Food for thought #1
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26 Sep 2008, 23:28
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Journals
Dear journal,
So the human genome has about 3 billion DNA base pairs. What does that mean? Well, there are 4 possible base pairs: A, C, G and T. Putting this into a measure of information we all are familiar with, each base would be the equivalent of 2 bits. Doing the maths, this leads to 715 megabytes of information (most sources state 750MB, but let's remember that 1KB is 1024 bytes).
This number strikes me. Almost able to fit on 1 CD (games don't fit on 1 CD for a while now), supposing we'd have some kick-ass futuristic technology, this is half of what it takes to create a human being, from scratch. I say half because there's another important part: the cell in which the DNA resides. It is the cell that takes the information from the DNA and turns it into the organism. If we are to make an analogy to computers, the DNA is the software and the cell is the hardware.
What's even more interesting? We don't know what this data means :) While a small percentage of the genes have been noticed to affect various external characteristics, the rest of it has basically unknown functions.
I can't but imagine how would it be to know the mechanism of DNA... to understand the secrets of life... Will we ever get there? Huge progress has been made in the past few decades, but is this enough? Are we intelligent enough to understand our own building stones?
Dear Crossfire users,
ReGenesis http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429422/
I highly recommend this series. One of the best few I've ever seen. A delightful blend of adventure, science and fiction! Watch it on http://www.hulu.com/regenesis if you have an American IP (hint!), buy the DVD's, or whatever... After you watch each episode, go to their website as they have pdf's explaining the science behind the fiction.
So the human genome has about 3 billion DNA base pairs. What does that mean? Well, there are 4 possible base pairs: A, C, G and T. Putting this into a measure of information we all are familiar with, each base would be the equivalent of 2 bits. Doing the maths, this leads to 715 megabytes of information (most sources state 750MB, but let's remember that 1KB is 1024 bytes).
This number strikes me. Almost able to fit on 1 CD (games don't fit on 1 CD for a while now), supposing we'd have some kick-ass futuristic technology, this is half of what it takes to create a human being, from scratch. I say half because there's another important part: the cell in which the DNA resides. It is the cell that takes the information from the DNA and turns it into the organism. If we are to make an analogy to computers, the DNA is the software and the cell is the hardware.
What's even more interesting? We don't know what this data means :) While a small percentage of the genes have been noticed to affect various external characteristics, the rest of it has basically unknown functions.
I can't but imagine how would it be to know the mechanism of DNA... to understand the secrets of life... Will we ever get there? Huge progress has been made in the past few decades, but is this enough? Are we intelligent enough to understand our own building stones?
Dear Crossfire users,
ReGenesis http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429422/
I highly recommend this series. One of the best few I've ever seen. A delightful blend of adventure, science and fiction! Watch it on http://www.hulu.com/regenesis if you have an American IP (hint!), buy the DVD's, or whatever... After you watch each episode, go to their website as they have pdf's explaining the science behind the fiction.
Must watch it!
Oh, and btw! A small portion of it we know what it means! About 1.5% of the genome codes proteins (and it's mechanism is pretty much know!). And by reverse-engineering we are trying to find out exactly what portion affects what.
Now stop arguing and go buy the DVD's like everybody else! _(ironic remark)
guess why you have to wait 1-2 weeks untill the police made a dna test ? cuz the base pairs...or lets say dna has to reproduce thereself
Yeah, obviously, the DNA is not just like computer software.
First of all we're comparing something that's man-made with something which stays at the base of life itself and which has proved to be enormously more complex. For computers we engineered both the software and the hardware, thus we know everything there is to know about them. Computers work based on electronic devices and processes, while cells & DNA work based on chemical devices and reactions.
Second, a CPU is a state machine that operates on registers based on various control signals.Obviously the cell is waaaaay more complex than that. The CPU operates on discrete values, 0s and 1s. In a cell, there is much more continuity and randomness.
Then there's the difference in size. DNA is a single molecule in itself, just like a wire, and it has a diameter of about 20-30 angstroms. To compare it with the the smallest feature of a microprocessor, currently about 32 nanometers for the newest technologies, it gives a difference of one order of magnitude. But there's a catch: the DNA in those 30A can hold quite a few units of information ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A-DNA,_B-DNA_and_Z-DNA.png ), while for CPU's you need lots of those small features just to hold a bit or do anything useful tbh.
I'm not arguing** that ADN is exactly like software, a series of instructions that get executed linearly. Because it isn't! I made a loose comparison... I still believe it's valid. Prove me otherwise!**
I have talked around your reply. Now I'm going to address what you said. First, I don't understand what you mean by not every base pair is defined. I believe we know quite a lot about base pairs and the low-level physical properties of DNA. It is what happens at a higher level that evades us. Why it takes a lot of time and money to do DNA tests? Because we don't have the technology to do better! The process is slow. It seems there are new methods available, but I don't think police has access to them :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing And it won't be as fast as a push of a button anyway...
** To be honest, I'm not arguing anything at all. I'm trying to make people think, visualize, open their minds! I'm trying to get more opinions, see what others think, see what others imagine. That's why I encourage discussion in this topic.
Interesting read but we have trillions of parts in our body working together so perfectly that I really can't believe there is anything random about it. Chaos Theory ftw :P . I do agree on the fact that the body is basically a "machine" that you could compare with a computer even though it's no match for the complexity of the human body. I think before we could even grasp the true nature of our selves we should try finding out what we're made of and how the universe really works.. I'm sure you'd find this lecture very interesting, It makes a lot more sense to me then quantum physics and actually takes everything into account, In QP the first rule is, we don't care about the cause, so they just see the result and make up everything as they go...
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=6151699791256390335&hl=de
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=-1895475242307393956&hl=de
Well I believe everything is possible, once we have the right information. But I didn't mean to compare a computer so literally with the human body, even tho in REAL simple terms you could call it that :P
Another example of randomness: genetic mutations. They do exist, and they sure as hell aren't predictable :)
I guess you have a point in saying that sub-atomic physics might be easier to grasp than the living organism. QP can be more easily modeled mathematically, while the cell has sooo many things going on that an accurate mathematical model is... difficult, to say the least.