4 ms·

Arguably this is where the future of binary code is anyway: automatic static and dynamic analysis and simulation to automate patching. Machines will be much bet

by drvdevd 10y ago

Arguably this is where the future of binary code is anyway: automatic static and dynamic analysis and simulation to automate patching. Machines will be much better at this than we can ever hope to be. One could imagine the only way to guarentee some level of saftey in genetic modification is via the same or similar means.

sbierwagen 10y ago
automatic static and dynamic analysis and simulation [...] in genetic modification That's going to be tough to do in humans. Mutations in the complement component 4 gene dramatically increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. The only way to test for that is to simulate a human growing from a fertilized egg, through childhood, into adolescence, to early adulthood, which is typically when schizophrenia manifests. You'll need to run a few thousand of these simulations, to have a sufficiently powered clinical trial. And, of course, these simulations would have to equivalent to real humans, otherwise it'd be pointless.
- drvdevd 10y ago
  Right. I certainly wouldn't argue that we do/don't have the computational power to do this or that it's even going to be possible as I'm nowhere near qualified. This is simply my layman's view of "bioinformatics"... I'd like to imagine we'd get something like this eventually.
  - ordu 10y ago
    There is one more problem. Schizophrenia developing is a part of development of human. Not just biological object, but real human, who use his neural system widely in a lot of developing tasks. So to be sure, you'll need to simulate human development. You'll need to simulate for a such experimental object complete environment with loving mother, child games, school, some social relatives (human is sufficiently social creature and he is unable to develop without social environment). From technical point of view its just a computational complexity issue, but how about ethical point of view? How about human rights of simulated consious person?
- jcoffland 10y ago
  We have no way of knowing that we are not in that simulation now. The simulation could even be many layers deep.

by drvdevd 10y ago

sbierwagen 10y ago

automatic static and dynamic analysis and simulation [...] in genetic modification That's going to be tough to do in humans. Mutations in the complement component 4 gene dramatically increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. The only way to test for that is to simulate a human growing from a fertilized egg, through childhood, into adolescence, to early adulthood, which is typically when schizophrenia manifests. You'll need to run a few thousand of these simulations, to have a sufficiently powered clinical trial. And, of course, these simulations would have to equivalent to real humans, otherwise it'd be pointless.

drvdevd 10y ago
Right. I certainly wouldn't argue that we do/don't have the computational power to do this or that it's even going to be possible as I'm nowhere near qualified. This is simply my layman's view of "bioinformatics"... I'd like to imagine we'd get something like this eventually.
- ordu 10y ago
  There is one more problem. Schizophrenia developing is a part of development of human. Not just biological object, but real human, who use his neural system widely in a lot of developing tasks. So to be sure, you'll need to simulate human development. You'll need to simulate for a such experimental object complete environment with loving mother, child games, school, some social relatives (human is sufficiently social creature and he is unable to develop without social environment). From technical point of view its just a computational complexity issue, but how about ethical point of view? How about human rights of simulated consious person?
jcoffland 10y ago
We have no way of knowing that we are not in that simulation now. The simulation could even be many layers deep.