Re: [DIYbio] Newbie Questions - Is this possible?

Summarizing my opinion

1- Modify large organism? No way .... to expensive and dificult

2- Modify bacteria? Yes, is possible but limited because basically we dont know enough yet about the interaction between the molecular elements and the effects of a genetic modification on the all system. Everybody knows it will be possible one day, but not today. In practice that sounds more like this: "lets test if modifying this gene, we have not screwed up with the rest of the important features of the organism"  .... trial and error

2013/5/25 Veltoss <tyler.le...@gmail.com>

Hello everyone,

I've been slowly getting into DIYbio for a while now, off and on reading more and more about it. I have plenty of reading material still lined up, and it will still be a while before I even start doing beginner projects, but I wanted to see if a couple of things were possible first.

I know these are possible in a way, but to be more specific, are they possible for a non-scientist to do in a garage lab without spending thousands of dollars and having a degree in genetics/biology?

1. Modifying large organisms. By large, I mean something like Zebrafish rather than just bacteria. Is it possible to modify the genes of something the size of Zebrafish in a garage lab? I know that they are a popular organism for large labs nowadays, but is it simply too difficult for a single person garage lab?

2. Greatly modifying small organisms. I had an idea, and I know it may (or may not?) sound like a crazy one. Is it possible to start with something small, like a single cell organism, bacteria, or even microscopic zooplankton, and over the course of a long period, continue changing their genes until they're something entirely different? Would it be possible to basically create a new small organism, as a long-term project? For a more specific example, let's say you start with a single cell organism, and by adding more and more genes create some kind of barely visible-by-the-eye water dependent (like aquatic animals) organism that is capable of swimming through water, eating, etc? Something similar to zooplankton, or hydra jellyfish, or even brine shrimp, basically?

The reason I'm asking, especially about the second question, is that despite what I've read so far I don't quite understand where the line is drawn. Some things sound easy, like cloning fungi, making things glow, and so on, but at what point does it become far too difficult and/or expensive for us to do? I hope I made my questions and examples clear enough, and sane enough. 

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