X-Message-Number: 1055
From: 
Subject: Please post
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 02:14:38 PDT

> To: Scott Keeney
> Re: DNA Encryption - Cryomsg #1052

     You are considerable more recent and in much greater depth than I am.

   Questions;
     1) Does the term "quadruple-stranded DNA" make any sense to you?
     2) Where do you normally find *Deinococcus*?
     3) How many families of radiation-resistant bacteria did you come 
across in your literature search?
     4) Do these critters actually live in reactors?  I understand, in a 
very casual fashion, that the internal flux of an operating reactor is 
about 30,000 rads/hour, so that seems feasable, but steam engineers are 
very fussy about the purity of the water they put through their creations, 
which makes for lousy food prospects.  Which is to ask, what do they eat?
     5) If they live in reactors, where do they get the energy to drive 
their metabolic processes?
     6) Did you see any speculation on how they might have evolved to meet 
this bizarre challenge?  I imply from your remarks that they survive high 
fluxes of hard radiation by simply scaling up the known protective 
mechanisms against oxygen, free radicals, and molecular damage, but this 
sort of thing is usually evolved in response to some environmental 
challenge.  I have some trouble imagining what natural challenge provoked 
this degree of adaptation.
     7) What was the goal of your SOD extraction?
     8) Was I correct about their degree of radiation resistance, and what 
is normal for most bacteria?
     9) How well do they resist UV sterilization?  Re 6) above, the 
oxygenless atmosphere of the Archean eon is presumed to have allowed 
vacuum UV to get all the way to the surface, and some distance into water.  
A critter that could survive on or near the surface would have an enormous 
advantage until the ozone shield was raised in the late pre-Cambrian era.  
But in that case, why wouldn't we all be a bit more radiation-tolerant?

     None of the above is particularly relevant to cryonics, of course, 
but cryonics is merely a means to an end.  I know a number of people who 
would like to check out the galactic core and other locations some day.  
Current opinion is that it may be a bit energetic there.  Plan ahead.

Hugh at 

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