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"Does it open a new horizon for my thinking? Does it lead me to think new kinds of thoughts, that I would not otherwise perhaps have thought at all? These qualities are what [make] science fiction ...unique."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Tectogenetic | ||
| Deliberate manipulation of genes to produce unique species. |
Probably the earliest (and clearest) statement of this idea in science fiction (and possibly elsewhere).
| You take living chromosomes, break them down into their separate genes and preserve the genes alive in pure culture [...] Then you rebuild the chromosomes into a new pattern and implant them in denucleated germ cells. From then on it's a simple matter of gestation -- or seed formation if you're working with plants -- in vitro. |
| Technovelgy from Crisis in Utopia,
by Norman L. Knight. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Compare to genetic engineering from Jack Williamson's Dragon's Island.
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and Technology from Crisis in Utopia
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and Technology by Norman L. Knight
Tech news articles related to Crisis in Utopia
Tech news articles related to works by Norman L. Knight
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| EctoLife Concept Video Artificial Womb For Baby Mass Production |
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'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
