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"In WWII, they had a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. I think the modern equivalent of that is that there are no jaded, bored people in the high-tech industry, in the land of really good hardcore geeks."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Automated DNA Typing | ||
| A device that takes quick samples of DNA and compares each sample to a database. |
In the future society depicted in the film, employment is strictly controlled. Certain positions have absolute genetic requirements.
In fact, for particular jobs, you must prove every day that you are who you say you are. And you must prove that you are genetically pure and worthy - every day. To make sure, you give a small blood sample taken by an automated DNA typing machine.
 (Employees provide a DNA sample upon entry)
 (A droplet of blood from each employee is analyzed) |
| Technovelgy from Gattaca,
by Andrew Niccol. Published by Columbia Pictures in 1997 Additional resources -
|
DNA typing (also called genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling) was invented by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester in 1985. Since human beings have almost all genetic material in common with each other, genetic fingerprinting exploits highly variable repeating sequences called minisatellites. Two unrelated humans will be unlikely to have different numbers of minisatellites at a given locus.
At present, DNA typing can be (to some extent) automated, but it is too time-consuming to provide a good access-control technology as shown in the film.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Gattaca
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Tech news articles related to Gattaca
Tech news articles related to works by Andrew Niccol
Automated DNA Typing-related
news articles:
- DNA Fingerprint Database For Workers Gattaca-Style Proposed
- Gattaca-Style DNA Databank For 3 Million Americans
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Passed
- Spartan DX Real-Time DNA Check
- Eyedox Genetic Test To Exclude Color Blind
- Boy Banned From School For Bad Genes
- Court OK's DNA Collection Like 'Gattaca'
- Kuwait Creates Mandatory DNA Database For Citizens
- Is Genetic Testing At Businesses A Bad Idea?
- Should You Submit Your DNA To A Database?
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