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i wonder what the next completely pointless invention will be...
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why would they make pigs glow instead of doing something useful? like finding a cure for aids or cancer or something like that?
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There are other people that do that kind of stuff, these people are in the field of stupid science.
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Ah, yes, retarded science. This definitely seems like something Joel would do.
Errr ... Actually guys, there
is a perfectly good reason to research bioluminescence and transferring that ability to other animals.
Let's put it this way--suppose we could get certain plants to do this--trees, even. Like in FF7:AC, the Ancient Capital, how that forest was all glowyawesome. Suppose we could figure out how to transfer bioluminescence to trees, so that they'd glow brightly on their own, enough to see by.
If you line highways with trees capable of producing light like that, that would save on energy costs for highway lighting. Since it's all-natural, not to mention enviromentally friendly. I mean, I don't have to tell you how beneficial trees are to the environment in the first place--but giving them the ability to give off light for our own purposes would be of great use. Wouldn't have to do anything except keep the trees watered, and they'd naturally give off light during the evening hours. And trees last a very long time! Given their low maitenence costs compared to current lighting methods, you could afford to plant glowy trees on even less traveled back country roads. It's a serious win for everybody.
Heck, you could do this in cities too, and cut down on the strain to the power grid even further.
Bioluminescence genetics in general is a sort of holy grail when it comes to finding ways to generate light without using up unrenewable energy. Since bioluminesence often generates little heat, it's also energy efficient compared to regular lightbulbs, which waste a lot of the energy they give off on heat instead of light.
Consider the effects of burning oil and coal right now, and everything it affects as far as the environment goes. Eating the ozone layer, allowing the sun to cancernate us all, faster than before. Global warming, too. And we don't just use oil for energy, we use it for making plastics and other chemicals we use in everday life--so we're really hooked on that black milk. We need alternatives to get off it, or at least diversify our usage enough.
Nuclear fission--while a
much better alternative to fossil fuels in my opinion, it still has its drawbacks in the form of radioactive toxic waste that can't be processed. All you can do is seal it up and stuff it under the ground ... and what if the junk leaks?
Fusion energy--while that is probably the best option in the long run--produces very little waste, and would be ideal to supply all our energy needs--we're only getting close to attaining a self sustaining reaction, but we're still not there yet (recent fusion reactor tests have gotten it up to 75% self-sustaining), and might not be there for a while. Getting
energy out of such a reaction is even farther down the road. They've been working on that problem for a long time, decades even.
Solar power--I strongly support NASA's idea for a solar power farm on the moon microwaving energy to the Earth (no weather to get in the way!), but who knows if that'll go through. Solar panels here on Earth are great for supplementary energy and greater independence off the grid, but it's highly dependent on the weather. Only a few places I can think of can reiably be converted to solar power farms.
Wind and hydroeletric energy is very minute as far as providing the needs for civilization, and only works in certain areas, so it's best as a supplement.
Anyway, point is, the more ways we can come up with to cut down on energy costs, the better it is for us, and for the planet. No stinky fossil fuels killing the ozone layer and the sun's rays giving us cancer in the first place! Glowing pigs may seem useless and stupid to waste scientific grants and research time on, but the concept and technology has many uses. Many,
many uses, which would cut down the strain on energy resources as humanity gets ever more populous.
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