> How far are we from this technology and what can we do to get there? Less long than you think; more funding ;) I know that's a bit cheeky, but the ability t

> How far are we from this technology and what can we do to get there? Less long than you think; more funding ;) I know that's a bit cheeky, but the ability to understand and properly manipulate the chemistry of life (not just the D/RNA coding) is finally coming online. Efforts such as the OP's are along those lines. Many still do not understand (myself included) how revolutionary CRISPR and other such techniques are. The world of fine-tuned, genetically based, auto-organizing chemistry is within sight. And man, it is going to weird. Academician Prokhor Zakharov was wrong, we will be able to put an elephant's nose on a giraffe [0]. [0] https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Alpha_Centauri#University_of_Planet https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Alpha_Centauri#U...