

Bacteriophage phi X174 DNA a message from extraterrestrial intelligence? (1979) - GuiA
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1979Icar...38..148Y

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GuiA
To all the comments about how the answer is no: I agree, and the reason I
posted this is not because of the answer to the question, but because the
premise and reasoning are very interesting to read.

Also, I got this link in a comment in the following thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8675078](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8675078).
Thanks `jonmrodriguez!

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arthurcolle
Here is the link to the actual journal article.

Absolutely disgusting that it is so obfuscated and so difficult to acquire.
Information is free if we all help make it available to everyone:

[https://mega.co.nz/#!O1ok1L4T!e06uUlxvYkRf0JVgpf1dvnQWQrhlSM...](https://mega.co.nz/#!O1ok1L4T!e06uUlxvYkRf0JVgpf1dvnQWQrhlSMs8w29ZP8jRDlE)

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Bud
From the abstract: "No significant patterns have been observed".

So I'd say the answer is "no".

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rustyconover
It could be that we haven't detected the interleaved frames and the audio
subcarrier.

or

Maybe we're just not thinking like a "Vega"n would[1].

[1] -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbKE_U4b7U&spfreload=10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SbKE_U4b7U&spfreload=10)

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egmracer
It's an interesting premise but one that's almost impossible to verify. DNA
would inevitably evolve in the billions of years of adaptation, rendering the
message incomprehensible. Even with all relevant techniques (probability
analysis, error correcting codes, ...), it's at best guess work. Despite the
problems with implementation, it's still a very interesting idea that has a
few good reasons supporting its logic. Any advanced life form that reaches a
new planet will almost certainly analyze the planet for life and it's genetic
makeup. I'm not sure we'll be able to validate or completely dismiss the idea
until we explore other planets.

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card
An interesting followup study would be to explore techniques of encoding
information in DNA to reduce the error rate over generations. Could shed some
light on how long a message would remain comprehensible.

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jerryhuang100
The funny part of the 1979 paper is that its Fig 3 of NA codes just looks like
QR code of 2014:

[http://i.imgur.com/AR0OhAF.png](http://i.imgur.com/AR0OhAF.png)

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psychometry
If there's a way to access this article from the link you submitted, I'm not
seeing it. If there isn't a way, I wonder why you submitted it at all.

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zwentz
You know what would be interesting? Doing this on our own DNA. What if that
0.1% difference between us and chimpanzees, was caused by such a capsule
injected into a chimp by an extraterrestrial intelligence, and our key to
interstellar travel, Dyson sphere, etc. has been hiding within us all along?

Would make a cool movie.

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adamnemecek
you should add "(1979)" to the title.

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GuiA
I tried, but looks like the max field limit was hit.

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tacos
When a headline ends with a question mark the answer is always no.

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hoodoof
I didn't click on the link but I'm pretty sure the answer is "No".

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gordaco
I find the premise offensive. It's exactly the same as evolution-denying
creationists: the idea that something is so complex that it couldn't be
created by evolution because that would imply some degree of randomness, or
whatever misunderstanding.

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psychometry
The scientific method has no regard for which premises you or anyone else find
offensive. If the research is sound, both the question and the results are
worthy of attention.

