Recent comments in /f/askscience

Corrupted_G_nome t1_j73kv3w wrote

Reply to comment by efh1 in Back in the late 90s, I remember hearing that scientists “cloned a sheep”. What actually happened with the cloning, and what advancements have been made as a result of that? by foxmag86

To be fair the article shared also included embryonic stem cell research which is banned in some US states but was a critical point of research of all kinds for some time (maybe still is) so I can see how that would go underground.

Designer babies should be a forbidden technology. Cure illnesses ore birth and remove genetic defects, fine. Choosing phenotype traits is creepy af imom

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efh1 t1_j73jxr5 wrote

Reply to comment by Corrupted_G_nome in Back in the late 90s, I remember hearing that scientists “cloned a sheep”. What actually happened with the cloning, and what advancements have been made as a result of that? by foxmag86

I know this is going to sound crazy and people get weird about ufo stuff and cults but there is literally a ufo cult that claimed they cloned a human awhile ago and they still offer cloning services on their website. I wish I was making this up and at the time it was regarded as a hoax and it may have been but if you research the cult they have a PHD in charge and are pretty serious about wanting to clone people. I cover it all in the article below.

https://medium.com/predict/a-ufo-cult-that-offers-alleged-human-cloning-services-b1a95874f83b

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Corrupted_G_nome t1_j73ivzg wrote

Reply to comment by efh1 in Back in the late 90s, I remember hearing that scientists “cloned a sheep”. What actually happened with the cloning, and what advancements have been made as a result of that? by foxmag86

There was a case of human cloning in China and the government jailed that doctor and their staff. It was illegal and lacked permits officially and the results came out after the child was born via surrogate. I never did hear much follow up so I don't know if that was a hoax or fake news story.

I heard another of a family cloning a young child who was hit by a car and died. Again I did not confirm that story. It does bring up some weird ethical questions tho about potential uses of this technology.

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Longshot_45 t1_j73copi wrote

Reply to comment by floralnightmare22 in Are plants growing from cuttings as healthy as those grown from seed? by [deleted]

Here's one article on trees, that suffer from deficits after cloning.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-11003684

And here's an article about sea grass that's been doing it for 4,500 years.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worlds-largest-plant-is-a-seagrass-that-clones-itself-180980189/#:~:text=Scientists%20have%20discovered%20the%20world's,of%20the%20Royal%20Society%20B.

Polyploidy seems to be the mechanism in the genetics of plants such as the seaweed that allows this behavior.

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efh1 t1_j73bv0e wrote

Reply to comment by atomfullerene in Back in the late 90s, I remember hearing that scientists “cloned a sheep”. What actually happened with the cloning, and what advancements have been made as a result of that? by foxmag86

The next question is addressing the fact that we could do this to humans if we wanted and whether or not that could be happening. There have been claims by groups with clear intentions to clone humans despite the obvious legal and ethical issues. Is it absurd that such interested parties would proceed covertly?

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ShrimpFriedMyRice t1_j738sen wrote

Reply to comment by aggasalk in How could a high-altitude surveillance balloon be captured? by aggasalk

Helicopters, drones, and bullets cannot reach the balloon. A fighter jet might be able to if it's a specialized one with tech we don't know about. For reference, the F16 can only hit 50k feet and the SR71 can hit 85k feet. Weather balloons can be as high as 120k feet.

The reason the US hasn't done anything is probably a combination of damage on the ground, the fact that satellites exist and could probably do way more Intel gathering than a balloon drifting in the wind, and that by destroying the balloon we've shown the world how we deal with that situation.

The element of surprise is huge and if your enemy doesn't know how you'll answer and react to certain situations, it makes them nervous. By destroying the balloon, we show China and the world our capabilities and response. It's better to keep them guessing and ignore it.

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EndlessEmergency t1_j738ot4 wrote

Reply to How could a high-altitude surveillance balloon be captured? by aggasalk

It's reportedly at around 66,000 feet, which is only 1,000 feet above the declared maximum altitude of an F-15. Using the F-15s cannon on it, one could perforate the balloon and cause it to lose lift gas, which would end in a gradual descent. Even if the balloon were to fully deflate, it would act as a huge source of drag (much like a parachute) and prevent the payload from free falling.

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