The Transhumanist Forum

Hi everyone. Just wanted to introduce myself. Been somewhat an adherant of transhumanism for over three years now but really got into it about a year ago. I identify as a secular transhumanist liberal singularitarian. I have a undergraduate degree in Chemistry and would like to get back into research, prefferably in the synthetic biology field.
I'm a big believer in the benefits of nanotechnology, but tend to be more focued on biochemical advances right now. I believe the best short term discoveries for us are to understand the workings of biology and the chemical principles behind self replication. We can't very well replace our biology with nanites if we don't understand the processes by which we live, can we?
Currently, I work an office job, that does aid in the ability of researchers arround the world in finding the information they need. But I am eager to someday get back to making contributions to aid scientific advancement myself. I'm trying to participate in the Personal Genome Project as a way to feel more helpful.
Mostly here to get ideas for how to spread transhumanist ideas, advocate for our interests, and find ways to aid the emergence of the Singularity.

Hi chemist, and welcome to our forums

When you say you're a Singularitarian, do you mean the version of Singularitarianism defined by the original Singularitarian Principles, or some more recent, watered-down redefinition? (What matters isn't just believing in the Singularity, nanotechnology, etc., what matters is actually doing something because of this awareness.)

Anyway, you said you're eager to make contributions to aid scientific advancement yourself, and participate in the Personal Genome Project, so I'm guessing you don't need to be reminded of the importance of actually doing something to help.

Thanks for your enthusiasm, we look forward to collaborating with you on discussing and spreading transhumanist ideas, advocating for our interests, and finding ways to aid the emergence of the Singularity.

Oh, and we also look forward to hearing how your research is going

Have you checked out the hplusroadmap group yet? They're a group of mostly college students, who are already working on their own synthetic biology projects.

Their website is at http://heybryan.org, and their IRC chatroom is #hplusroadmap on the FreeNode server, or you can connect to the chatroom through the java applet at http://transhumanistforums.com/hplusroadmapchat/

I recommend visiting their IRC chatroom sometime, giving a brief explanation of what sort of projects you're interested in getting involved in, and checking if they have any useful advice.

Thanks Infinity,
I consder myself a Singularitarian as desrcibed in the Singularitarian Principles with probably a bit of scepticism (which I would consider a good thing). To the hard core Singularitarians, I might come off as a poser because I talk a big game, but self admittedly I am lost as to what to do personally. So far I have contented myself with trying to expose those I know to transhumanist philosophy (with varying degrees of success) and participating in clinical trials (vaccine programs and psycological studies of focusing on relevant issues mostly). I'll check out the links you gave me, hopefully I can find some research to contribute to.
Also, if any one knows anything about Dr. Kool's (yes that is his real name) lab at Stanford let me know. Thinking of trying to get into his DNA and RNA chemistry research.