This is really interesting -- it may be possible to improve photosynthesis even more than previous genetic engineering efforts, leading to schemes to increase crop yields for agriculture, biofuel and bioplastics production, and carbon removal from the atmosphere:
https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-key-carbon-gobbling-major.html
5 comments:
As they say in sports "This could be a game changer."
After the ill fated rollout of the Covid vaccines and the purported problems of RNA - or messing with Mother Nature, I wonder if we could end up with a bunch of Audrey II plants from 'The Little Shop of Horrors'.
However, if a bunch of Audrey II clones suck up the CO2 while chomping down the occasional unfortunate bystander and they Greta Thunberg and Al Gore off the front page, it might be worthwhile.
What could possibly go wrong?
5:43 -- There are a number of possible disaster scenarios, for example if you take too much CO2 out of the atmosphere there could be an ice age, or even a "snowball earth" where the oceans completely freeze:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth
Introducing various genetically engineered species could also cause the extinction of various lifeforms native to Earth, including possibly humans, by disrupting the biosphere. In effect they would be invasive species that are better adapted.
The movie Interstellar featured a "blight" of this nature as a plot device:
https://interstellarfilm.fandom.com/wiki/The_Blight
5:43 -- Also the book of Revelation seems to mention an outbreak of some sort of Algae or Cyanobacteria in the End Times, which will harm other species in the Earth's oceans, although the exact meaning of this is not clear.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-Chapter-16/
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Also if you post my comments on possible dangers, it's important to realize that those are far-fetched perhaps based on what is going on now in the opinion of most people who looked carefully at it and have the required background knowledge to understand the risk.
When genetic engineering began of course, there were noble goals like producing synthetic insulins from biologically modified organisms or cells. There was a slippery slope argument at the time that this would inevitably lead to problems later on and the technologies intrinsically would lead to various forms of harm -- the possible lab escape of COVID could be an example of that if true, of course.
In any case, most physicists believe in the many worlds theory, so if there is some extremely bad outcome there will in that case, perhaps be many different Earths who survive any given existential or societal risk and avoid the suffering when it takes place.
Otherwise, from a Christian point of view of course, some people believe we will be raptured before any of this takes place, and unbelievers will then be left behind on a world that will be all but uninhabitable -- there are a long list of bad things that supposedly happen during a so-called "tribulation period". Confusingly, of course, not all Christians interpret the Bible this way, and of course other faiths have different views about what might or might not happen.
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