Faithful reader Wilson sent a link my way yesterday about how bio-tech is getting so good, scientist can create new custom cells by effectively programming their characteristics on a computer and “printing” them off.  The cell’s common characteristics are being shared like chunks of code and are essentially freely available.  You can dream something up that has never existed before in nature and then just make it.  Talk about your God complex.  Stuff like this is already happening, with vats of cells engineered to make a synthetic fiber which is made into fabrics at DuPont. 

Naturally there is some concern about what kind of things could be made to, oh you know, kill everyone.  Of course these concerns are quite valid, but really it probably all boils down to the same risk as nuclear weapons.  The basic theory is common knowledge, everybody can find out how to make them.  The actual making of them is still pretty darn hard, but it can be done.  The real problem is making them without anyone else knowing you are making them, and that has so far proven to be impossible.  The tools and materials are just too rare and scarce.  Time will tell how long it takes before making really bad viruses or bacteria becomes easy enough to become a serious threat.  Like when you can just Napster yourself a good solid flu virus on a Thursday night to call in sick on Friday.  Then that’s a problem.  Oh wait, I guess it would be better if you weren’t actually sick, but just pretended to be sick….

In the meantime we will probably see some bio-tech companies start to expand to Googlific heights.  If I had any money, maybe that would be a good bet.  Since I’m a capitalist, I will think of a way to make money from this before we all die.

Have a read for yourself.