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[scrdest]

Ion torrents is not really "harvesting the DNA's semiconductor property" though. It's fairly similar to all the other High Throughput Sequencing machine, except it uses the pH change associated to the addition of a new base pair instead of light to read the addition of new base pair.

Also, you seems confused about what SNP means. It stands for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, aka a 1 base pair change between two genomes (often a subject's genome and some "reference" genome for medical applications).

Hey, a shout to all the other molecular biologist/genetic engineers/bioengineers/biochemists/synthetic biologist out there, what would be your pet project if you had lab equipment in your garage (let say you manage to grab a bunch of second-hand stuff from your workplace)?

Realistically? A DNA microarray analysis of the gene expression between normal and psoriatic cells, then regular inflammation and psoriatic cells to analyze the expression patterns - I kinda have a vested interest in this, because thanks Dadbama - this one is something I might be able to work with as a lab project for my Bachelor's, since one lab on the university is actually working on the subject.

Alternatively, look into the whole NAD+ and pseudohypoxia reversal, or anything else biogerontology.

Even more alternatively and vaguely, something something stem cells something, too early into my studies to know enough to tackle the subject professionally but it holds enough promise in bioregeneration to arouse my curiosity.

@wierd, extremophile adaptations tend to be major enough that adapting something into one is a pipe dream, for the most part, at least at the scale of several adaptations as in here; it'd be more viable to either modify an existing one or create a biofilm of several kinds of microbes that, together, are able to withstand such conditions and accomplish the objective.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Is it ok to ask what if questions that you might find on the XKCD what if thing?

[Sheb]

Well, XKCD normally does a good job of explaining, so it'd be redundant.

scrdest is right though: it might be easier to engineer a microbial community than a microbe (it's not as if bacteria lived on their own). I remember reading a nice example of a Dutch team creating a microbial ecosystem to produce polyhydroxyalkaloate, a plastic. The nice thing about this is that you're in effect operating on a black box model: you don't really need to understand the details of the interactions, just put in the right selection pressure.

[Arx]

MonkeyHead had or has a link to an insane physics thread in his sig, but here's probably OK too.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Well, XKCD normally does a good job of explaining, so it'd be redundant.

scrdest is right though: it might be easier to engineer a microbial community than a microbe (it's not as if bacteria lived on their own). I remember reading a nice example of a Dutch team creating a microbial ecosystem to produce polyhydroxyalkaloate, a plastic. The nice thing about this is that you're in effect operating on a black box model: you don't really need to understand the details of the interactions, just put in the right selection pressure.

I didn't mean the exact same questions but similar ones, as in random extremely out of the box questions

[wierd]

@scrdest:

Oh, I know. extreme environments are nutrient poor, or at least so marginally viable as an evolutionary niche that even small upsets can make or break the survivability of such creatures.  There are already a few extremophile microbes that I had in mind for adaptation candidates, but getting them used to the strongly denaturating conditions of the Venusian upper atmosphere would be no small feat.  (the candidates I have in mind are already high temperature, are sulphur cycle chemotrophs, and used to high pressure. They just are evolved for life in deep ocean vents, and not for life in absurdly high pH, low water environments. It would take substantial changes to the lipid layers of the cell membrane to withstand that environment, and the question remains if there would be enough bioavailable energy to sustain the microbe's now expanded biological needs just for survival, let alone tack adding a most likely inefficient liability on there, which is what a man-made pathway to produce small crystals of aramid plastic would do to the poor things.  Sadly, aramid is easily broken down by exposure to high pH, so to be a viable aproach for the intended use, the plastic has to stay inside the cell, and rely on the cell membranes staying partially intact as the creatures die, and get rained down to the hellish surface below.  Down there, the plastic is right on the edge of being thermostable, and should be able to accumulate on Venus' various mountain tops.

I know full well it would not be something easy to do.  I said it would be something fun to do, and being engineered for such vastly alien conditions to pretty much everwhere on earth, the resulting microbes wouldnt be an appreciable contagion risk.

as for regenerative geriatrics, I saw a paper recently on mice that were able to retain the extracellular matrix of thier tissues very late into thier adult lives.  I cant remember the name of the gene that was implicated in the knockout study, but it was related to studying atherosclerosis.  A novel side effect that was observed was "beautiful skin", which prompted a different study with shaved knockout mice being subjected to absurd amounts of UV light, and rating the resistence to degeneration.  IIRC, the results were noteworthy.  retaining extracellular collagen longer in life would be a substantial benefit to geriatric medicine.

[i2amroy]

I didn't mean the exact same questions but similar ones, as in random extremely out of the box questions

To be honest that almost sounds more like something for the Small random questions thread than one for the science thread.I mean if they are particularly science-y or deal with newer technology then feel free to shoot, but if they are on the level as some of the xkcd ones ("What happens if all the rain in a cloud fell in one drop?") then I don't really feel like they belong here personally.

[Arx]

Here, we have a thread for that.

[i2amroy]

Oooohhh, that's even better.

[Sheb]

The problem is that if the aramid plastic pathway is a drain on the cell, the ones you send to Venus will quickly get rid of it.

[scrdest]

The problem is that if the aramid plastic pathway is a drain on the cell, the ones you send to Venus will quickly get rid of it.

Yeah, that's a *big* problem in all genetic modification. Even if it wasn't a drain, bacteria like to lose the modifications they don't specifically need.

[wierd]

One way would be to incorporate the aramid into the inner structure of the cellular membrane as a structural component. That would make the aramid into an advantageous adaptation, since it would allow the microbe to better withstand increased pressures, and perhaps better regulate internal hydration against the hygroscopic nature of anhydrous sulphuric acid outside the cell.

That way, elimination of the added feature would result in a net reduction in viability of the lifeform in the environment.

[10ebbor10]

It's a very complex system though, so presumably the cell is still going to adapt.

[scrdest]

It's a very complex system though, so presumably the cell is still going to adapt.

Not to mention getting the pathway right just got even harder; if you want the aramid in the membrane, you're gonna have to get the cell to get it there somehow; that means transporting proteins and membrane transporters, so it's another thing you need to build in - and we're already talking about several modifications, with only a small percentage of bacteria on each step incorporating the modification.

Furthermore, I just thought about the fact that you've picked bacteria that are already extremophilic to some degree. While it means less effort in getting them the rest of the traits, there is one more problem.

VBNCs. Viable But Non-Cultivable Microorganisms; if you have microbes adapted to extreme conditions, you need to cultivate them in extreme conditions. And it's a PITA already to just cultivate anaerobic bacteria, despite several techniques developed.

[wierd]

aramid is a self assembling complex. The usual method of producing it requires a strong acid to spin it into fiber, because it does not melt. Instead, it gets denatured with very strong HCl, which turns it into "goop" by grabbing up some of the hydrogen bonding points with a light but volatile compound.  When the HCl evaporates, it reconforms into a regular arrangement again.  regulating the pH of the membrane would allow the cell to make the dangerous environment outside the cell into a potentially beneficial source of hydronium ions to allow the aramid monomers to be transported without sticking to everything, as well as a means of supplying fresh sulphate complex inside for metabolic processes.  These are just wild ideas mind-- serious proposals would need more than just brainstorming to consider the viability.

Aramid is basically a complex of aromatic amide group chains held together by hydrogen bonds. Amide groups are pretty common inside cellular processes. It may be possible to transport simple amides to the membrane with already known transport systems, and do the assembly in place with a pH controlled enzyme.

it was the use of such a commonly found functional group to make the plastic that made me wonder about potential biosynthesis, and integration into cellular membranes.

It's the energy costs of making such complex and energy dense macro molecules that I think is the game killer.  Sulphur respiration isnt exactly a powerhouse, compared to molecular oxygen and sugars. Less is more, so the less power hungry the microbe is, the healthier it will be. 

It's a hard problem. I'm not a molecular biologist nor a career geneticist. I dont really have the skillset here, but the challenge would be enticing all the same.

The question was what you would do if you had the skills and equipment in your garage. I enjoy difficult but ambitious projects. The reward from getting even a small part working is just that much more fullfilling.

I have neither, so it's moot anyway.