OT: Superman and Stemcells

[Huzurdaddi]

It is easier (by far) to modify existing DNA than create DNA from scratch. By analogy, it used to be easier to dig up diamonds than make them in a lab.

I think a more apt analogy would be that it is easier to cut and paste code from samples into a new program than to program from scratch. Or that it is easier to program using libraries than to program using only keywords.

DNA is little more than the memory system of a computer ( plus a little CPU thrown in for good luck ).

And I think we'll be engineering our own sooner rather than later if moore's law ( observation? ) continues to play out.