Okay, you CLEARLY didn't even read what was just typed if you're still on about volunteering. READ the final paragraph again.

The final paragraph. Read it.




And what exactly is a "franken freakery", because it's sounding more and more like a term for stuff you have difficulty comprehending.


Laws were broken in the past, some were broken to gain access to test subjects to experiment on. But if I hadn't made it clear enough already, they aren't intertwined. There's no relations to the two. To dismiss something just because "the Nazis did it!" is blind paranoia.



Do you believe that we should never build new roads and develop a country's infrastructure ever again because hey, the Nazis did it too?

Right, because roads are on the same level as manipulation of genetics for the sake of "improving" mankind. I would explain the stupidity of that invalid point, but it will be edited or deleted. Meanwhile, you advocate in favor of the same type of experimentation that was conducted on the few who weren't killed right away because all the Nazis really did wrong was target a certain group and acquire their test subjects in a way you don't like. But the actual experiments were ok? Tell that to those who were in those concentration camps. A few of them are still alive. Go talk to them. And the fact that you aren't ok with being the subject of the experiments is very telling.

I agree the earth is so neglected

We spend not enough on space. Most of what tech we now have on Earth-which most take for granted-desktop computers, lasers, masers, cell phones, etc, etc, etc, came out of space research. It has spawned many industries, jobs, health care improvements, recreational advances, and more.

So did the math the total money we have spent on NASA is approximately $473,094,000,000 or 473.094 billion dollars. This is dwarfed in comparison to how much we have spent on other things within the last 57 years. To be honest I would say that there are many other things in the US budget that can be cut far more easier then NASA.

Oh and the idea of DNA manipulation scares people, and it may cause issues on similar lines as the movie Gattaca. Besides we are already working on mapping the entire human genome and now are working on mapping the human brain. I think that the issue isn't the amount of money being thrown at the problem.

The idea of DNA manipulation SHOULD scare people. If you are not scared of what they could do with human DNA, look at what Monsanto has done with corn DNA.

money is just something we invented, it really has no bearing on life itself... if people are just focused on money, then they are in the wrong... seems to me that we should we focused on making life better for everyone, not what we spend money on....

Absolutely. ..

An excellent post, especially that spike on DNA research as a solution for China's One Child mandate to families. As the thread has gone cold I would like to get on with the theme from the OP and set aside the question Should NASA spend the billions or not?.
Guys who don't want my rehash on NASA & DNA may proceed to point 3.

I. Lets rephrase that as should NASA spend watching stars on the remote possibility that there is an earth-like world in some solar system or should the billions go into colonizing Mars; an on-hand project which, like the International Space Station could be a co-opted movement.

AND before some of us get hyper, let me remind them that our ISRO permitted NASA to punch down the Indian satellite on lunar orbit so that the trailing American satellite could check for water based on the debris from the impact. So sorry guys, but you have to count me in as a stakeholder in NASA missions.

With Mars at sight, and the scientific know-how to get there, land there, etc; it is now become a matter of technology to stay there. Simply dumping money and a timeline won't do: it's a residential trip and appears riskier than the historical step on moon. So cannot imagine NASA suffering from star gazing Las Vegas syndrome; the last I heard from them they are thoroughly on Mars.

2. Genetic research on the other hand is spread across universities the world over and scientists as we know, publish and collaborate. Funding is not as big a problem when compared to the effort involved in progressing life-based sciences to the level where space and physics is. Micro-biology (DNA) is still a nascent science and we don't even know the kind of tools we need.

3. For instance, to filter out male sperms from a sperm bank; the filter would have to be a bio-based selector. Which means it would have to be some form of a secondary ovary with a resident egg to attract the lesser agile sperms and hopefully reduce the density of the YY based sperms from the population (as a concept)

4. That DNA filter if developed could be a way out for Chinese families under the 'One Child Policy' is an issue altogether out of the science as it has huge social & political ramifications. A high male ratio could very well result in men behaving in an exaggerated and imbalanced manner and so on. Then when the cycle is later reversed in the favor of the female child, then in the surging female population women would start going bananas (as we are seeing in some countries).

PS: Science continues to amaze me. Its time like these that I regret my high school days; wasted wenching for wenches.

Nature has been manipulated too much.If there is anything to manipulate Nasa and other space agencies know its only in space. Space is infinite and offers far more possibilities.

EXCELLENT idea, but sadly those programs get the budget 'AX' first and foremost whenever there are budget fiasco's because there aren't any lobbyist for their special interest!

Unlike the 32 millions of dollars that just 'POOF' - disappeared during the Iraq & Afghanistan wars 2002 - 2014; lack of over sight and zero enteral audits {DOD never has had an audit}.


While I find what 'Hitler' accomplished during his reign {especially in those early years} as amazing military feats and architectural building technology advancements something that were eons ahead of the entire world; but was it what his country needed? NO - absolutely not...sure it focused his struggling country onto one finite task and thus made his brainwashing an easy thing take over...but had he put all of that desire and skill to do 'GOOD FOR HUMANITY' instead of the sick and twisted world domination!!!

Hitler's GERMANIA PLAN'S..."If Only"...what Germany could have been and how the Jewish community could have helped him build; but all that was not to be - because he became something so sick & vile!


Volunteerism:
I've often wondered why - WHY, we don't put our people on 'public assistance' to work within our communities - as other countries do? There are all sorts of jobs that could be done by 'VOLUNTEER WORK FORCE' that would keep our streets/neighborhoods clean and safe and keep our taxes lower!

Why not consider that manipulating 'nature' will in some distant day assist us in living on other planets.

There are so many distractions that sometime we don't realize the
golden age of life sciences is where the universities are: DNA & neuro-science. Astrophysics is now a second runner.

There is an earlier related post by Metalwing:
Coffee clones humans and grows new brains

The info is supported by downloadable articles from Sciencemag.org.
It now appears that brain cells can actually be 'grown' & the gateway in mice is the spinal fluid. The point of blood supply to this apple seed sized brain; is now the challenge & ...