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> We built an animal No they didn't. They built a sheet of biological material that pulsates when placed in an electrical field. Animals reproduce, and hence a
by arturadib 14y ago
> We built an animal
No they didn't. They built a sheet of biological material that pulsates when placed in an electrical field. Animals reproduce, and hence adapt and evolve.
It's a neat gadget, but let's not get too carried away.
- pfraze 14y agoYeah, but I think it's pretty interesting-- not because of the complexity of what's created, but because of the materials.
- ThePherocity 14y agoAgreed; this isn't much different than in bio where we would apply an electrical current to freshly amputated frogs legs (or heart) and watch them twitch. It's just a much more elaborate presentation. When it's swimming on it's own and reproducing, then I'll agree that they have created a new animal.
- ihsw 14y agoThat is essentially what a jelly fish is. To paraphrase another comment quoting wikipedia: "Most jellyfish do not have specialized digestive, osmoregulatory, central nervous, respiratory, or circulatory systems." and, "Jellyfish have no brain nor central nervous system."
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- sageikosa 14y agoI tend to agree that asserting they created an animal is a bit of a stretch. The creature doesn't obtain or maintain its structure through internally-encoded genes, nor does it maintain its behavior through an internal stimulus response mechanism. Its structure is grown around a polymer film, and its behavior is completely externally driven. At best, they have created a cyborg jellyfish-like thing.