DNA movies and panspermia.
There are several ways that our species might try to send a message to another species separated from us by space and/or time. Synthetic biology might be used to write an epitaph to our species, or simply "Kilroy was here", in the genome of a bacterium via the patterns of either (1) the codons to exploit Life's non-equilibrium character or (2) the bases themselves to exploit Life's quasi-equilibrium character. We suggest here how DNA movies might be designed using such patterns. We also suggest that a search for mechanisms to create and preserve such patterns might lead to a better understanding of modern cells. Finally, we argue that the cutting-edge microbiology and synthetic biology needed for the Kilroy project would put origin-of-life studies in the vanguard of research.
EA 3829, Department of Biology, University of Rouen, 76821 Mont Saint Aignan, France. victor.norris@univ-rouen.fr.
Victor
V
Norris
Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, 02115 Boston, MA, USA. ygrondin@hsph.harvard.edu.
Yohann
Y
Grondin