Playing God

Playing God

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Ratings: 8.28/10 from 95 users.

Playing GodAdam Rutherford meets a new creature created by American scientists - the spider-goat. It is part goat, part spider, and its milk can be used to create artificial spider's web.

It is part of a new field of research, synthetic biology, with a radical aim: to break down nature into spare parts so that we can rebuild it however we please.

This technology is already being used to make bio-diesel to power cars. Other researchers are looking at how we might, one day, control human emotions by sending biological machines into our brains.

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jockey
jockey
6 years ago

Ihat poor guy making the about to be banned deisel

jockey
jockey
6 years ago

This an april fool

Rob
Rob
8 years ago

Anyone annoyed he says Bill Gates started in his garage?... Because that's not accurate. Pretty sure he combined the Apple story and Microsoft story... Minor i know but still...

Paul Corluy
Paul Corluy
8 years ago

warning: advertisement literally every 4 to 5 minutes

fleamarketmutt
fleamarketmutt
10 years ago

Compared to Kevlar? Weapons application, they didn't mention that

CJ
CJ
10 years ago

So, how long until we do this with a human and create Spiderman? =P

Badda Bing
Badda Bing
10 years ago

Hate spiders....

ask and i MIGHT tell
ask and i MIGHT tell
11 years ago

goat smacka @ 5:46

Christoffer Bader
Christoffer Bader
11 years ago

Stopped watching when they mixed religion and god into the documentary...

Jenese James
Jenese James
11 years ago

the thinking behind this is so flawed - not the experiments they are simply a product of flawed thinking that sees mankind as some sort of machine with out a living consciousness - this Newtonian thinking is a big part of why the human race is so behind the 8 ball on every thing ....its men thinking like men along a very narrow band of consciousness ...sure they might have aulteristic reasons for it ...but even those are flawed premises considered real - this sort of thinking is what bio tech companies are toxcifying the world for - its quite shameful and embarrassing really that this passes for intelligence when really it is so backwards in its basic understanding

Guest
Guest
11 years ago

I wonder how many comments on this thread are about synthetic biology. I think the people who made this doc knew that by using the word GOD they would gain the interest of the mass more so then by calling it Playing with Synthetic BIology.
Wonder what the word GOD means to them?...the future?
az

robertallen1
robertallen1
11 years ago

"I am done in here at least."

I certainly hope so.

AbdelZ
AbdelZ
11 years ago

Moderator :

Stop your selective unfair bias censership , please & display my 2 missing comments .

You are a disgrace & shame to this great site & to the freedom of speech as most of these silly childish ignorant backward guys are by the way .

Stereotypes , brainwash , prejudices .... the racist imperialistic cultural paternalistic Eurocentrism die hard , i see : proving the case of Edward Said "s great "Orientalism " book right every single moment of the day .

Thanks for just that .

I am done in here at least .

Epicurus
Epicurus
11 years ago

"The rest of your silly ignorant arrogant rhetorics & silly assumptions are irrelevent "

"the rest of your silly talk is irrelevent"

"Check that material i presented , lazy soul"

"Would you please try to make some of these vulgar ignorant stupid disgusting people behave"

"I do not understand why these idiots feel they have to use vulgar insults or vulgar rhetorics...amazing ."

do you think that you should be speaking like them WHILE trying to condemn the way they are speaking?

ignore the personal attacks and just focus on the refutations people present.

you have bought into some things because they already fell inline with the belief system you were raised in. you didnt assess it critically like a rational person ought to.

The world should recognize and thank what the arabic world brought us in the form of knowledge. however the same applies for the mayan and aztecs, the chinese and japanese, the indian, and all those around the mediterranean.

all cultures brought us amazing advancements. no one should ignore those. but no one should pretend that any group of people has some special place within that field because their ancestors happened to have started it.

hell we should all be thanking africans for fire if that were the case.

What i find really confusing is that for the amount of posts you have one here you have seemed to say very little or present very little in ways of an argument or case.

AbdelZ
AbdelZ
11 years ago

This is no way of conducting discussions .

If people do not agree with others , they should react properly .

I do not understand why these idiots feel they have to use vulgar insults or vulgar rhetorics...amazing .

Do your job , moderator & stop being unfair & taking sides .

This is really childish behaviour .

AbdelZ
AbdelZ
11 years ago

To whom it may concern : to the responsible moderator :

Would you please try to make some of these vulgar ignorant stupid disgusting people behave , please ?

I am really fed up with this irrespectful non-sense of theirs .

I presented my material here below for them to check out , in order to help them trigger their own inquiries on the matter because it would take way too much time to discuss it i cannot afford to waste .

It's up to them to do whatever they wanna do with that material .

Some of these vulgar ignorant disgusting guys have been saying nothing but filth :

Try to make them behave , please : they are a shame to this great site .

This is outrageous , i do not wanna lose my temper any further .

This was my very last comment in this topic at least , so.

Assume your responsibilities, please , moderator .

Thanks, appreciate indeed .

AbdelZ
AbdelZ
11 years ago

Guys :

Just take a look at the facts presented by me here below in my long post , otherwise there is no need to continue this discussion .

When people refuse to take a look at facts & at some data, & just resort to insults , empty rhetorics & silly assumptions instead , then , there is no point in continuing the discussion .

robertallen1
robertallen1
11 years ago

I can understand your frustration at not being able to refute anything that I have written, probably due in large part to your lack of education, especially in science and history, as Vlad has so well brought out.

Speaking of sticking to the facts and not making silly assumptions, how do you know that Islam will be back soon?

You're beyond pathetic.

robertallen1
robertallen1
11 years ago

The definition of science I have provided is mainstream with objectivity at the heart of it, whether you like it or not, whether you think so or not.

What cannot be proved empirically is not science; it is merely belief or faith which has no place in science and to state that just because something cannot be proved empirically does not mean it does not exist exhibits an intellectual vacuity and scientific deficiency tantamount to believing in spirits.

Speaking of the unscientific and faith-based, how do you know that Islam will be back soon--or do you expect us merely to take your word for it?

P.S. Addressing Vlatko as "man" is just as Neanderthal as addressing me as "buddy." In short, what you lack in education, you also lack in class.

Vlatko
Vlatko
11 years ago

@AbdelZ,

Your convo (scientist can't create life, life is not just a matter of material processes, science has no objectivity, science is the same as religion etc) is just a pattern with no basis whatsoever, and can be found in the words of every wannabe Islam defender on the net, in fact in every religious "fundie speaker" out there.

Science does not owe its existence to Muslims. That is a gross exaggeration and disinformation. Science owes its existence to the spear-man in the stone-age. From there it is developed, expanded, and built upon.

Every single culture and nation on this planet contributes to its beauty. Muslims are just one peace of the cake, nothing more. Don't flatter yourself. It is true, they've invented lot of stuff, introduced lot of new methods, made many useful experiments, in their Golden Age, but every culture had a Golden Age in the past, and made a lot of stunning contributions. Further more since 15th century, Muslims are stagnating in that regard.

Not to mention the early Greek and Persian scientists from where Muslims got their basic knowledge.

Xercès Des Stèles
Xercès Des Stèles
11 years ago

dam im 6 minutes in and the guy has already said a thousand times '' so THESE goats have spider gens in them''...

yeh man get over it and tell us something new geeeeEEZ are we all so stupid?

Ryan Lee
Ryan Lee
11 years ago

It will be like in the Hunger Games where there are jabberjays and mockingjays. Damn...

Prof. Bumhole Pirate
Prof. Bumhole Pirate
11 years ago

The description is a bit misleading. I was expecting to see a documentary on a cross bred spider goat. Like a goat that could squirt webs from its teats and had 8 legs. That aside it really wasn't that amazing once you find out that a lengthy process is required to extract enzymes etc.. to make a few weak strands of web that kept breaking when they were pulled. Lots of really boring parts.. Really hope they get to the point where they can produce it efficiently though. Imagine the bridges you could build with that stuff

Boles?aw Wo?owik
Boles?aw Wo?owik
12 years ago

Still walking backwards after watching it

berkembang
berkembang
12 years ago

synthetic biology will inevitably leak into the natural world
S B-------a new toy for humanity
where is the research on what the side effects and repercussions on the natural world will be, isn't this part of the scientific method, before we get carried away?

Pedro Gomez
Pedro Gomez
12 years ago

The future has been always in our hand, the power of imagination has no limit, I hope some day we can recreate the Universe.

MoolaMails
MoolaMails
12 years ago

This is a very scarey movie if you can see the implications of some of the work, especially the last part with brain cells.

Bogdan
Bogdan
12 years ago

Can Anyone tell me what's the name of that protein, Reflectin? I can't find it on google...

MattG
MattG
12 years ago

Don't see a single black person leading these scientific fields. Let me know if you ever hear that the next great scientific leap has emerged from Kinshasa.

MattG
MattG
12 years ago

Time to make women with multiple clits!

Luke Ferguson
Luke Ferguson
12 years ago

power to the progressive thinkers of the world. If our species ever wants to find true heaven we will have to embrace these sorts of brave technologies. personally i have full confidence that heaven is not something that's handed to us on a silver platter if we simply wait for death its something we will achieve here on earth. science holds the answers and technology provides the solutions. as we are the natural offspring of this planet everything we do should be considered very natural including our hightech solutions. after all if we dont play god, who will? certainly not "god".

Isah Secret
Isah Secret
12 years ago

Unbelievable .. Science Rocks. That why I put ALL My Faith into it.

lyle
lyle
12 years ago

The word God is only brought in to make the topic controversial. It has already been determined who should be God. Those who claim to be believers will be busy with defending their faith. Those who claim to be atheists will give support only because they want to get rid of religions. The real questions are what good is this to human race? Are there already alternatives? If there are, why have they been suppressed and by whom?

LIVEFROMLIMBO
LIVEFROMLIMBO
12 years ago

in response to the comment thread on this page- scientists should have some sort of moral compass to help guide their actions- not saying religion, if you've watched "the mystery of lake vostock" the scientists did think about the implications and decided not to drill, b/c it would pollute the pristine water.
in this documentary, they bring up some interesting stuff. i cannot help being reminded of GMOs - from what i understand the processes for these are generally the same, that is, genetic modification thru mixing of different DNA in order to get desired results.
Now the GMOs are everywhere and inside of our stomachs. if they didn't want to think about the implications, they should have in the very least asked us.
and more recently certain nations have outlawed them all together in light of new findings.
is this science moving forward? no - it is science attempting to fix mistakes made by science.
to truly "play god" you would have to think like a god.
these jokers are playing themselves.
cure cancer he says?? i wonder what causes it?- then ppl won't have to get cancer in the first place. the increase in cancers and other sicknesses is sharp in light of these "advances."
very interesting times- don't believe the hype.

Marly Hanson
Marly Hanson
12 years ago

I can't comprehend why scientists tend to ignore God (The Original Programmer). Genesis and Revelations is proof enough for myself.

lyle
lyle
12 years ago

New discoveries are meant to make more money rather than to help people in need. Just explore those treatments that have been discovered or used by so many rather than the drugs (with their side effects) sold by the pharmaceutical companies. Just use natural seeds that are not tolerant to pesticides and do not need more spray. Just stop wasting and manipulating world's markets but share what can be found and there will be more than enough. Creating new creatures that produce useable products is what they want the majority to believe, creating new bio-weapons is what they intend and invest in.

Cathy Vasiliou
Cathy Vasiliou
12 years ago

All I can say this is scary that this can actually happen

LenArnold
LenArnold
12 years ago

playing GOD is not a good thing at all the gmo's are having a very bad effect on human life and on the land where the crops are, the result of eating the corn and other crops of rice,wheat,or whatever the modified crop is giving women miscariages and affecting the land and animals these gmo's are feed too ,things on earth need to be natural or they will destroy everyone in the future

robertallen1
robertallen1
12 years ago

I deal only with the temporal.

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

For what i know, god could be the absence of being or the mass presence of being.
az

over the edge
over the edge
12 years ago

my definition of god
god- word used to describe the unknown. once a very large and powerful word but as the unexplained was explained the word has been forced to get smaller and smaller hiding in the spaces between explanations while we will most likely never have all the answers, we will learn to demand proof for an answer instead of taking an answer based on faith

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

god: the combined awareness of humans, the ever changing reality we are aware of in the now as a mass, as oppose to an individual actuality.
az

David Foster
David Foster
12 years ago

"And some day there will be flying cars..."

Ever notice that what comes from all of these scientific endeavors never matches the sales pitch?

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

goodbye fifty4fourty, hello dewflirt.

Alex Gkionis
Alex Gkionis
12 years ago

I've been around for 30 years, give or take, and this science is going to implement itself as all the other did. We cannot stop it. We'll see amazing things come out of it and some really horrible things as well. BUT in the end we are going to be nostalgic about the good old days (quality in food, people talking face to face, playing in the neighbourhoods...ONE human race, not the flying ones and the still walking kind of people) xD

Jayjay30
Jayjay30
12 years ago

Remarkable science, I'm impressed !!! the title overstates the achievements though. There is a lot more to life as we know it and GOD dose not exist in the form that many believe .

Robyn318
Robyn318
12 years ago

I think this science is great. However I have reservations about the safety measures put in place. Mishaps happen all the time. Three instances are: 1) the well known Africanized honeybees, 2) farm salmon that were bred for the table, not endurance that escaped their steel cages when a nor’easter hit Main in December of 2000 and 3) the cane toad that was introduced in Australia and Florida. My major concern is that when there is money involved, it doesn’t take long for increased profits to prevail over stringent safety measures.

That being said, in the right hands this could revolutionize medicine and agriculture in ways we cannot even imagine yet. In the wrong hands it can also wreak ecologic disasters that are equally unimaginable.

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

Can anyone tell me what unexpected consequences there might be with this, I mean could you accidentally create changes you haven't planned for or is it too exact for that to happen ? I'm wondering if it could end up being an ecological 'disaster' like the rabbits in Oz or mink in Devon. Tweak a spider too much and suddenly it kills the wrong insects or something. Can the goats breed and if so would their kids produce the same silk milk ?

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

Very interesting doc, i can imagine that already they are ahead of that, and in a month even more so....progress is proceeding forward all ways.
To think that we can stop science steps ahead is to not understand humans.
To think that this will be used uniquely for the good of men is to not understand humans.
To think that this has nothing to do with the incorporeal is to not understand humans.
az

Brandon Costa
Brandon Costa
12 years ago

I really enjoyed this doc. I still think we need to be careful and take our time with it though. This reminds me of Jurassic Park where he was quick to build dinosaurs, package them up and sell it to the public much too quickly without really testing the consequences.