What The Hell Is In That Petri Dish

What The Hell Is In That Petri Dish

August 5, 2013 LONDON (Reuters) - The world's first laboratory-grown beef burger was flipped out of a petri dish and into a frying pan on Monday, with food tasters declaring it tasted "close to meat".

This is not a joke. Scientists are working on a way to create meat by using cells from an animal not the animal itself.


They are doing so because the world has reached the capacity of meat (cows, chickens, etc.) it has available for the world population. In the not so far future, the cost of meat will rise to a point where only the upper-middle class and beyond will be able to eat a delicious steak. It's already reached the point where a working family of four can't afford to serve a prime steak for dinner.


Although this science is far away, it is critical work. Many people are opposed to science creating anything from, food in a petri dish, grains that can survive in harsh clients or disease, human organs or anything to do with cloning.  I believe these people are short sited.


Science has been creating things to make our lives better for hundreds of years. Edison was a scientist not a mechanic.  Where would we be now without his creations? Einstein was a scientist not a doctor. The discoveries that have enriched our lives would never have happened without his theories. Ancient scientists cured deadly diseases that had the potential to wipe out the human race. 


Ancient scientists were able to map out the universe and create theories as to how the Earth and the planets revolved around a sun. This enabled us to realize the world was round which enabled us to discovered new worlds. I could go on and on, however, the bottom line is like it or not, the human race is always going to move forward through science.


Now scientists are using the human genome DNA, stem cells and other methods to create cures for Cancer, Alzheimer's, heart failure, Parkinson, and other major diseases. They're doing this in petri dishes. If they're successful we all will greatly benefit by living longer, having better quality of life and lower medical costs. Won't that be a big help in our goal of happiness?


The day when scientists will be able to create human parts in a petri dish as replacements for ones we have lost is probably within our lifetime. If you lost an ear, your doctor will be able to create an ear that exactly matches the ear you lost. The same will be true of feet, hands, etc. How happy would a person be if he can take off his prosthetic and replace it with a real human hand that works just like the real thing?


Now comes the harder part, creating living internal organs in a petri dish. A new liver, a new lung would be a blessing. How about a new heart? Most would say that would be the best gift anyone could ever receive. However, there are some who believe the heart possesses something more than just another organ. They believe the heart has a soul and if you replace it with a heart from a petri dish you will have lost your soul. I'm calling bullshit, but there are people who would not allow a dying son or daughter receive such a major gift.


The biggest controversy will come when we can create the human brain in a petri dish. Will that brain have all the memories of the old brain? Will that brain change who we are and who we want to be? Will that brain have all the good stuff or the bad stuff created by our upbringing? Today we don't have answers to those questions.


I believe scientists will first create specific sections of the brain to replace ones that are damaged by birth, tumor or accident,then they will be able to see how that new part works in regard to all the questions listed above.


Are their risks - you bet! In the hands of the wrong people, human cloning could be used to create a superior race. Cloning could be used for military purposes. We all have seen movies that depict both the good and the bad of human cloning. Most of those movies state something bad will come of it.


What if someone puts the petri dish brain in the wrong person? In the movie Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks, Igor is asked to get a brain for Doctor Frankenstein's creation. Doctor Frankenstein wanted Igor to get the brain of a famous scientist, Hans Belbrook. He goes to a place that houses petri dish brains. Igor, not being the brightest bulb in the room, drops Hans's brain and decides instead to take the brain "Abnormal." He thinks it's the brain of Abby Normal. We all know that brain causes Doctor Frankenstein to create a monster not a scientist.


Yes there will be risks in the new and upcoming science.  But, as we've seen through the generations, in the long run this work will turn out for the good not the bad. The people who make movies might not think so, but I choose to see the future through positive eyes not negative eyes.


I can't wait to try that petri dish burger covered with lettuce, tomato, onions and a shit load of secret sauce. With enough crap on it, how bad could it be. Worrying about the petri dish future is never going to make you a happy person. Why create negative energy in your mind when none of us have a clue what the future will bring.

If you see the future as positive NOW, you'll be happy NOW.