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Synthetic Biology May Spawn Biohackers
nusratt writes "EE Times reports 'Design automation systems tailored to the task of genetic engineering . . . can lead to the accidental or deliberate creation of pathogenic biological components.' Design of molecular machines is analogous to doing system-on-chip work, and hackers 'will not need a detailed knowledge of biochemistry to effectively create complex biochemical machines.' A Harvard genetics professor says, 'Even if we don't have bioterrorists and teen-age biohackers, we will still create things that do not have the properties that we thought they would . . . Even if you are genetically resistant and recently immunized, you will have problems with artificial biological agents.' He also says that there are two big differences between this risk and nuclear weapons: (1) building weapons is harder; (2) synth-bio work is more accident-prone. Oh great, just great: script-kiddies with smallpox . . ."
Heh, well just remember if the US was only interested in it's own affairs, Mexico would control Texas and California, Native Americans would still rule most of the midwest, Cuba would be a Spanish colony, and Canada may very well have been a province of Cuba. If you look at American history, America has done nothing but get involved in affairs people though it had no business getting involved in.... something to think about.