Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard for June 08, 2010

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat Dr. Mel…

Skip the monster, Dr. Mel - implant a new brain in Brewster!

Keeping Winky in spleen replacements has got to be setting some sort of record.

The difference, Dr. Mel, is that the experiment Winky described actually worked.

Why that should be called “synthetic life”, however, is beyond me. It wasn’t constructed from scratch.

“They transplanted new biologic material into an existing organism”?

Isn’t that how babies are made?

(Johanan: As I understand it, the new cell’s DNA was constructed from scratch. I don’t think using an existing cell to contain the new genes invalidates the accomplishment.)

Some scientists were telling God “We don’t need you any more because we can create life ourselves.

God said “Is that so, why don’t you show me.”

“OK” the scientists said. “First we need a little dirt.

“Oh no” God said “Make your own dirt.”

\\//_

rayannina said, ”Skip the monster, Dr. Mel - implant a new brain in Brewster!”

Why not just give him a second appendix instead? It would be just as useful.

…and two more nipples!

for some reason your god doesn’t seem to make personal appearances anymore……

Come on nighthawks, I’m sure you’ve seen the faces on toast and walls and potato chips and the like. He just doesn’t have a very good booking agent.

As I understand it, God put all this stuff in an ocean sized mixing bowl, had a volcano or two, a few lightning bolts for dramatic effect, and Volia, he created Eve’s mouth which has never stopped going.

Brand New Soon too be Burned Revision

My understanding is that the “synthetic life” experiment went like this: they removed the genetic material from a bacterium of one species. Then they synthesized new genetic material, taking the sequence from another species of bacterium and adding a few “signature” sequences which didn’t do anything beyond mark the material as “theirs.” Then they introduced this into the bacterium that had no genetic material, and voila it functioned as a bacterium.

So.. what they did not do: they did not create a working cytoplasm, they did not create a new, functional genome. What they did do was create a way to mark naturally occurring stuff of life so that it can be patented. I’m not at all sure this is a real achievement.

A synthetic spleen? BTDT

Mel must have an auto-refill account with Winkys-R-US.

Now is the time for the mad scientist laugh: Buuuwhaaaahaaaaa!!!!

The brain is from somebody named Abby… “Abby Normal”!

Insert the brain Dr. Mel and the creature will be ready for “Putting On The Ritz”!

Yes, WInky, science has finally proven that you don’t need intelligence to create life. Blwrm, blwrm, blwrm…

“What’s this stuff?” “Synthetic Life. You gonna try it?” “I’m not gonna try it… You try it.” “Let’s get Winky! He’ll try anything!” CHOMP “My spleen!” “It likes him! Hey Winky!”

“May I be frank with you? I’d really like to pick your brain.”

“Yes, and stop calling me Shirley.”

The original Frankenstein didn’t even have to use cadavers, much like Rossum, he made from scratch.