@Eorl,
Eorl wrote:
Wow. This is huge. Hopefully the religious won't realize just how huge it is, they'll think it's just tweaking something god already made. If they do realize, there will be hell to pay.
I agree that this huge, but I'm not sure it's for the same reason you believe it to be so. Do you believe it somehow answers a fundamental question about existence that could rock the world?
How do you define "the religious?"
Belief in a divine creator is not undercut by this human achievement, and while "just tweaking" grossly underestimates it, it really is a case of humans working with what God has created.
I believe in God, and I also not only accept but marvel at the mechanism of evolution. This achievement doesn't call into question anything I believe about God, in fact it confirms much of it. And I don't think I'm all that unique in my beliefs.
I appreciate that there are people who also believe in God who do not accept the reality of evolution and may either deny the truth of this story or find it appalling but do you really expect them to react extremely, and how so? Rioting, burning books, jihad?
It seems to me that it is far more likely that an achievement like this will generate contraversy around potential unintended consequences, rather than any perceived affront to God.
It isn't "the religious" who are up in arms about genetically modified food-stuffs, or who want to rid the world of plastic.