Xref: utzoo sci.bio:1318 sci.astro:2366 sci.philosophy.tech:664
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!watson
From: watson@ames.arc.nasa.gov (John S. Watson)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.astro,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: DNA for interstellar messages
Message-ID: <11370@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 6 Jul 88 21:00:41 GMT
Reply-To: watson@ames.arc.nasa.gov (John S. Watson)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Lines: 25


> Around the end of my undergduate career I remember reading a paper
> on the possibility of using DNA sequences for interstellar communication.
> The idea was that you launched your message into space as a virus,
> and it replicated itself wherever it landed. 

This reminds me of the book CONTACT by Carl Sagen, where the scientist 
looks for a coded message from the creator(s) of the universe
in the number PI, i.e: 

        3.1415...IFYOUCANREADTHISPHONEHOMEET...234328...

I alway think of this whenever I see images of the Mandelbrot set and
realize thoughs incredibly beautiful and complex pictures were made 
with iterations of the simple equation  Xnew = Xold**2 + Constant 
(all complex numbers).

Maybe our creator(s) stuck a message somewhere in our DNA, "Greetings",
"may the Force be with you", "Have a Nice Day" or maybe a 
copywrite notices and patent numbers. :-)

-- 
John "Metaman" Watson, IBM heir in hiding     ARPA: watson@ames.arc.nasa.gov
NASA Ames Research Center                     UUCP:  ...!ames!watson
Any opinions expressed herein are solely the responsibility of the
author and do not represent the opinions of NASA or the U.S. Government, yet.