3 ms·
My analogy of gene transfer with the LHC is as you quote; whatever humans do with respect to gene transfer has already been done many times over, and never resu
by pcrh 11y ago
My analogy of gene transfer with the LHC is as you quote; whatever humans do with respect to gene transfer has already been done many times over, and never resulted in a mass extinction event.
There are two mass extinction events that have a clear biological origin. Minor extinction events are a permanent feature of evolution.
The first is the evolution of photosynthesis causing the Great Oxygenation Event[0]. In this, cyanobacteria converted CO2 into water and oxygen on a massive scale. This lead to a cooling of the planet due to reduced CO2 levels and the precipitation of iron oxides into massive deposits worldwide, today visible as "banded iron formations" [1].
The second mass extinction with a clear biological origin is the current one, where Homo sapiens is converting a massive quantity of carbon previously sequestered during the carboniferous back into CO2 and warming the planet as a result. In addition, this species destroys the habitats of many other species.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_iron_formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_iron_formation