Martian Soil

The Phoenix lander says that, in addition to water, the soil appears to be able to sustain life. Sounds like the only thing missing is some nitrogen. That and some actual life.

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KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

That's right, I'm going for the throat on this one. Who better to start off a discussion on genetic discrimination than the poster-boy himself: Khan Noonien Singh. A relic of the Star Trek universe's "Eugenics Wars" (which took place in the mid-to-late 1990s - heh), he was a man of extraordinary strength, mental capacity, and ambition. That didn't make him a good man, though, as he and his selectively-bred cohort conquered most of the world only to be overthrown by the rebellious populace.

But of course, I have a real world point to make here: Congress is considering a bill to prohibit discrimination by employers and insurers based on the results of genetic tests. If this becomes a law and isn't wrapped up in the standard Congress-crap (ok, who am I kidding - this probably won't get passed with a load of crap attached), it's a really good thing. I know I don't want to be excluded from employment or insurance because I have a genetic disposition towards diabetes (which is likely: both of Grandmothers had it).

What does everyone else think?

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