#thoughts with quasi

[quasisnipr1048]

On the Woolly Mouse, Dire Wolves, Gene Editing, and Conservation

I found it kind of comical that within my own circles, I generally had the same initial reaction to the work of Colossal Biosciences. After sitting with it for a while and really thinking about it, I don't believe my thoughts on the matter have changed much.

Let's start with the Woolly Mouse. Everyone, and I mean everyone, seemed to love them. It was novel, it was unusual. And they looked adorable. Except, I felt more concern than I did amusement. If you've followed me for any length of time, you are probably aware that I am an engineer (it does say it in my title card). I've worked with safety critical systems before where if something seems wrong, it's probably wrong and you need to figure out why and fast. The Woolly Mouse seemed... wrong. It felt wrong. At the time, I didn't follow the story very closely because it just seemed so strange. And in this day and age, I thought it was manipulated or generated by AI. I ignored it.

And then, this week, another gene research story. Some company "brought back" Dire Wolves, a species that's been extinct for the past 10,000 years.

Something felt off again, and this time, I felt it much more strongly. Colossal Biosciences was named again. Who the hell are these people and why are they doing this? They are the same people who made CRISPR, but with a hell of a lot of funding behind them, and they claim they want to preserve endangered species with the power of gene editing.

And I just have to ask: Why?

Not, "Why are you wanting to preserve endangered species?" No, "Why do you think gene editing is the answer?"

I think my biggest criticism of it is the same criticism echoed by Ian Malcolm in Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park: The scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should. By their own words, Colossal is working to "de-extinct" animals, which, I will agree, might be a noble cause. But let's say they do succeed in "de-extincting" these animals and consider these three scenarios.

Maybe everything goes according to plan. This company is actually responsible with the power they wield and actively participates in conservation efforts for endangered animals. They help save hundreds of species with gene editing. This is idealistic but a good outcome.

Maybe gene editing in this manner does not produce good results in the long term. These revived species have a hard time reproducing and adapting to the way the world is. We are able to study them for a time before they eventually go extinct again. As harsh as this sounds, I also consider this a good outcome, if unethical. We should not revive a species just for them to go extinct again.

Maybe everything goes according to plan, but the company is not as responsible with the power they wield. Some of these revived species escape captivity a la Jurassic Park and start reproducing, either with each other or with the base animal they were created from (see Dire Wolves). Suddenly we have an invasive species on our hands and no proper controls in place to handle them. This should be obvious, but this a very bad outcome.

So, if it isn't clear yet, I'm very much on the fence about using gene editing as a means of conservation. I think there's biological and ecological implications that have not been considered, and yet, the research marches forward behind the pockets of venture capital. I find it to be a slap in the face of ongoing conservation efforts that there are those who would rather use gene editing and ignore its implications to "save the planet". I get it; we as a species are in a unique position to intervene and correct our mistakes. But trading one villain for another when it comes to ecological collapse is not the solution.

(I feel the need to inject this side tangent that for the supposed "Dire Wolves" they only changed 20 spots in their genome, so I tend to agree with the scientist that said Colossal just made genetically modified grey wolves. My main question then is does this count and conservation or are we just creating some chimera in a lab. This does bring up other questions about biology and genetics that I don't think I'm even qualified to ask.)

At best, maybe gene editing our way out of an ecological collapse does work and I'm proven wrong. I would love to be wrong. I'm an engineer, not a biologist. I don't fully understand what all goes into this science. Maybe I missed something. But, I'd like to think a good engineer knows when to listen to their gut and double check that everything is in order. And my gut has a very bad feeling about this. Gene editing, to me, is right up there with nuclear power. It shouldn't be feared, but it commands respect.

That being said, I don't want to be around when the Oppenheimer of gene editing comes along to become destroyer of worlds.

[anthotneystark]

No it’s fine I’m not crying I’m not thinking in an endless loop about how in the middle of overwhelming grief Greez still recognized that Cal was spiraling and letting his perceived guilt start to drown him, how he refused to let that happen and his voice is shaking but he needs Cal to really hear that the betrayal isn’t on him, Bode made his own choices and it’s not Cal’s fault, and he emphasizes this because he knows even if Cal gets it, guilt still has its teeth sunk into him like he does for so many things that aren’t his fault, he feels so much but Greez can’t let him carry this like everything else

Definitely not thinking about how Greez calls him kid and shows he cares with sarcasm and food and how he didn’t trust Cal when he first saw him but how quickly he trusts Cal so much over and over even when he doesn’t want to, how he wants Cal to be safe and happy even though he understands Cal needs something different. Not thinking about how trust is a central theme in everything and every time it doesn’t end well it’s another reason to never trust anyone but Greez explicitly trusts Cal to make the right choice even when Cal isn’t fully sure of himself

[violent138]

Bruce is just hanging out at Clark's place, and watches Clark as the alien busily fixes his sink. Bruce has definitely slept rough, travelled all over the place with minimal resources and trained in some of the worst conditions, but he's never had to do any of this.

Simple things like maintaining a flat, paying rent, arguing with a landlord, buying groceries, decorating a house, these aren't really a part of his life at all. When he catches Bruce staring, Clark defensively declares he likes making the repairs himself, and Bruce replies that he's just fascinated by all the components that make up Clark's life.

[philiponmycracker]

Stunning, gorgeous, fabulous darling Tom Hulce in an interview in 1996, for The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Bobbie Wygant Archive)

At random moments, my heart fills with overwhelming joy whenever I remember that Mr Hulce is an actual Disney prince, and that he has been MY Disney prince since i was 11 years-old. I know I wish he did some more musicals during his acting career, but I can't deny a part of me is very pleased that he chose to do it one time only, and THIS is the one he chose to do, and by god did he make the right choice..! How incredible it is he graced us with his gorgeous voice, in what can be considered Disney's most ambitious and daring animation project, to sing perhaps one of the most spectacular scores they ever wrote. Words can't describe how incredibly happy all this makes me.

[autumn-may]

Quasi-star type siblingship

[delphines]

Cobel was clearly invested in figuring out if love transcends severance in s1, hence all the wellness checks and surveillance on Mark specifically. But ultimately she came to the conclusion that no, it doesn’t transcend. The barrier is too strong. And even though it clearly upset her on some level that the love didn’t bleed through, she accepted it. Hence her telling imark that he’s “nothing” to Helena — she truly believes that. It doesn’t matter if Helly loves him, because once cold harbor is complete it’ll be Helena in control of the body, and there’s no way the Eagan heir would fall in love with him too, right? Well. She just hasn’t seen it yet. Hasn’t realized that both Helly AND Helena have fallen for this man. And once she figures that out she’s going to be fascinated as to why the barrier didn’t hold for Helena, going to wonder whether there’s something wrong with her chip.

Anyway, here’s how Helena can become Cobel’s new favorite lab rat in s3

[impmansloot]

reading an article on narcissus and goldmund and thinking "this is way too focused on jungian archetypes and not queer enough. also not batshit crazy enough"

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

You remember how there was discourse about queer allegories in C3?

It's not the same by any means, but we're discussing the gods being so afraid of getting hunted down and slaughtered, all for an integral part of who they are. And the answer is...hide who you are. Clearly since walling yourself away from the world wasn't enough! Just stuff what makes you who you are wayyyy down. Hope that in making yourself a smaller target, the beast that's too strong for any of us to truly destroy (that we also maybe helped empower because we didn't see the signs and act accordingly) will leave you alone

[crastle]

hello. why does the redstone wire being 8 long specifically make it so that the piston doesn't retract when unpowered. i feel like i'm losing it

[cosmic-light-fics]

There is something so mesmerizing and beautiful and loving and riveting and sweet and soft about Sydney only allowing Carmy to know her fears. I'd love for this topic to be discussed in fuller detail and I wish I had the words to describe just how much Sydney shows how she feels for Carmy in her own way. He's more outwardly expressive about how he cares for her: can't seem to take his eyes off her, always wants to give her what she wants, always trying to show her he's working to be better for the restaurant and for her. It's easy to catch on to how Carmy feels, even though he hasn't caught on consciously (at least, not to the audience's knowledge).

Sydney is subtle. Sydney is careful. But the moments she lets her guard down with Carmy are truly larger than life. Gargantuan. She trusts Carmy in a way that she trusts no one else. She trusts him to know her fears. Not without some regret, though. I've noticed that she always likes to try and take back some of that vulnerability whenever she feels that she's exposed too much, afraid that he might use those fears against her (ex. "So that's why my business couldn't cut it? That's why I'm here?" s1ep6, "I don't know why I said all that stuff. I think I just, I don't know. I guess I was scared." s2ep9). It's almost like she can't help it, being open with Carmy, and I think that scares her a lot more than she lets on. The good thing about it though is I think she's slowly learning that Carmy won't use her fears against her.

[kumomist]

Murderbot vs Gurathin FIGHT

[therantingsage]

Well, since you are allowing for more question:

If this AU started around Act 5, do you think the party being trapped in Siffrin's mind would make any difference?

And on that note, how do you see Act 5 playing out, or at all since he has his "family" to keep him from spiraling further?

I mean….probably not? Or at least if it did it wouldn’t be a positive difference. It’s pretty intentional the place it starts, in that regard, because it’s the point in the story where Siffrin would be the MOST receptive to this happening.

Also I think I’ve said this before, but I genuinely have no idea how act 5 goes yet. The team actually resolves the initial loop-causing thing before they even get the necessary information to make the connection that they solved it. So things end up a little out of order. It takes a lot longer for Siffrin to deteriorate, and when they do it’s different than how he does in the actual game. If act 5 happens it’s definitely wildly different

[moodyseal]

Amica ti prego mi fai un pò di lityerses senza litpollo ti supplico 🙏🙏🙏🙏

UA CERTO non lo disegno quasi mai perché sinceramente ogni tanto mi dimentico di lui visto quanto poco l'abbiamo visto ma devo farlo più spesso quindi grazie per avermelo ricordato anon tvb

Lityerses you will always be famous

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

fall in love with your captain? no. deify her.

[artbyblastweave]

There are lots of reasons I really enjoyed the Owl House, but It really is difficult for me to describe the volume of aesthetic goodwill it purchased by having semi-proportionate character models with consistently present joints, five fingered hands, discernable chins, heads-shaped-like-heads, etc.

[nellasbookplanet]

Okay I have finally finished watching the c3 finale in its entirety (it's SO LONG you guys) and I know I critique and mayhaps even complain a lot but I love this show. Something magical about seeing the stories and parties of ten years and three campaigns coming together, but also the guests throughout c3 getting their moments at the table, the joy of the cast being palpable (their response to that nat 20 had me sharing their excitement even if I maybe wanted to see a god or two get eaten (looking at you Asmodeus and Lolth)). And like, yeah the plot and ending have their weak points but I was at the absolute edge of my seat for that first half of them working to convince the gods and save Ashton, a huge grin on my face for great chunks of the episode, and I really do like where Bells Hells as characters ended up, as well as the peaks into VM and the m9. And yes I have my reservations about the Vaxleth thing but also the feeling of it all in the cast softens it.

If I had to sum up my feelings on the campaign as a whole, it's a fun ride with a lot of really good bits and very cool & creative characters and super unique lore and wordbuilding and SO MUCH ambition (and I always appreciate ambition over playing it safe), but if you try to think too hard about it it kind of falls apart a little bit. Actual play popcorn entertainment. I've had a good time and hope the rest of you did too. Now: on to exu Divergence!