Re: [DIYbio] Biosecurity

I pretty much agree with everything Andreas said. However, lab processes do bypass natural barriers. It's not about how many molecules in the nature vs. human debate. The other point I don't think I did a good job of making is that what one wants to make in a ligation reaction isn't the only thing that gets made.

As much as I would like to spell out a scenario that is less ridiculous then a fart-to-meteor leap such has been reported here, I will not do so in a public channel.

Also, assuming 100% containment no matter how careful people are is problematic. Yes, we should still do the best we can.

As far as this risk being in my head, I hope you are right. Sure, if we KNEW someone was accidentally making harmful biological material, we'd be having a different conversation. But we don't and it would be hard to know, so we either could be careful or completely ignore the potential risk. Im not convinced the Precautionary Principle does this justice. If something is plausibly dangerous, one must prove it safe before moving forward. The problem is I don't see how we can prove it's safe, just like it is nearly impossible to prove it is dangerous.

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