
Connect's Julian Gough: We're Being Algorithmically Sorted and Controlled - DanBC
http://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/08/connects-julian-gough-algorithmically-sorted-controlled/?ref=PRH96C06AE639&aid=randohouseinc26226-20&linkid=PRH96C06AE639
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petermcneeley
"Kids will use CRISPR, and the even better tools coming through now, to fuck
shit up, because that’s what kids do...My guess is, a lot of kids and
terrorists are going to accidentally injure or kill themselves with their
home-made superbug, long before they get a chance to spread it." No expert but
this sounds like pure fantasy.

~~~
pdkl95
I used to work at the JGI[1]. As we were technically part of the DOE, we were
occasionally accused of being a "bioweapon lab" and other evidence-free
conspiracy theories. We were a high-throughput sequencing lab; experimental
research and development of _anything_ was well outside our capabilities.
(almost all of or lab space was related to keeping our (Sanger) sequencers
running nonstop) Most of the staff thought idea that we were making bioweapons
was hilariously misinformed.

Well, some of us stopped laughing when we _accidentally_ created a "superbug".
We used a _lot_ of agar plates to clone DNA plasmids with _E. coli_. The
plates were filled by hand at an agar dispenser, which resulted in a very
small amount of splashing of agar onto the counter next to the dispenser. This
was carefully cleaned every day, but.... nobody remember to clean _underneath_
the dispenser* where an imperceptibly small amount of indirectly splashed agar
started to accumulate. This agar had ampicillin in it to stop other bacteria
from growing.

Eventually, this repeated depositing of bacterial growth medium and an
antibiotic created a particularly nasty resistant strain of _Staphylococcus
aureus_. The person that eventually discovered the problem and cleaned up the
agar underneath the dispenser ended up hospitalized on an IV of one of the
"antibiotics of last resort".

Are kids or terrorists going to use CRISPR or other genetic engineering tools
to _intentionally_ create their own weaponized superbug? That seems unlikely
in the foreseeable future. Are they going to _accidentally_ create a superbug
that was just as damaging? Yes, they absolutely will, because I've already
seen it happen with people that _did_ have the necessary training sand
expertise[2].

[1] [https://jgi.doe.gov/](https://jgi.doe.gov/)

[2] No offense intended to the good people at the JGI! This was a very human
mistake that the lab learned from; changes were implemented immediately to
prevent this type of problem from ever happening again.

[*] Speaking of problems at that lab, we were fined (correctly) by OSHA for
storing the H2O2 alphabetically,,, next to hydrazine.

~~~
konceptz
Thank you for the story, I find this fascinating! I’m really surprised how
easy it was to accidentally grow this. Is this a 1/(very high number) chance
occurrence or is it a somewhat normal happening if proper steps aren’t taken
to clean?

~~~
pdkl95
Growing a resistant strain was more or less guaranteed, because we were
effectively creating the ideal evolutionary pressure: an ideal growing medium
that strongly favors any additional resistance to ampicillin. It's the same as
why doctors remind you to _finish_ any prescription of antibiotics even if you
feel better early. It's basic survival of the fittest, where we're strongly
defining what "fittest" means.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_resistance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_resistance)

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DanBC
He wrote the poem you get when you beat the ender dragon in Minecraft.

He's talking about his new book, which seems interesting.

------
severine
>> _...and smart critics like Cherian George get pushed out, which is
terrible, because he’s exactly the kind of guy Singapore needs — someone born
in Singapore, who is aware of the system’s virtues, but who can gently point
out the flaws. (Read his The Air-Conditioned Nation, and Singapore, Incomplete
for the best overview of the country.)_

[https://www.cheriangeorge.net/](https://www.cheriangeorge.net/)

