Just include the genes for extreme-cold or extreme-arid climates. Or the genes for low oxygen environments, or even for metabolizing useful things from eating rocks. Or from spending 24 hours a day in salt water.
I can already see the people protesting against the creation of space marines.
The same scientists who cry about ethics, have happily experimented on mice and guinea pigs in their labs, even if it causes the deaths or distress of those little sentient beings.
Mutations/mutatives like Halo's Master Chief and Marvel's Super Soldier serum won't remain sci-fi for much longer, methinks.
Just tell your car to drive you to the airport. On the way just tell it to play that song you like.
Yes, someone has attempted in the last to breed or alter for specific traits, we’ve cloned many kinds of life, and if there was extraterrestrial life here, someone probably mixed it with humans and animals.
But the pace of this is not going to increase anytime soon, if history is a judge. CRISPR was scaring people years ago when publicized, but those worries were unfounded and so shall these be. Life is much harder than coding apps.
Fragment and Barcode Design
Sidewinder fragments are composed of DNA oligos. The design process relies on calculating the length of a construct and a barcode to determine the maximum bases of coding information.
Toeholds: Standardized to 10 bases. Ligation is effective at ≥±6 bases from the Sidewinder helix; 10 bases allow sufficient distance for ligase docking.
Barcodes: Designed to be compatible with toeholds using a "guess-check" method or NUPACK Python scripts. Barcodes are screened for secondary structure and crosstalk at 50°C.
Ligase Selection: Taq ligase and HiFi Taq ligase were selected for their stability at high temperatures and efficiency at the 3-way junction (3WJ).
Oligo Preparation and Annealing
Sourcing: Oligos were synthesized by Millipore-Sigma. Standard desalt purification was generally sufficient, though PAGE purification was used for specific characterization steps.
Heteroduplex Formation: Coding oligos (phosphorylated via T4PNK) and barcode oligos are annealed in a PCR tube. The mixture is heated to 98°C and ramped down to 25°C to form stable heteroduplexes.
Purification: Annealed heteroduplexes are purified via PAGE gel extraction.
Assembly Protocols
The authors describe two primary assembly conditions using HiFi Taq ligase with fragments at equimolar concentrations (~1 nM):
Cycling Protocol: Cycles between 85°C (1 min) and 50°C (2 min) for 100 cycles, followed by a 1-hour hold at 50°C.
Ramp Protocol (e.g., h-fibroin): Heats to 85°C, slowly cools to 50°C, and incubates overnight at 50°C.
These methods were benchmarked against conventional 2-way junction (2WJ) and Gibson assembly methods.
smackeyacky•1h ago