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Previously Unprecedented Stupidity!

When I first read about this story, I'd thought that this was a hoax. It turns out that this story is actually REAL. The person whom this article is about is not only alive, but as far as we know, he seems to be fine, so I'm submitting this for your "endangered species" or "at risk survivor" category.

(note- I don't know if the person whom this story is about is opver 18 years old, I'm not certain if people who are under the age of 18 are eligible to qualify for Darwin Awards.) Enjoy:

From The Times Of Israel, Dec. 24th, 2018:

GOD'S NAME IN VEIN

Biohacker injects DNA versions of Bible, Quran verses into his body. Adrien Locatelli says he simply wondered whether it would be possible, adds that he excluded religious passages he deemed to be ‘controversial.’ A French high school student converted passages from the Bible and Quran into DNA sequences and then injected them into his legs as part of a so-called biohack. Biohacking is the practice of trying to improve the practitioner’s own body by enhancing it through the introduction of chemicals or devices. Adrien Locatelli said he did the experiment simply because he ‘wondered whether it would be possible,’ the Daily Mail reported. Locatelli’s leg was swollen for a few days after he administered the injection, but experts warned the effects could have been far more serious, perhaps even deadly. DNA is composed of four units, each of which is assigned a letter. Locatelli assigned one of those four letters to every character in the religious tracts he selected. These proteins were built in a laboratory, before Locatelli injected them into his thighs. He converted Hebrew passages from Genesis 1:1 to 11:9, excluding 2:10 to 2:14, 5, and 7:1 to 7:5 because they were “controversial,” the Daily Mail reported. Locatelli also converted Arabic passages from Surah Ar-Ra’d, the 13th chapter of the Quran. “Recent studies have reported that it is possible to convert any type of information into DNA for the purpose of storage,” wrote Locatelli in a paper for a biohacking website. “Since it is possible to convert digital information into DNA, I wondered whether it would be possible to convert a religious text into DNA and to inject it in a living being,” he said. “It is the first time that someone injects himself [with] macromolecules developed from a text. It is very symbolic even if it does not have much interest,” Locatelli added.

Submitted on 12/25/2018

Submitted by: Scott Benowitz
Reference: https://www.timesofisrael.com/biohacker-injects-dna-versions-of-bible-quran-verses-into-his-body/


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Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Other
While this is weird and unusual, he doesn't seem to have caused himself harm, and therefore is currently not at risk for removing himself from the gene pool. For future reference, our minimum cutoff is 16. Thank you very much, Scott, and submit again.


Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I think this one is at least worth having Darwin take a look at. Between the fact that this person simply 'wondered whether it would be possible' and experts warning that the effects could have been far more serious than they were, I think this might be worthy of an HM.


James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Oh yeah, Darwin DEFINITELY ought to have a look at this! This gent is a nut job. Of course, one wonders why he failed to include "controversial" verses, and what he was hoping to achieve! Thanks, Scott!