Purple Petunias

687 points · 23 comments · view on lemmy.world

23 Comments

rockerface@lemm.ee · 80 pts · 1y

That's why you don't store your purple in an 8 bit integer, it's vulnerable to overflow attacks.

Crazyslinkz@lemmy.world · 73 pts · 1y (15 replies)

Ok, my turn to request explanation please 🙏

fossilesque@mander.xyz · 119 pts · 1y (14 replies)
[ removed ]
GiveOver@feddit.uk · 42 pts · 1y (3 replies)

This is a perfect example of why science is always useful. Without the knowledge of the results, it would be easy to point and laugh at the start of this. You can almost see the anti science headlines. "Boffins spend TWO MILLION of YOUR TAX to make petunias PURPLE".

sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Is "boffin" a word with positive or negative connotations? I can guess from the context but I'm not sure if it can go both ways

GiveOver@feddit.uk · 4 pts · 1y (1 reply)

It's a weird one, they're usually acknowledging that the "boffin" in question is an expert or knowledgeable. Yet it's definitely a negative connotation imo, in a kind of anti-intellectual way. Here's a shitrag making the case for it being positive, if you're interested.

I definitely have a negative connotation of anyone that uses the word unironically.

sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 1y

It seems kind of like an American saying "egghead" to refer to unknown, undignified research scientists. Like sure they're smart, but they sure are nerds and losers, amirite? uptop!

But I can't imagine egghead ever being positive, and maybe in England it was, once? I'll have to read the thing you shared.

Edit: I did not realize your article also used egghead... Dang.

Crazyslinkz@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 1y

Thanks!

Edit: first paragraph is duplicated.

Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 18 pts · 1y (2 replies)

It started with the flowers of a purple petunia plant turning white, and ended with a human cell becoming resistant to the deadly embrace of the Aids virus. The intervening decade took in experiments with yeasts, microscopic worms, mice and flies. And they all pointed to one thing: a potential revolution in medical science.

Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 17 pts · 1y (1 reply)

It started with the flowers of a purple petunia plant turning white, and ended with a human cell becoming resistant to the deadly embrace of the Aids virus. The intervening decade took in experiments with yeasts, microscopic worms, mice and flies. And they all pointed to one thing: a potential revolution in medical science.

AtariDump@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 1y

It started with the flowers of a purple petunia plant turning white, and ended with a human cell becoming resistant to the deadly embrace of the AIDS virus. The intervening decade took in experiments with yeasts, microscopic worms, RFK brain-worms, mice, and flies. And they all pointed to one thing: a potential revolution in medical science.

HollowNaught@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 1y

A rare instance where the explanation gives you more whiplash than the meme

Goretantath@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y

"RNAi" "Dr. Mello and Dr. Fire" This sounds fake but i hope this leads to a cancer free future.

TinyShonk@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y (1 reply)

What is the difference between dna and double stranded rna?

Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 1y

rna is a completely different molecule, with different properties and used differently by the cell.

For one, rna is less stable than dna, it will fall appart quickly while for dna that process takes millennia.

But more importantly various cell machinery will only accept dna or rna for their respective functions. The cell can put dna into a nucleus and still let rna move outwards to ribosomes for example.
Ribosomes are built from rna and incompatible with dna, so there is an isolation ensuring dna can't get "executed" unintentionally. There are also a large range of gene regulation mechanisms along this extended chain.
Since evolution kinda codes randomly with whatever it has, this duplicated mechanism of storage will be used all over the place. For example here you can give short double stranded rna a suppression effect while keeping short double stranded dna free for a different purpose (like maybe crispr).

desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 1y (1 reply)

is this related to the mRNA vaccine for COVID 19?

Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 1y

I don't think so.
To my knowledge that vaccine injects regular rna into cells to have them produce a protein of the virus, so the immune system starts to build antibodies that target the covid virus.

Since it relies on protein building it uses the regular well-known mechanism where mRNA (messenger RNA) is copied from DNA (then complex shit happens which we will ignore) then it reaches the ribosomes that build proteins from the encoded sequence.

The discussed application for this rna silencing is more active, it directly suppresses some genes of the virus to stop it from infecting cells.

SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Adds fungus gene

glows in dark

ThePantser@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 1y

Adds cordyceps gene..... 😈

FooBarrington@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y

Adds bootcut jeans

Oh no

9point6@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y

Adds NIF genes

oh no

Edit: no we're cool, some plants already do this

What gets us uncontrollable foliage?

Just asking for a friend

Hotzilla@sopuli.xyz · 13 pts · 1y

Isn't it just that humans don't see the ultra violet color they are, and therefore see it as white. There are many flowers that turn from purple to white. Bees can see those wave lengths.

RevolverSly@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Petulant petunias

SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de · 10 pts · 1y

can't wait for the new ubuntu release