Their article is dripping with the OBVIOUS--- [via "engineered" and "BUILT"] DESIGN. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14
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All the
cells in this culture are genetically identical, but individual colonies
glow in different colors because a synthetic system of regulation keeps
them in distinct states.
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"The human body contains more than 200 types of cells by most
estimates, all descended from a single fertilized egg. The spindly cells
of the skin, the gangly branching neurons, the plump fat cells, the
exquisitely sensitive rods and cones of the eye — all of these are
products of a long process of development, during which their physical
forms altered beyond recognition. With few exceptions, however, all
these cells carry the same genes as that fertilized egg. The only thing
that changes from cell to cell is which genes are active.
Q: But how do genetically identical cells get shunted into different
identities?
Q: What happens at the molecular level to turn stem cells into
skin cells, and why do they stay that way instead of morphing into
muscle or fat?
By introducing a small number of engineered genes into cells and
applying the right chemical cues, the researchers were able to direct
the cells into seven different stable states, each distinguishable under
the microscope by a different glowing color. The cells exhibited key
properties associated with differentiated cells; for example, they were
stably committed to being one type of cell, but they also exhibited a
“memory” of their previous activity that affected their responses to new
circumstances.
Mathematical models suggest that with just a few more genes, it might
be possible to define hundreds of cellular identities, more than enough
to populate the tissues of complex organisms.
It’s a finding that opens
the door to experiments that could bring us closer to understanding
how, eons ago, the system that builds us was built." Quanta
