
global thinking<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">Could we
go<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">To
cosmos-hopping megaminds<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">One small
step for E. coli<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">A giant
step for human kind?</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">The
article:</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify; mso-hyphenate: none; tab-stops: -.5in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"></SPAN> </P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt">
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; LETTER-SPACING: -0.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2><FONT
face="Courier New">Retrieved <SPAN style="mso-no-proof: yes">November 25,
2005</SPAN>, from the World Wide Web<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/24/national/24film.html?adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1132979630-umqKos8HcAa3U8FsuKGPrQ&pagewanted=print<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><st1:date Month="11" Day="24"
Year="2005">November 24, 2005</st1:date> Live From the Lab, a Culture Worth a
Thousand Words<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>By ANDREW POLLACK
Your portrait in a petri dish? Scientists have created <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">living photographs made of bacteria,
genetically engineering the microbes so that a thin sheet of them growing in a
dish can capture and display an image.</B> Bacteria are not about to replace
conventional photography because it takes at least two hours to produce a single
image. But <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">the feat shows the potential
of an emerging field called synthetic biology, which involves designing living
cellular machines much as electrical engineers might design a circuit.</B>
"We're actually applying principles from engineering into designing cells," said
Christopher A. Voigt, assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the
University of California, San Francisco, and a leader of the photography
project, which is described in a paper being published today in the journal
Nature. <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">One team of synthetic biologists
is already trying to engineer bacteria to produce a malaria drug that is now
derived from a tree and is in short supply. And J. Craig Venter, who led one
team that unraveled the human DNA sequence, has said he now wants to synthesize
microbes to produce hydrogen for energy. </B>The technology could also be used
to create new pathogens or synthesize known ones. So far, however, most
synthetic biology accomplishments have been like the bacterial film - somewhat
bizarre demonstrations of things that can easily be done with electronics. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Synthetic biologists have</B>, for
instance, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">made the biological equivalent
of an oscillator, getting cells to blink on and off</B>. To make the bacterial
film, <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">common E. coli bacteria were given
genes that cause a black pigment to be produced only when the bacteria are in
the dark.</B> <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">The camera, developed at
the </B><st1:place><st1:PlaceType><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">University</B></st1:PlaceType><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"> of </B><st1:PlaceName><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Texas</B></st1:PlaceName></st1:place><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">, </B><st1:City><st1:place><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Austin</B></st1:place></st1:City><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">, is a temperature-controlled box in which
bacteria grow, with a hole in the top to let in light. An image on a
black-and-white 35-millimeter slide is projected through the hole onto a sheet
of the microbes. Dark parts of the slide block the light from hitting the
bacteria, turning those parts of the sheet black. The parts exposed to light
remain the yellowish color of the growth medium. The result is a permanent,
somewhat eerie, black-and-yellowish picture. <o:p></o:p></B></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=2><FONT
face="Courier New"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></B><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Scientists involved in the project said
they envisioned being able to use light to direct bacteria to manufacture
substances on exquisitely small scales. "It kind of gives us the ability to
control single biological cells in a population," said Jeffrey J. Tabor, a
graduate student in molecular biology at
<st1:State><st1:place>Texas</st1:place></st1:State>. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Scientists, of course, have been adding
foreign genes to cells for three decades, and the distinction between synthetic
biology and more conventional genetic engineering is not always clear.
</B>Proponents of synthetic biology say genetic engineering so far has mainly
involved transferring a single gene from one organism into another. The human
insulin gene, for instance, is put into bacteria, which then produce the
hormone.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each project, they say,
requires a lot of experimentation, in contrast to <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">true engineering, like building a microchip
or a house, which uses standardized parts and has a fairly predictable
outcome.</B> "We haven't been able to transform it into a discipline where you
can simply and predictably engineer biological systems," said <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Drew Endy, an assistant professor of
biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</B> "It
means the complexity of things we can make and can afford to make are quite
limited." Professor Endy <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">and colleagues
at M.I.T. have created a catalog of biological components, which they call
BioBricks</B>, which are s<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">equences of
DNA that can perform particular functions like turning on a gene</B>. Still,
since cells differ from one another and are extremely complex, it is open to
question how predictable biological engineering can ever be.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">M.I.T. has also begun holding a competition
for college students to design "genetically engineered machines." The bacterial
camera was an entrant in 2004 and was made in part using BioBricks. Mr. Tabor
said the idea for bacterial photography came from Zachary Booth Simpson, a
digital artist who has been learning about biology at the university.</B> By
chance, the <st1:State><st1:place>Texas</st1:place></st1:State> team learned
that Professor Voigt in <st1:City><st1:place>San
Francisco</st1:place></st1:City> and one of his graduate students, Anselm
Levskaya, had already developed a bacterial light sensor. So the two groups
teamed up. The E. coli bacterium was chosen because it is easy for genetic
engineers to work with. But <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">since E.
coli live in the human gut, they cannot sense light. Mr. Voigt and Mr. Levskaya
put in a gene used by photosynthetic algae to respond to light. The bacteria
were also given genes to make them produce an enzyme that would react with a
chemical added to the growth medium. When that reaction occurs, a black
precipitate is produced. </B>The scientists created sort of a chain reaction
inside the bacteria. When the bacteria are in the dark, the enzyme is produced,
turning the medium black. When the bacteria are exposed to light, production of
the enzyme is shut off. Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy
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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">----------<BR>Howard Bloom<BR>Author of The Lucifer Principle: A
Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History and Global Brain: The Evolution
of Mass Mind From The Big Bang to the 21st Century<BR>Recent Visiting
Scholar-Graduate Psychology Department, New York University; Core Faculty
Member, The Graduate
Institute<BR>www.howardbloom.net<BR>www.bigbangtango.net<BR>Founder:
International Paleopsychology Project; founding board member: Epic of Evolution
Society; founding board member, The Darwin Project; founder: The Big Bang Tango
Media Lab; member: New York Academy of Sciences, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Psychological Society, Academy of Political
Science, Human Behavior and Evolution Society, International Society for Human
Ethology; advisory board member: Institute for Accelerating Change ; executive
editor -- New Paradigm book series.<BR>For information on The International
Paleopsychology Project, see: www.paleopsych.org<BR>for two chapters from
<BR>The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History,
see www.howardbloom.net/lucifer<BR>For information on Global Brain: The
Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century, see
www.howardbloom.net<BR></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>