alt.war.nuclear

wrote in message
news:27004365-5441-43c6-807c-e4a56d51d57b@h11g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
>>
>> I had thought that we were still a long way from the latter scenario
>> being plausible.
>
> The latter scenario at this stage is still just a theoretical
> possibility at the moment, the nessacary(sic) equipment and the
> experienced personal to use them is just simply not widespread enough
> to do this but if you look at say 10 even just five years in the
> future. I think you'll find the knowledge base and resulting mass
> produced automated equipment will exist given how rapidly this field
> is developing(just look at the field of DNA profiling in 1985 as to
> now over 20 years later-it's probably being used now in ways with
> great regularity now that its developers never imagined).

The smallpox genome is 186 kilobase pairs (186 kbp, one of the largest of
among viruses), the recently synthesized mycoplasma genome is 583 kbp. Ergo
the technology to synthesze smallpox de novo already exists. Although his
was a major research effort today, Venter and company are hardly unique in
having the facilities to do this.

An infectious polio virus, OTOH, was synthesized six years ago, but it was a
measly 7.5 kbp.

Today you can buy synthesized genes from commercial firms (GenScript for
example) of 45 kbp "starting at $0.66/bp".

The technology is only getting better, cheaper, faster and more accessible.