Remix clone Hacker News

new | show | ask | jobs Github

▲

transcriptase an hour ago

Yes in much the same way you can literally build a rocket and go to the moon.

You may be skipping a few of the involved steps.

▲

estearum an hour ago | parent [-]

What involved steps are those?

You email the RNA strand (a text file) to a lab along with some money. The lab converts that information into a physical object (read: virus) and sends it back to you in the mail.

What step is missing?

▲

smallmancontrov 44 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

The part where that service doesn't exist and isn't close to existing.

▲

estearum 42 minutes ago | parent [-]

https://www.genewiz.com/public/services/gene-synthesis/custo...

Distance from mailbox to live virus is a few days of bench work from a semi-competent biochemist.

And yes, this service claims to have safeguards. Does every service? Does every future analogous service? Are those safeguards guaranteed to be robust against totally novel pathogens?

Answers: No, no, and no.

	▲	smallmancontrov 31 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Really? mRNA? What kind of meme nonsense is this? You really don't know anything about these protocols do you. Still, even though your estimates are silly, they aren't silly enough to change the conclusion that this isn't a comforting security barrier, so I suppose we agree on that much.

▲

an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

[deleted]