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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumA Dream of Trees Aglow at Night (crowd-funded garage biotech)
Hoping to give new meaning to the term natural light, a small group of biotechnology hobbyists and entrepreneurs has started a project to develop plants that glow, potentially leading the way for trees that can replace electric streetlamps and potted flowers luminous enough to read by.
...
Rather than being the work of a corporation or an academic laboratory, it will be done by a small group of hobbyist scientists in one of the growing number of communal laboratories springing up around the nation as biotechnology becomes cheap enough to give rise to a do-it-yourself movement.
The project is also being financed in a D.I.Y. sort of way: It has attracted more than $250,000 in pledges from about 4,500 donors in about two weeks on the Web site Kickstarter.
...
But part of the goal is more controversial: to publicize do-it-yourself synthetic biology and to inspire others to create new living things. As promising as that might seem to some, critics are alarmed at the idea of tinkerers creating living things in their garages. They fear that malicious organisms may be created, either intentionally or by accident.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/business/energy-environment/a-dream-of-glowing-trees-is-assailed-for-gene-tinkering.html?_r=0
...
Rather than being the work of a corporation or an academic laboratory, it will be done by a small group of hobbyist scientists in one of the growing number of communal laboratories springing up around the nation as biotechnology becomes cheap enough to give rise to a do-it-yourself movement.
The project is also being financed in a D.I.Y. sort of way: It has attracted more than $250,000 in pledges from about 4,500 donors in about two weeks on the Web site Kickstarter.
...
But part of the goal is more controversial: to publicize do-it-yourself synthetic biology and to inspire others to create new living things. As promising as that might seem to some, critics are alarmed at the idea of tinkerers creating living things in their garages. They fear that malicious organisms may be created, either intentionally or by accident.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/business/energy-environment/a-dream-of-glowing-trees-is-assailed-for-gene-tinkering.html?_r=0
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A Dream of Trees Aglow at Night (crowd-funded garage biotech) (Original Post)
phantom power
May 2013
OP
I suspect DHS is going to be verrrry interested in garage biotech labs... nt
GliderGuider
May 2013
#8
OnlinePoker
(5,725 posts)1. What could possibly go wrong with that?
Addison
(299 posts)6. It's both troubling and potentially awesome
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)7. "Awesome" can be bad
The entire eastern half of the US lit up like a carnival all night, every night would be awesome.
It would also be bad.
hunter
(38,327 posts)2. Inserting cannibas genes in some ordinary plant would be more interesting.
Lawn clippings you can smoke, spinach salads...
Imagine the possibilities.
phantom power
(25,966 posts)3. I smell a new kick-starter
hatrack
(59,592 posts)4. More like a kick back and watch bad TV while eating lots of Cheetos-starter
phantom power
(25,966 posts)5. The Dude just wants his THC genome back
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)9. Finally, a purpose for kale and Swiss Chard!!!
Me like.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)8. I suspect DHS is going to be verrrry interested in garage biotech labs... nt
phantom power
(25,966 posts)10. no doubt. it's both super cool, and makes me shit a brick
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)11. Sort of like heroin?