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> something like DNA combined with a set of simple rules could result in a fully functional human when those rules were repeatedly applied. It's worth noting t
by ForHackernews 10y ago
> something like DNA combined with a set of simple rules could result in a fully functional human when those rules were repeatedly applied.
It's worth noting that the more we learn about DNA, the more it seems that the rules governing gene regulation and expression are anything but simple. [0]
At one point, it was believed that the Human Genome Project would sequence our genome, and from there it would be relatively straightforward to "read" all the genes and figure out how to cure genetic diseases.
Now, twenty-ish years later, that view seems naive.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression#Regulation_of_gene_expression https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression#Regulation_of_... - for a very brief overview
- ChuckMcM 10y agoI don't disagree, Wolfram would suggest that the rules of gene expression arise from a still simpler set of more fundamental rules :-) And that, in a nutshell, is his entire thesis. If you keep following it down, and uncover the rules underneath the rules, then you reach the last irreducible set of rules. And then somehow that understanding will let you deduce something else or something. (that was were I fell off the train, trying to figure out the second part)
- ForHackernews 10y agoI mean, sure. It's all physics under the hood. The problem is that emergent properties are difficult to predict from lower level analysis, and the complexity is such that it's expensive to rigorously simulate enough of the system to see what you care about seeing.