Category Archives: Cloning

David Cronenberg's body horror movie The Fly spawned only one sequel, The Fly II, but another was planned that never came to fruition titled Flies.

David Cronenberg's body horror movieThe Flymay have been followed up byThe Fly II,but an unmade sequel titledFliesnever came to fruition. The 1986 has grown to cult classic status for its impeccable storyline and nuanced approach to the horrific transformation of the human body under grueling circumstances. Unfortunately, its sequel did not have as much success and has been remarked as a large disappointment to fans of the original. The unmade third movie in the series intended on remedying these issues, but it was never made. Here's everything we know about Flies.

The Flyfollows Seth Brundle, portrayed by Jeff Goldblum, as he develops teleportation pods that allow for an individual to transport between one pod to the next. Shortly after starting a romantic relationship with Veronica "Ronnie" Quaife (Geena Davis, Beetlejuice), he uses the device to transport himself, but a common housefly that's trapped in one of the pods causes their DNA to merge. As the movie progresses, Seth begins to delve into a total loss of sanity as his body mutates and ultimately transforms into a horrifying fly creature. David Cronenberg is known for his incredibly nuanced body horror movies. They commonly pertain to the exploration of gender, sexuality, and social as well as political discourse. In regards toThe Fly,it was created and released in the midst of the AIDS public health crisis and, therefore, is considered a metaphor for the virus's impact on the body. While this was not Cronenberg's intent, which was the depiction of terminal illnesses and deterioration, but its cultural context and impact resulted in this comparison.

Related: Why Science Fiction Has Influenced Horror Movies

Cronenberg was not involved inThe Fly II.Chris Walas, the special effects artist behindThe Fly,directed the sequel while Mick Garris, Frank Darabont (The Blob, The Shawshank Redemption) as well as Ken and Jim Wheat (A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) wrote the screenplay. While Geena Davis was set to return, she did not once she found out that Ronnie would be killed in the opening sequence. Rather than play into its cult status by bringing in the original's key characters, the sequel focused on Seth and Ronnie's son, who inherited his human-fly DNA. The plot forThe Fly IIwas interesting enough, but it wasn't executed in a way that honored the original, whichFliescould've done.

The primary point ofFlieswas to retcon the impact thatThe Fly IIhad on the original movie. Rather than focus solely on Seth and Ronnie's son, it was set to follow her right after the events ofThe Flywith the birth of their twin sons. It would follow the two as they reached puberty, where their inherited DNA from Seth would cause their bodies to exhibit similar mutations to their father's. This wasn't the original script forFlies,but it is the most current iteration of it.

Flieswas originally pitched shortly after the release of the original movie and was written by Tim Lucas. It would've starred Geena Davis reprising her role as Ronnie. After the discovery of Seth's teleportation pods, scientists altered them into cloning devices, which is the reason behind the plurality of the title. Goldblum would've returned as well, but only to act as a voiceover to explain that his character's consciousness was trapped inside of the computer systems that run the cloning technology. Ronnie and Seth could've been reunited, as a cloned version of his human body would've offered a new host to his consciousness.Fliesnever came to fruition, as the filmmaker wanted to go in a different route that resulted inThe Fly 2being made.

WhileFlieshas yet to happen, it could be next on the list of 1980s horror movies receiving the reboot or sequel treatment. Similar toDavid Gordon Green'sHalloween,Fliescould retconThe Fly IIby completely erasing its events from the series' canon. It is entirely possible that either script could be done as well. While a sequel was neve truly necessary, the fact that such a poorly done one exists right now, means that there should be something done to remedy its mistakes. If a reboot or sequel is made in the near future,The Fly'strue sequel could be about Ronnie and Seth's twins or about cloning pods. As of this writing, there is no news on whether or notFlieswill ever happen, but there is hope.

More: How David Cronenberg's The Fly Remake Improved On The Original Movie

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Marian Phillips works as a Horror Movie Features Writer for Valnet, Inc at ScreenRant.

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The Fly: Everything We Know About The Unmade Sequel - Screen Rant

Hasitha Fernando explores Marvels Time Variance Authority

A colossal tidal wave of Marvel related goodies debuted during Disney Investor Day 2020 this month. But out of this plethora of awesome new reveals, one of the clear standouts was what Kevin Feige and company gave fans on the new Disney+ TV series based on the fan favorite god of mischief Loki. Theres a lot to unpack in this full-length trailer chock full of Easter Eggs and comic book references, but one detail which stood out -larger than life if I might add was the heavy involvement of a certain organization in the proceedings of this TV show. And by the looks of it, it seems as if our bendy horned trickster will be reluctantly assisting said organization in capturing an as-of-yet-unidentified supervillain (Sophia Di Martino as Lady Loki maybe?) in exchange for a reduced sentence for detrimental time crimes committed in his devious past. And now without further ado, let us dive right in and shed some light on this enigmatic entity called the TVA.

The TVA or the Time Variance Authority is the organization responsible for monitoring the innumerable timelines of the Marvel multiverse and keeping temporal interference to a bare minimum. In more simpler terms they can be described as a form of time police that act as the authority to whom individuals who mess around with time travel-altering the past or future-are answerable to. Since their first appearance in Thor #372 in October 1982, created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema, they have metamorphosed into an important component of the greater Marvel Comics universe. However, the TVAs influence over time is not absolute. And there have been several instances in the past where theyve been on a collision course with the likes of Kang the Conqueror, Alioth, the Delubric Constortium and Revelation throughout the timescape.

The TVAs base of operations is located in the Null-Time Zone dimension, a realm that exists outside of normal space and time. Time passes differently in the TVA, quips Owen Wilsons Mobius M. Mobius in the trailer and his comment couldnt be further from the truth. In the comics Mobius M. Mobius is an executive in the senior management of the Time Variance Authority who made his comic book debut in the pages of Fantastic Four #353. There are several administrators like him who oversee the bureaucratic machinations of the TVA and report to their director Mr. Alternity. But the real heavy lifting is done by a faceless group of clones called the Chronomonitors, who sit before computers in the Hall of Chronometry and monitor each event that transpires in the timeline theyre designated to. There is a Chronomonitor for every timeline in existence, with one being created every time a new reality pops into existence. The TVAs warriors are the Minutemen, an army of soldiers clad in armour, created through cutting edge cloning and advanced cybernetics. The Minutemen are led by the Justices, temporal patrol officers with the authority to time travel and solve the TVAs problems; the most well-known of their number is Justice Peace, who comes off more as a colourful version of Judge Dredd in the comics.

So, what significance does the TVAs debut in the new Disney+ TV series Loki hold in the context of the ever-expanding Marvel Comics Universe? For one, the TVAs past dealings with Kang the Conqueror would probably mean that this mysterious organization could show up in some shape or form in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, whose big bad was recently confirmed to be that particular villain. And with Kangs penchant for engaging in time-hopping shenanigans, the possibility of Scott Lang and company bumping into an official from the TVA is very high indeed. Jennifer Walters a.k.a She-Hulk is another character who has had previous brushes with the TVA. During Dan Slotts 2005 run of She-Hulk, the TVA puts the superhero lawyer on trial for attempting to warn fellow Avenger Hawkeye of his impending death. If Feige and the showrunners of She-Hulk have already decided to base their new TV show on Slotts work, chances are, that the Time Variance Authority could make an appearance there as well.

Are you looking forwarding to seeing the introduction of the TVA in Marvels Loki? Do you think they will play a larger role in the MCU going forward? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth

Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.

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An Introduction to Marvel's Time Variance Authority: The Mysterious Organisation of Disney+'s Loki Series - Flickering Myth

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You cant believe everything you reador see. Social media is rife with manipulated or Photoshopped images. Here are some telltale signs youre looking at an altered image.

Have you ever seen an image that just doesnt look right? Trusting your gut might not be the most scientific approach, but youre probably better at spotting a fake than you realize. If you see an image that sounds alarm bells, you might want to look a bit closer. Youll probably spot some telltale signs that its been manipulated.

Airbrushed images often fall into uncanny valley territory. Even if you have perfect skin, most light sources cast small shadows on fine wrinkles, pores, and other slight imperfections. When these imperfections are digitally removed, so is the appearance of natural lighting.

Professional retouchers often strike a balance between perfection and realism, but amateurs and mobile apps rarely do. Apps, in particular, depend on existing skin tones to determine which parts of a frame to retouch. This often results in a heavy-handed airbrushing effect thats easy to spot.

Sometimes, you might need to look beyond the subject of a photo to see the full picture. This is especially true when it comes to warping, which is when someone uses a tool to grab an area of an image and move, shrink, or enlarge it.

Look for straight lines in the background and see whether they conform to the laws of physics. For example, if someone is sharing an image of their bulging biceps, and a row of tiles in the background is unnaturally warped near said bicep, that photo has been edited to accentuate muscle growth.

This same technique is often used to exaggerate weight loss or the effects of slimming clothing.

Cloning is a basic Photoshop technique that involves duplicating part of an image. Its often used to remove minor blemishes from skin by cloning another section in its place. This also eliminates telltale signs of airbrushing.

This technique is also used in other ways. The object thats duplicated could be a section of a crowd, a tree, or even stars in the night sky. Its an effective way of making a landscape photo pop by dropping in a few more colorful flowers. You can also make a football stadium or event look a lot more crowded than it actually is.

The giveaway in this instance is recognizable patterns appearing in the image. Look for unique aspects in a prominent detail, and then see if you can spot that detail in other parts of the image. It could be someone wearing a unique hat in a crowd, a particular pattern of stars (or constellation), or a tree with the same lighting that appears elsewhere in the image.

This will only apply to the very worst image manipulations, but dont forget to look for a shadow. Its a rookie mistake, but one people still make. Sometimes, an object in an image wont cast a shadow at all.

All objects in a scene should cast a shadow. Plus, if you take a group photo at 5 p.m., you expect the setting sun to cast a longer shadow than an image shot at midday. This can be harder to spot in artificially lit scenes. However, if you see the sun, you should make sure the length and angle of shadows match.

Also, look at how shadows are cast on each subject. If you have a textured object, like a rock, the shadows should look very similar to other textured objects in the image.

When an image has gone through the cycle of being shared, saved, and reuploaded to social media a few times, youll often see compression artifacts. You might spot some unsightly fuzzy sections and colors fringing on hard edges. If an image has been touched up, similar unsightly artifacts often appear right along the edge of the edit.

This is even easier to spot when combined with unusually smooth or solid areas. For example, you might see this if someone attempted to remove text from a white object by painting over it with a white paintbrush. JPEG artifacts often stick to the edge of a painted area like glue.

Any unusually smooth areas with unnaturally solid colors should ring alarm bells, even on high-quality JPEGs.

EXIF data is metadata stored along with a photo when its taken. This includes information like which camera was used, the focal length, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and so on. Location data in the form of real-world coordinates are also often stored in a photo.

To understand EXIF data, you have to understand a bit more about photography. If the image youre looking at was shot with a very shallow depth of field (like f/1.8), youd expect a very blurry background. A slow shutter speed means any moving objects will be blurred. A long focal length (like 300mm) should compress the background and make a flatter image with a reduced depth of field.

If these parameters (and any others) dont match the image you see, its possible the image has been manipulated. Similarly, EXIF data can contradict a story. For example, say two images were shot close together to portray an extended period of time. If youre lucky enough to have access to thegeolocation data, jump on Google Maps and check out the location using Street View or satellite imagery.

Keep in mind that any editing tools that have been used on a photo, including Photoshop or GIMP, will also be listed under EXIF data. However, this doesnt necessarily mean an image has been manipulated to deceive. There are many legitimate reasons photographers use photo-editing tools, like making minor touchups or for batch edits.

In addition to zooming in and pixel-peeping to spot obvious signs of image editing, there are tools that can help you spot a fake, as well. The most basic of these is a website called Image Edited? that judges whether an image has been retouched.

Image Edited? uses most of the techniques weve covered above to check and report whether any inconsistencies were found. The tool examines EXIF data for inconsistencies in areas like camera models and color spaces. It also looks for JPEG artifacts, oversaturation, patterns that suggest parts of an image have been cloned, and mismatches in directional light.

We tested an obviously manipulated image and Image Edited? reported the image had probably been manipulated because pixels only match software editors.

FotoForensics is similar to Image Edited?, except it leaves the analysis up to you. Instead of making a decision for you, the website produces an Error Level Analysis (ELA) visualization. This can highlight potentially Photoshopped elements you might not catch with the naked eye.

According to the ELA tutorial, you should look around the picture and identify the different high-contrast edges, low-contrast edges, surfaces, and textures. Compare those areas with the ELA results. If there are significant differences, then it identifies suspicious areas that may have been digitally altered.

The best way to get the most out of FotoForensics is to comb through the examples given to learn exactly what to look for. We tried this one with a manipulated photo of a crashed truck with good results. The edited parts of the image clearly contrasted with the rest of the image (see above).

When all else fails, why not search for it? Google Image Search allows you to perform a reverse image search to find other instances of the same image online, as well as images that look similar.This should help you find websites that clearly state the image is a fake, or you might even find the original, unedited version.

You can also search for information about a questionable image on fact-checking websites. For example, lets say theres an image that claims to show little green aliens on the streets of New York City. You could search little green aliens new york to find analyses of the photo, and youd likely find fact-checking articles explaining that those little green aliens arent real.

Thats an extreme example, but the same technique applies to other suspicious or controversial images floating around the web. Do a quick search and a bit of research before you believe what someone claims to be showing.

Photoshopped images are nothing new. Theyve been around and reshared since the birth of the internet. Many people have fallen victim to them in the past. And, as increasingly sophisticated techniques become more accessible, many will fall for them again in the future.

However, now you know what to look for, so youll be better equipped to analyze an image for signs of tampering.

If want to learn how to spot video fakes (or deepfakes),as well, check out this article next!

RELATED: What Is a Deepfake, and Should I Be Concerned?

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How to Tell If an Image Has Been Manipulated or Photoshopped - How-To Geek

French professional tennis player Gilles Simon seems quite fascinated with Roger Federer. Even when he doesnt want to talk about the Swiss Maestro, journalists find a way to ask him something about Federer. However, he respects the 20-time Grand Slam winner and has admitted earlier that Federer was his sons hero.

In a recent interview, there was a question about the former World No.3 Grigor Dimitrov. However, the interviewer phrased it in a manner that it also involved Federer. The question was whether Dimitrov had limited himself in his career by replicating Federer. To this, the Frenchman replied in affirmative.

Yes, began a confident Simon. Hes (Grigor Dimitrov) clearly a player who comes close in terms of fluidity of play.

It was clear that Simon felt that Dimitrov was quite close in cloning Roger Federers style. He further believed that it was something that was not doing any good for Dimitrov.

Read More: Gilles Simon racks up Roger Federer again in the debate on tennis role model

Simon further argued that Dimitrov was trying to do something that he simply couldnt do.

In the important moments, it can give up because, in reality, it is not entirely in his DNA, concluded the 35-year-old Simon.

He was blunt and didnt hesitate in saying that Federers style was not there in Dimitrovs DNA. He said that the player could try to copy it but it was futile as it would not help him in the longer run.

It was certain that Simon was criticizing Dimitrov. In a way, he even advised him not to do so in the future.

Both Dimitrov and Simon will begin the upcoming season at the Australian Open 2021. Joining them there will be none other than Roger Federer who will also make a comeback to tennis after a year.

Also Read: Gilles Simon slams French Tennis for wasting energy on replicating Roger Federer

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Not Entirely in His DNA: Gilles Simon Criticizes Grigor Dimitrov for Cloning the Style of Ro ... - EssentiallySports

By Peter Hummers on December 3, 2020

They call themselves sisters, but the truth is stranger than that; they are a biotech experiment gone sideways, and now in big trouble. (IMDb.com)

We may be as gods, as the serpent told Eve in the Garden of Eden; were not gods, really, but were close. We cant create matter, but we can create tools by assembling matter. We can create life, but biologically, through reproduction, like any other organism. We long to create life as a god does. Mary Shelley put the kibosh on the notion of reanimation with her story Frankenstein; Or, the Modern Prometheus, but we continue to strivethrough cloning, andif were not carefulartificial intelligence.

Leda and the Swan is a story from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces Leda. She bore Helen and Pollux, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. And so Helen and Clytemnestra were twin half-sisters, and Castor and Pollux were twin half-brothers.

Orphan Black begins as Sarah Manning, a con artist and drug trafficker, witnesses the suicide of a woman, Beth Childs, who appears to be her double. Sarah assumes Beths identity, apartment and occupation after Beths death. During the first season, Sarah discovers that she and Beth are clones, and that she has many sister clones spread throughout North America and Europe that are all part of an illegal human cloning experiment, and that someone is plotting to kill them.

Orphan Black is a deep rabbit-hole: Beth had been a detective, and Sarah must use her street smarts to get over with Beths partner, superiors and boyfriend. She finds out that she as Sarah was wanted by the police; that the biotech firm that spawned them has planted covert watchers in the girls personal lives (except, presumably, Sarah, who was raised as an orphan); and that members of a religious movement are using another clone to find and assassinate the others, whom they regard as abominations.

Sarah meets three more of her sisters, via one of Beths two cellphones, and they eventually discover a group of male clones in the miltary (Project Castor). But Sarahs first urgent concern of many is the question of why Beth killed herself.

Lavishly produced and well-written, this exciting and fun roller-coaster ride is wholly owned by Tatiana Maslany [IMDb.com], who portrays all of the female clones, each as a very different persona scientist, a cop, a soccer mom, etc. She shines especially when portraying one clone posing as another. Maslany won a Primetime Emmy Award, a TCA Award, two Critics Choice Awards, and five Canadian Screen Awards. [Heres] a trailer.

Anita (center) is an exemplary maid and companion to the Hawkins family. Anita is a household appliance; the latest in synths, and of course, not what she seems. Problem is, Anita is not even what it is supposed to be: an unthinking machine. (IMDb.com)

More than 40 years ago, Masahiro Mori, a robotics professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, wrote an essay on peoples reactions to robots that looked and acted almost human. In particular, he hypothesized that a persons response to a humanlike robot would abruptly shift from empathy to revulsion as it approached, but failed to attain, a lifelike appearance. This descent into eeriness he called the uncanny valley.

After missing his wife at home in his busy household, Joe Hawkins buys a pretty synth (Gemma Chan, Crazy Rich Asians), a robotic assistant that looks like a young woman; he doesnt consult his wife. Upon her return, his wife Laura feels displaced and cast off. She also complains that this will confuse the children, especially after the youngest child, Sophie, names the robot Anita after her friend who moved away.

In a flashback, a group of self-aware synths including Leo, Max, Niska, and Anita are hiding out in the forest five weeks earlier; everyone except Max and Leo are abducted and taken away into London [Wikipedia].

Pinocchio, the sentient puppet, became a real boy, fascinating readers of the 1883 stories and children ever since. In the 1959 Twilight Zone episode The Lonely, an exile falls in love with an android; in the 1960 episode The Lateness of the Hour, an android believes she is human. Most famous are the replicants of Blade Runner, who aspire to humanity and make the human protagonistand the audiencewonder about his own identity.

Humans touches all these bases, beginning with the exquisite creepiness of the uncanny valley, and extending into the companionship felt by a lonely retiree (William Hurt) and his attempts to save his buggy older-model synth from recycling as mandated by the U.K. Health Service. A small, secret group of sentient synths, created as an experiment, plot to upload their consciousness to the others and lead a rebellion, and one, a sex worker, kills a client and escapes her bordello, intending to violently initiate the revolution.

The series is so well done that we dont think about Pinocchio or Blade Runner, even when one synth reassures her owners of their safety by reciting Asimovs [Three Laws of Robotics] from I, Robot. Humans holds a Tomatometer rating of 89% and an audience rating of 91% from [Rotten Tomatoes]. [Heres] a trailer.

Next time, Little Red Riding Hood, as told by Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.

(Pete Hummers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to earn fees by linking Amazon.com and affiliate sites. This adds nothing to Amazons prices.)

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Stream On: A parade of clones, and the Uncanny Valley - The Outer Banks Voice

Rick and Morty season 4's introduction of Space Beth raised the question of which Beth is a clone, and we think Space Beth is the real one.

Rick and Morty season 4brought the original Beth and clone Beth face to face, and even though no one in the show knows who is the real Beth, there is reason to believe "Space Beth" is the real one. The idea of cloning Beth came duringRick and Morty season 3. Beth was in the middle of a breakup with Jerry and sought adventure, but she put her future in Rick's hands.However, it wasn't until season 4 thatRick and Morty provided any exploration of what happened.

Two versions of Beth were featured inRick and Morty's season 4 finale, "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri." After a full season of Beth reunited with her family, Space Beth arrived as a cosmic warrior who spent her time battling the New Galactic Federation. Space Beth believed that she wasa clone after she discovered an implant in her neck,prompting her to return back to Earth to kill Rick. However, she learns that both Beths have such implants, adding to the confusion of who is real and who is a clone. Although both Beths were interested in learning who was real and who was the clone at first,Rick and Morty ended season 4with the entire family, except Rick, left in the dark. He begins toreveal his "Mind Blower" of the event (a recorded memory), which shows him cloning Beth, but then removing the labels from the cloning vats and rotate their placements repeatedly so he wouldn't know which Beth was real.

Related: Rick & Morty Theory: Beth Is Smarter Than Rick

SinceRick and Morty didn't provide any answers on which Beth is real and which is a clone,a fanbase built on wild theories has been left to create some more. The truth behind the two versions of Beth is one of the topics that has continued to be debated since season 4 ended, with cases to be made for either Beth being the clone. Since they were exactly the same at the end of the cloning process and Beth's uncertainty about what she wanted,the future for both Beths could just come down to where Rick put them.That said, one of them is definitively a clone, and even if Rick and Morty never answers the question,there's reason tobelieve that Space Beth is the real, or at least original Beth.

Space Beth's trajectory as a character falls in line with what Beth wanted for herself, based on her discussion about cloning with Rick. Sheexpressed a desireto go have more adventures after spending time in Froopyland with Rick and realizing that she's more like her father than she thought. Space Beth being the real Beth means she finally got the chance to break free of her mundane life and find happiness elsewhere. Although this would mean that the real Beth also abandoned her family, it was already fractured at this time. This arc gives Beth some agency in her story, instead of simply coming to a realization that she was happy all along and just didn't realize it. Plus, it's not like this would be the first time a Sanchez left their family behind to pursue their own interests, so this reveal would further illustrate how similar Beth and Rick are.

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Jurassic Park's science uses frog DNA is a notable addition to the incomplete genome of a dinosaur, and it also gives them very special abilities.

The originalJurassic Parkfilmreveals that frog DNA was used to help create the dinosaurs, causing a problem with InGen's plan to limit breeding. Released in 1993, Steven Spielberg's classic not onlyboastedground-breaking advancements inCGI technology, but it also explored thescientific phenomena of cloning. While the logistics are not fully explained in the movie, they still provide a compellinglookinto the reemergence of dinosaurs.

When paleontologist Dr. Alan Grantand the team first arrive at the Jurassic Park Visitor Center, they are treated to a tour by John Hammond, founder of the park and of InGen, the company which makes dinosaur cloning possible. Their first stop includes a filmnarrated by Mr. DNA, the animated helix, who explains how the dinosaurs came to be. In simplified terms, scientists were able to extract dinosaur blood from prehistoric mosquitos preserved in amber. Because most of the samples' genomes were incomplete, geneticists needed something to, as Mr. DNA says, "fill in the holes and complete the code." This is where frog DNAcamein.

Related: Jurassic Park: All 6 Dinosaurs That Appear In The First Movie Explained

Frog DNA serves as both an easy, uncomplicated solution to the dinosaurs' genetic sequence and a plot device for later on in the film. It's that DNA solution that is responsible foreverydinosaur in the Jurassic Park series, like the T-Rex and Velociraptor before the later movies move into more overt genetic splicing. It'scombinedwith the dinosaurs' DNA sequence to make a finalized version for fertilization, filling in the gaps from degradation over the thousands of years since their extinction. In the film, it's only frog DNA that was used to serve the plot and explain how some dinosaurs have been able to change sex, while the original book uses a number of additional options. Fundamentally, it serves two other purposes too. Not only does it foreshadow the franchise's genetic tinkering and establishes that Dr Henry Wu's morals come second to his scientific drive,while adding an accessible means to explain how the amber extraction method can possibly lead to full sequence DNA cloning.

Michael Crichton's novel, on which the movie is based, provides a complex analysis of the differentchicken and amphibian genomes used in creating and boosting the growth of dinosaurs.Jurassic Park'sfilmmakers likely wanted to makethe process as simple as possible for audiences to understand, sofrog DNAbecame the sole additionalinsertion into the dinosaurs' biological makeup. Frog DNAis mentioned again in a later scene, when Dr. Grant, Lex, and Tim,discover freshly-hatched eggs outside of the lab. According to Dr. Wu, the head geneticist of the park's lab, all dinosaurs are programmed to be female, so breeding should be impossible. Upon finding the eggs, Dr. Grant remarks that some West African frogscan alter their sex in a single-sex space.Bymarrying a frogs genetic code with the dinosaurs', scientists gave dinosaursthe frogs ability to change sex and, therefore, mate. However, what type of frog DNA was actually used and whether the scientists knew about this trait from their research remains unclear.

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Jurassic Park: Why Frog DNA Was Used to Create The Dinosaurs - Screen Rant

Its been exactly seven months since Star Wars: The Clone Wars released its final episode, and we still arent over the fact that the beloved story is over. The seven season long animated series shows the untold stories of the Star Wars prequels, capturing the hearts of fans everywhere. There were happy moments, shocking moments, moments that angered you and moments that made you laugh, but most of all, the emotional moments made this series all the better. Were breaking down the top 5 most heartbreaking moments in The Clone Wars.

5. Satine dying in Obi-Wans arms

Season 5, Episode 16, The Lawless

Image Courtesy Disney +.

Our fifth favorite heartbreaking moment involves the beloved Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and the leader of Mandalore Duchess Satine Kryze. During The Clone Wars, we learn that Obi-Wan and Satine have a history together they once loved one another. Obi-Wan goes as far as saying if Satine asked him to, he wouldve left the Jedi Order for her.

The news of conflict on Mandalore between the planets government, Death Watch a terrorist splinter group of Mandalorians, and a criminal organization found by Darth Maul the Shadow Collective, reached Obi-Wan and he managed to infiltrate the capital city of Mandalore to save Satine. In an attempt to escape, Satine and Obi-Wan were captured and brought to Maul. Due to the long and complicated history between the Sith and the Jedi, Maul declares he wants Kenobi to feel his pain before stabbing Satine with the Darksaber. In the arms of her lover, Satine uses her dying breath to express her eternal love to Obi-Wan.

Remember, my dear Obi-Wan, Ive loved you always I always will. -Satine Kryzes final words to Obi-Wan Kenobi

This moment is so sad because of the fact that we finally learn about Obi-Wans true feelings toward the Duchess. Before this moment, Star Wars fans never knew of Obi-Wan possessing any emotions of that nature, and now that we do, he loses her. Knowing the outcome of Revenge of the Sith, the viewer now sees that Obi-Wan has truly lost everyone he has ever loved.

4. 99 dying like the hero he is

Season 3, Episode 2, ARC Troopers

Image Courtesy Disney +.

Coming in at number four, we have an incredibly moving moment that will pull at your heartstrings. One of the best things about The Clone Wars is that while it focuses on Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and the Jedi Order, it also shares the stories of the millions of clones that fans have come to love. A repeated theme within the series when it comes to the clones is that while they may look the same, they are all unique. One of the first clones we see who is truly unique is 99.

99 is a malformed clone who was deemed unfit to serve in the Grand Army of the Republic during The Clone Wars because his physical abilities were limited and his faster-than-normal rapid aging. He was instead assigned to work janitorial duties in the cloning facilities. 99 befriended the Domino Squad while they were still cadets, and later reunited with Echo and Fives when they came back to the facility. While there, an attack ensues and being the brave soul that he is, 99 joins the soldiers to help defend the city. He fought for his brothers, and during an act of heroism, 99 was shot and killed by a battle droid. Because of his sacrifice to help save the city, his brothers commended 99 as a true soldier.

We lost a true soldier.He really was one of us. Commander Cody and Captain Rex mourning 99

This moment can break even the toughest hearts. It truly shows the viewers as well as the other clones that no matter how different one may seem, they can be the most caring, loyal, and brave of them all. 99 may have only been in three episodes, but his legacy and sacrifice lives on. Four seasons later, we see a motley crew of clones who are unique like 99, fighting in battles and defending The Republic. Their squad name? Clone Force 99.

3. 501st dying during Order 66

Season 7, Episode 12, Victory and Death

Image Courtesy Disney +.

This was a huge moment within The Clone Wars. It was the moment Star Wars fans have been waiting for since the first season Order 66. Instead of following the moments of Anakin during this infamous turn of events, we follow Ahsoka and the 501st Battalion whom we have grown to love throughout the series.

In the last days of The Clone Wars, Anakin splits up the 501st Battalion by sending a group of the soldiers to Mandalore with the 332nd Company to assist Ahsoka in liberating the planet from Mauls rule. During their journey back to Coruscant, Palpatine declares Order 66. The clones then turn on Ahsoka. In a stressful moment, she gets the inhibitor chip out of Captain Rexs head, returning him back to normal and the two try to escape while the men she considered her family were in full attack mode.

Youre a good soldier, Rex. So is every one of those men down there. They may be willing to die, but I am not the one who is going to kill them. -Ahsoka Tano talking to Captain Rex before facing the 501st during Order 66

After a long and intense battle, Ahsoka and Rex escape off of the falling Star Destroyer where the rest of the 332nd and 501st clones were. Later, Rex lands the Y-wing they escaped in near the Star Destroyers crash site, and in a beautifully heartbreaking moment, Ahsoka lays down her lightsabers by the makeshift graves the two made for each of the fallen clones.

We have always know what happened with the group of 501st clones that stayed with Anakin during Order 66: they stormed the Jedi Temple and killed those that lived there, including Jedi younglings, under the leadership of the new Sith Lord Darth Vader. However, this final moment with some of the most beloved clones in the series breaks your heart knowing that they were made to fight a battle they were designed to lose.

2. Fives dying while trying to expose Palpatine

Season 6, Episode 4, Orders

Image Courtesy Disney +.

Our number two pick is truly so important in the grand scheme of things. Without this happening, future stories within the galaxy could be extremely different. While season 7 of the series showed what happened during Order 66, the season before touched on the subject through the clone trooper, Fives.

During a military campaign, Tup another clone trooper and close friend of Fives killed a Jedi general, completely unaware of what he did. Fives accompanies his friend to Kamino to figure out what is happening. Fives quickly grows suspicious of the cloning facility and investigates on his own. Fives was sent to Coruscant to undergo further tests after telling Jedi Master Shaak Ti about the chip he discovered. Once on Coruscant, Palpatine reveals the truth behind Order 66 to the troubled clone before attacking him. In a moment of self-defense, Fives was framed as a potential assassin and went on the run. Anakin and Rex meet with Fives to get to the bottom of whats going on, however Fivess attempts to explain what he knows proves incoherent, and in a desperate attempt to get them to listen, Fives reaches for Rexs blasters but before exposing the truth, he was shot by another clone.

Thisitsbigger than any of usthan anythingI couldve imagined.I never meant toI only wanted to do my duty. ARC Trooper Fives to Captain Rex before he dies

Rex and Ahsoka are able to survive Order 66 because of Fives. Rex was able to tell her to find Fives moments before trying to kill her. Looking through archives, Ahsoka finds a file on Fives and learns about the inhibitor chip, allowing her to save Rex. This moment is truly so sad. Fives was scared and agitated that no one was listening to him, and without being able to convince others of what he knows, he died in his brothers arms.

1. Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order

Season 5, Episode 20, The Wrong Jedi

Image Courtesy Disney +.

And finally, coming in at number one for our top five most heartbreaking moments is a monumental scene that changed the course of the Star Wars story as we know it Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order.

Bariss another Jedi padawan and friend of Ahoska sets off a bomb in one of the Jedi temples due to her distain toward the Jedi Council and the war itself, and frames the beloved Togruta for the crime. Ahsoka was labeled a traitor and terrorist, however she was able to escape from imprisonment to set off in hopes of clearing her name. Her master, Anakin, never lost hope and ended up proving her innocence during her trial before the Council. Although her name was cleared, Ahsoka couldnt dismiss the fact that the Jedi Council didnt trust her, and this prompted her to leave.

Im sorry, Master, but Im not coming back. Ahsoka Tano to Anakin Skywalker

The tearful goodbye is truly felt by the audience. Ahsoka doesnt want to leave and Anakin doesnt want her to. Its gut-wrenching. This heart-shattering moment not only paves the way for her own path, it does the same for Anakins. Ahsoka giving up her found family she made within the Jedi Order is thought to be one of the contributing factors into why Anakin went to the dark side becoming Darth Vader.

These are just some of the most heartbreaking moments in The Clone Wars. There are several others that can shatter your heart just as easily. You can stream all seven seasons of the hit show on Disney+ now.

Read the original:

Top 5 Most Heartbreaking Moments in 'The Clone Wars' - Nerds and Beyond

Speaking at the CGW Virtual SMSF Intensive Day, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers associate Keeghan Silcock explained that in Queensland, there is no specific duty concession available where a client is looking to transfer an asset from a member into an SMSF.

However, it may be possible in certain circumstances to have a transfer from a related trust into an SMSF with no duty payable, Ms Silcock said.

She gave an example of a property owned in Queensland by a family trust that the client wants to transfer into super.

We have a property which is owned in Queensland by the Trump Family Trust and were wanting to get that into super, so we set up a new SMSF, the Top Trumps SMSF, and we have Donald and Melania as the sole two members with equal member balances and thats really important because Donald and Melania are also the sole income and capital default beneficiaries of the family trust, she explained.

What that means is that they are the only two people holding trust interests in both of these two trusts, the family trust and the family SMSF.

Ms Silcock explained that a strategy can be used where Trump Pty Ltd declares that it ceases holding the property in Queensland as trustee for the family trust, and then commences holding that as trustee for the Top Trumps SMSF.

In this example, we do that by having Trump Proprietary Limited acting as trustee of both of these trusts, but it is possible to do this where there are different trustees you just need to include an additional step of having the SMSF appoint the other trustee as its custodian for the purposes of holding that property, she stated.

Due to the way the duty legislation in Queensland operates, this is not a dutiable transaction and so if its done properly, there is no duty payable in Queensland on this change.

If we do this with Trump Proprietary Limited acting as trustee of both the trusts, it is possible to change the trustee for one of those entities at a later date, but we dont suggest doing that in the short term because it can trigger anti-avoidance issues.

Speaking in the same session, Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers partner Clinton Jackson said if the right steps are taken and everything is dealt with appropriately, there wont be compliance issues with this strategy.

With the trust cloning, if you were to immediately take steps that would defeat the trust cloning, there is a risk that the anti-avoidance provisions would apply, he warned.

In our experience though, most of our clients deal with this in a more sensible way and theyre not looking to change trustees or go too close to the line, and weve never had anyone have any issues with the anti-avoidance provisions with these types of transactions.

Mr Clinton also pointed out that where SMSF professionals are looking to use exemptions to move property into super in NSW and Victoria, they still need to be conscious of section 66 of the SIS Act.

[This] means that if were acquiring something from a related party, it needs to be business real property, so we cant do residential, and it also needs [to be] at market value, he said.

Now market value could be one of two things; it could be a payment from the fund to that person, and in NSW, that would be OK, but in Victoria, its not.

The other way to sort out a market value payment, he said, is for the fund to accept an in-specie contribution and therefore increase the value of the fund.

That would effectively satisfy the market value requirements of section 66 because the fund has taken an increase and the member has made that as a contribution, he said.

So, there are definitely ways to deal with it. Its just a matter of making sure we structure those transactions properly, and our documentation is really key.

Critical steps outlined with property transfers and trust cloning

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Critical steps outlined with property transfers and trust cloning | nestegg - nestegg.com.au

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Global Cloned Competent Cells Market Projections, SWOT Analysis, Risk Analysis And Forecast By 2020- - PharmiWeb.com