tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1710169082937042837.post3106921700387705491..comments2023-10-31T07:14:05.264-04:00Comments on The Scientist Gardener: The Real Threat of Genetic EngineeringMatt DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08602997050973123349noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1710169082937042837.post-52587459352322564012009-11-26T22:19:32.815-05:002009-11-26T22:19:32.815-05:00I've raised this issue before as well. But ma...I've raised this issue before as well. But many of the same folks who scream at Monsatan think this democratization of science is nothing but sweet. <br /><br />I found myself in a conversation with someone who was totally opposed to GE and totally supportive of biohacking. I had to laugh (and I did, I know that probably didn't help me to win my argument). I couldn't get him to understand what he was endorsing. <br /><br />And then I decided, fine--when I retire I'll create items in my basement fun and profit. And I can....Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05049112917537977838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1710169082937042837.post-80910731293331332372009-11-08T09:02:19.031-05:002009-11-08T09:02:19.031-05:00haha very true.
I'm amazed at how quick it...haha very true.<br /><br />I'm amazed at how quick it's becoming easy to do things that used to be really hard - from the commercial availability of optimized, fool-proof kits and reagents to our increasing knowledge of what exactly a gene sequence needs in order to get expressed as intended.Matt DiLeohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08602997050973123349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1710169082937042837.post-7319825392887102462009-11-08T03:25:30.912-05:002009-11-08T03:25:30.912-05:00That's a great point.
Several years ago I rem...That's a great point.<br /><br />Several years ago I remember calculating that I could sell my car, use the money to buy reagents and pick up some very used lab equipment on ebay and with my current skillset be able to replicate this group's work synthesizing polio from scratch:<br /><br />http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2539-scientists-build-polio-virus-from-scratch.html<br /><br />Of course that's assuming everything worked right the first time. Given my normal success rate with PCR and ligations, the cost would have been a lot higher. My car has substantially depreciated since then, but the cost of doing molecular biology keeps going down as well.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17518211401689053290noreply@blogger.com