So I saw this add on my site for NextGenCode. It was very cryptic so I went to their site.
They make their site seem like they are a Biotech company promoting genetic engineering as a tool in life enhancement. But looking at their articles and other material it became clear this was a spoof of some sort. The best part of their web site are the ads, like the one for Anhedonia and the one for Losing Blondes (about blondes going extinct in 200 years). I was guessing that this was some spoof put out by people to make fun of the synthetic biology field, but then I gave in a decided to google the company.
This is when I found the Wall Street Journal article that says they are a marketing ploy for a Michael Crighton novel. (I had not clicked on the link about a book stealing trade secrets form the company, but if you do, you get a story about Crighton’s novel stealing their ideas). While some may find the slight of hand they are using here to be deceptive or malicious, I think it is pretty funny. It did not take long for me to figure out it was a spoof of some sort and it was kind of fun trying to figure it out.
Good to see that my site is being used for important advertising. Some day I will discuss the ads on my site for Intelligent Design proponents.
Here are some additional stories about Nextgencode
- Nextgencode.co.UK site – Different than the .com site
- Chris Abraham pooh-poohing the creativity of the Nextgencode site
- Nextegencode YouTube vids
- Time Magazine article
- Hollywood Reporter article
Of course, any blog about Crighton would be incomplete without mentioning his scientific “credibility” or the debate about it. He has clearly written some interesting science-related books over the years and in many of them the science is not completely absurd. But his anti-global warming book, State of Fear, made Crighton seem like an anti-science advocate. Personally, I never read the book so I cannot comment about the issue directly. But here are some stories about the book for people to look at.
Jonathan Eisen's Lab 