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Moar people need to be talking about this guys work, a buddy clued me in to it last year. Creating new species without any genetic changes... it's huge. Not onl

Moar people need to be talking about this guys work, a buddy clued me in to it last year. Creating new species without any genetic changes... it's huge. Not only has he discovered a new communication control channel in biology, machine learning is unlocking the commands to intelligently manipulate that channel at will. It's many times deeper this too, this is incredible work. Want those tree-grown steaks rather than a stew of muscle cells with no structure? This work is how you grow an intact cow muscle without the rest of the cow with ease. Want to tell those cancer cells using your body as a petrie dish to knock it off and to start working with the rest of your body again? This is a direct path towards that too. Comparing his 2020 ALife talk to another one published in 2021 he's still making progress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-9rLlFgcm0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-9rLlFgcm0 The mainstream of higher-ed biology is not yet fully on board and is still snickering at his work because he is an outsider, but his results are impressive enough that doubters will become irrelevant soon enough.

bserge 5y ago
Sounds pretty amazing. I wonder if it can be used to enhance parts of the brain (imagine a larger or more dense PFC, which so many dearly need) and muscle (always in top shape). That would be fantastic, along with super regeneration.
- deleted 5y ago
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briefcomment 5y ago
> "new communication control channel in biology" Not necessarily new, "The Body Electric" which Levin himself cites as his inspiration, has been around for almost 50 years [1]. It's sad that something so revolutionary can be sidelined for half a century, but it's exhilarating to see the rapid progress that really smart people can make when they consider some fringe ideas. [1]https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Electromagnetism-Foundation-Life/dp/0688069711 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Electromagnetism-Founda...
- throwaway316943 5y ago
  It’s important to note that while he credits the book with inspiring him to investigate bioelectricity, he states repeatedly in his talks that it is not the same method of action outlined in the book that actually works to reprogram cells.
mjfl 5y ago
> The mainstream of higher-ed biology is not yet fully on board and is still snickering at his work because he is an outsider I don't think people are snickering at him. He was invited to Caltech to speak this past winter. I think that system is just poorly characterized so not a lot of people work with it yet, and he is certainly a pioneer in the area.

bserge 5y ago

Sounds pretty amazing. I wonder if it can be used to enhance parts of the brain (imagine a larger or more dense PFC, which so many dearly need) and muscle (always in top shape). That would be fantastic, along with super regeneration.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

briefcomment 5y ago

> "new communication control channel in biology" Not necessarily new, "The Body Electric" which Levin himself cites as his inspiration, has been around for almost 50 years [1]. It's sad that something so revolutionary can be sidelined for half a century, but it's exhilarating to see the rapid progress that really smart people can make when they consider some fringe ideas. [1]https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Electromagnetism-Foundation-Life/dp/0688069711 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Electromagnetism-Founda...

throwaway316943 5y ago
It’s important to note that while he credits the book with inspiring him to investigate bioelectricity, he states repeatedly in his talks that it is not the same method of action outlined in the book that actually works to reprogram cells.

mjfl 5y ago

> The mainstream of higher-ed biology is not yet fully on board and is still snickering at his work because he is an outsider I don't think people are snickering at him. He was invited to Caltech to speak this past winter. I think that system is just poorly characterized so not a lot of people work with it yet, and he is certainly a pioneer in the area.