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There was an article that went over exactly this in Discover magazine a month or two ago. Summary is that it's harder than you might think. To quote: "You wo

by saulrh 15y ago

There was an article that went over exactly this in Discover magazine a month or two ago. Summary is that it's harder than you might think. To quote: "You would need more than a garage; you would need a great garage and a lot of money. And it's not trivial. You need the oligonucleotides to stitch genes together, and as far as I know, most companies will check the order if the sequence represents that of a dangerous virus." http://discovermagazine.com/2011/oct/21-dawn-of-the-biohackers http://discovermagazine.com/2011/oct/21-dawn-of-the-biohacke...

skrebbel 15y ago
Soo if a university group can do it, then it's too difficult for North Korea to do?
- saulrh 15y ago
  The university group can do it because it can pay $500k to our biotech industry for pre-researched and in-production batches of chemicals, equipment, and other supplies. North Korea doesn't have that biotechnology industry to start with and would be starting over from a cottage industry.
  - rsheridan6 15y ago
    I doubt it would be very difficult to social-engineer your way into being able to buy those materials if you had the money.
  - skrebbel 15y ago
    i dont know where you're from, but your universities are RICH!
    - DanBC 15y ago
      (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/16/cambridge-tops-guardian-league-table http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/16/cambridge-to...) > Professor David Tidmarsh, vice-chancellor of Birmingham City University, says [. . .] the university is investing £180m in new buildings, facilities and equipment. > At Oxford, average spend per student fell to £11,232 in 2009-10 from £11,410 the year before. The university spends substantially more than other institutions. Cambridge spent £8,612 in 2009-10, a rise from £8,118 the year before.* Rough guide to student numbers (pdf) (http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/supplements2010-11/Student_Numbers_2010-2011.pdf http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazett...)
tsotha 15y ago
You mean the kind of facilities you'd find in a university lab?
DanBC 15y ago
Have a look at what groups like Aum Shinrikyo are thought to have achieved. I have no doubt that if they were still active they'd have little problem doing this.

by saulrh 15y ago

skrebbel 15y ago

Soo if a university group can do it, then it's too difficult for North Korea to do?

saulrh 15y ago
The university group can do it because it can pay $500k to our biotech industry for pre-researched and in-production batches of chemicals, equipment, and other supplies. North Korea doesn't have that biotechnology industry to start with and would be starting over from a cottage industry.
- rsheridan6 15y ago
  I doubt it would be very difficult to social-engineer your way into being able to buy those materials if you had the money.
- skrebbel 15y ago
  i dont know where you're from, but your universities are RICH!
  - DanBC 15y ago
    (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/16/cambridge-tops-guardian-league-table http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/may/16/cambridge-to...) > Professor David Tidmarsh, vice-chancellor of Birmingham City University, says [. . .] the university is investing £180m in new buildings, facilities and equipment. > At Oxford, average spend per student fell to £11,232 in 2009-10 from £11,410 the year before. The university spends substantially more than other institutions. Cambridge spent £8,612 in 2009-10, a rise from £8,118 the year before.* Rough guide to student numbers (pdf) (http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/supplements2010-11/Student_Numbers_2010-2011.pdf http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazett...)

tsotha 15y ago

You mean the kind of facilities you'd find in a university lab?

DanBC 15y ago

Have a look at what groups like Aum Shinrikyo are thought to have achieved. I have no doubt that if they were still active they'd have little problem doing this.