This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Welcome to the Center for Epigenetic Cloning. Within, you will find epigenetic clones of Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Napoleon and Jesus.
From the Center's press release:
The procedure is completely noninvasive. Neither Merkel nor Gaga have been notified, nor have Napoleon and Christ needed to be exhumed. "We're doing it entirely with data harvested from online archives," says Mr. Keats. "That and some chemicals bought at the local pharmacy."Metabolically analyzing celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Barack Obama by assessing their gross biochemical intake as reported in leading gossip magazines, he methodically exposed large populations of live cells to the same chemical formulae, systematically activating epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modification and DNA methylation.
The organisms Mr. Keats worked with at the Center for Epigenetic Cloning weren't human -- the cells came from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a species more commonly known as brewer's yeast. ." To promote the widest possible use of epigenetic cloning, he has made all of the technology open source, and is inviting collaborations from institutions including UNESCO and the Pirate Bay. He is also designing a cocktail to epigenetically clone himself, though he cautions that the consequences of using it will be beyond his control: "My clones will each have a will of their own."
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We've featured the work of fine artist and "poet of ideas" Jonathon Keats on Symbiartic before. Now, Keats is challenging public perception and knowledge of what cloning really means.
Keats is specifically challenging the press and lay person's ability to gloss over unfamiliar information. I confess when he first told me about the project, I skim read it, ignored the word "epigenetic" and wondered how he got samples from Lady Gaga, Napoleon and Barack Obama. In science, as in Keats' art, the challenge is in the details. Wonderful.
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Jonathon Keats's Epigenetic Cloning Agency will be open for business at Team Titanic from 31 May to 7 June. Opening reception is from 7pm to midnight 31st of May. Team Titanic is located at Flughafenstrasse 50 in Berlin.