229 replies to this topic

[Live Forever]

Someone posted this comment to Reason's post over at Fight Aging:
"I would be glad to help but am aware that it is not legal to ship untreated soil into the United States from elsewhere. No where on your site is this dealt with. Explanation?"

I am unaware personally of any restrictions such as this, especially if it is in a sealed container. Does anyone else know of such restrictions?

[John Schloendorn]

it is not legal to ship untreated soil into the United States from elsewhere

Thanks liveforever for the pointer. Not sure from where that info is, and all I can say is that according to my experience it appears to be wrong. I have had many people send me soil from overseas, the packages were always declared correctly, and always came through without any problems.

[eternaltraveler]

Thanks liveforever for the pointer. Not sure from where that info is, and all I can say is that according to my experience it appears to be wrong. I have had many people send me soil from overseas, the packages were always declared correctly, and always came through without any problems.

you probably have no problems because the samples are being shipped to a research institution

[John Schloendorn]

Great. I hope the microbes enjoy their new home.

Hmm, most unfortunately, it does not seem so. Perhaps dissolving their membranes, precipitating their proteins and ripping their DNA out was more hospitality than they could handle.

[maestro949]

Show them no mercy John. At least until they offer up their kin that can biodegrade all of the various junk.

[FutureQ]

Good stuff John.  I started chipping away at cleaning up the format and putting a menu on the page.  I'll have something by the end of the weekend for review.  If anyone has some graphics talent.]

$100?  Perhaps we could take a collection and bump that up a bit.  I'd be willing to throw some $ in.  You might get more soil you can handle though if the turnout is anything like the other ongoing fundraiser

Hi, how about this for a graphic? http://www.flickr.co...3@N00/68823962/

FutureQ aka James Swayze

[JonesGuy]

Someone posted this comment to Reason's post over at Fight Aging:
"I would be glad to help but am aware that it is not legal to ship untreated soil into the United States from elsewhere. No where on your site is this dealt with. Explanation?"

I am unaware personally of any restrictions such as this, especially if it is in a sealed container. Does anyone else know of such restrictions?

I literally had zero problem shipping from Canada. At the post office, they spent a few minutes looking up the regulations and then I had to fill out a custom's form (which didn't cost me any money, but might have cost John). I wrote "soil from my backyard" (I think) on the customs form, and then shipped it. Literally, it was a snap. It's probably the best $5 I've ever spent, because it feels like it's a contribution that avoids bureaucratic dilution.

[Live Forever]

Good stuff John.  I started chipping away at cleaning up the format and putting a menu on the page.  I'll have something by the end of the weekend for review.  If anyone has some graphics talent.]

$100?  Perhaps we could take a collection and bump that up a bit.  I'd be willing to throw some $ in.  You might get more soil you can handle though if the turnout is anything like the other ongoing fundraiser

Hi, how about this for a graphic? http://www.flickr.co...3@N00/68823962/

FutureQ aka James Swayze

It is a private page. Even if you have a Flickr account (which I do) to log into, it is still labeled as private, so most people can't view it. You might consider putting the image here with the image tags around it so everyone can see it.

[John Schloendorn]

OK, so who of you web-making guys just said chocolate wasn't going to make a difference in the soil contest? Do you expect us (contest-voting researchers!) to be bound by that statement or what [tung]

[jaydfox]

I know who complained about the chocolate comment, but I'll leave it to him to answer for himself. [wis]

[Anne]

Ha! Wow, you know, I didn't even realize there was a contest.

I swear I'm not trying to suck up or anything, but I think a really cool incentive would be if the prize could be, maybe, an Mprize donation in our name.

[John Schloendorn]

If you want to donate the prize money rigth back, that'd of course be very glorious, but I'll leave that for the winning individual to decide;-)

[Live Forever]

I have a question. Will the microbes in the sample suffer at all from lack of oxygen in the containers that they are shipped in (plastic containers, etc.)?

I double bagged mine in sandwich bags, but I was thinking all of the microbes might be dead by the time they get there.

poor microbes = [cry]

[John Schloendorn]

You probably can't avoid including more than enough oxygen for them to stay well during shipping when you seal the bag. Unlike humans, they consume very little when they are just sitting around. If they are rapidly growing, they need more.

Then there are also those that grow perfectly well without any oxygen, and even those that get killed by even low amounts of oxygen (In nature they coexist with other bugs that rapidly breathe away the air around them, so keeping a niche for them open). We attempt to culture these, too.

[Athanasios]

I was talking to some friends of mine about this project. They recommended getting in touch with people who run body farms. They are farms that bury human bodies in different ways to study decomposure for forensics. Here is an article on one:

http://tinyurl.com/mvcaq

another:

http://www.crimelibr...ill_bass/4.html

[Da55id]

I was talking to some friends of mine about this project. They recommended getting in touch with people who run body farms. They are farms that bury human bodies in different ways to study decomposure for forensics. Here is an article on one:

http://tinyurl.com/mvcaq

another:

http://www.crimelibr...ill_bass/4.html

What an inspired idea! Nothing like new facts and resources to make your days [thumb] [thumb] [thumb]

[John Schloendorn]

Ahh yeah, thanks for the reminder. This has been brought up here before, but we were in the middle of one of these are-graveyards-too-scary-for-SENS debates so I put it on hold. I still think it should be fine, since all will be very transparent and official. If there are no more concerns posted, I will go ahead and contact these guys.

[Live Forever]

You probably can't avoid including more than enough oxygen for them to stay well during shipping when you seal the bag. Unlike humans, they consume very little when they are just sitting around. If they are rapidly growing, they need more.

Then there are also those that grow perfectly well without any oxygen, and even those that get killed by even low amounts of oxygen (In nature they coexist with other bugs that rapidly breathe away the air around them, so keeping a niche for them open). We attempt to culture these, too.

Aah, ok. That makes me feel better.

I was talking to some friends of mine about this project. They recommended getting in touch with people who run body farms. They are farms that bury human bodies in different ways to study decomposure for forensics. Here is an article on one:

http://tinyurl.com/mvcaq

another:

http://www.crimelibr...ill_bass/4.html

Wow, I wonder what kinds of microbes will be floating around in dirt from around decaying bodies? Great idea in my opinion.

[eternaltraveler]

You were right John. It does feel like christmas time here. And each day I'm thrilled to get more dirt!

[jmmathieu]

I just noticed a previous post where some people were concerned about mailing soil from other countries. Soil coming from out of country is regulated in the US, requiring a permit from the USDA. A seperate permit is required for the culturing of anything from that soil. Nevertheless, both John and myself work in Environmental Engineering departments which would obviously hold those permits. If you are mailing soil from within the US then it shouldn't be a problem, but if it's coming from another country there is a label that should be attached so that the package is not heat treated. The USDA has the addresses of certified labs on file and matches them.

[JonesGuy]

Hmmn, I have no idea if mine was heat-treated ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14351767/

Does this have anything to do with our project? I'd think that a biomarker in the skin is wonderful news

[John Schloendorn]

Prometheus, this is definitely on my personal agenda for the medium future, but has not happened yet due to resource limitations (In particular, I am interested in mRNA display). It has been mentioned in the theoretical proposals only in passing, probably due to lack of an expert on the subject in the meeting.

[maestro949]

That seems like a great way to find a candidate.

Hey John, my pool just turned green. If I threw a bunch of the offending compounds in it, wouldn't one of the algae eventually mutate into something that ate this stuff? Perhaps take apart a bunch of smoke detectors and toss the americium-241 in to speed things up...

[jaydfox]

A pool of radioactive green water... Not what I'd want in my backyard when the MIB's show up...

[John Schloendorn]

my pool just turned green. If I threw a bunch of the offending compounds in it, wouldn't one of the algae eventually mutate into something that ate this stuff?

Eventually mutate -- if you suppress the photosynthetic bugs that made it turn green, possibly. Efficient use of money -- I'm afraid no...

[eternaltraveler]

I would think a better strategy would be to start with a microbe that breaks down something similar, and irradiate cultures of that with UV until it can eat your stuff.

John, maybe we should try to create a mutant that has a constitutive mutation for the degradation of 7KC. That would make this TTC screen much easier I would think.

I should be able to get back to work in a week or two after I finish getting things settled here.

[John Schloendorn]

And how would you make a constitutive mutant?

[John Schloendorn]

Also, keep in mind that we need to find a nutrient permitting simultaneous degradation of 7kc anyway, to make it accumulate metabolites later.

[maestro949]

A pool of radioactive green water... Not what I'd want in my backyard when the MIB's show up...

If I put up a sign that says "Spa" I'm sure it'll keep the spooks away. Harming the environment and populace is OK if it's done under the guise of commerce, no?

Eventually mutate -- if you suppress the photosynthetic bugs that made it turn green, possibly. Efficient use of money -- I'm afraid no...

Probably not. How expensive are the compounds? Can they be mass produced? Perhaps take a bunch of blocks down to some rainforests and bury them with a spent fuel rod for a year.