Growing public interest in genetic science sparks some bio-security concerns.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: CHEM-BIO DEFENSE

When it comes to the knowledge and tools required to launch a bio-terrorism attack, the "genie is out of the bottle," experts have warned.

The know-how, the equipment and the laboratories needed to genetically manipulate DNA is "out there," and the building blocks that could be used to make these potentially devastating diseases occur in nature. There is no need to enrich uranium or stockpile tightly regulated chemicals. Anthrax, for example, could be found in a cow pasture.

Now, a growing movement of hobbyists who are carrying out biology experiments in garages, basements and community labs has drawn some interest from the FBI. There have not been any cases of these amateur scientists doing anything illegal, but the potential is there, said one agent.

"We're looking at advances in technologies," said Edward H. You, supervisory special agent at the FBI's weapons of mass destruction directorate. "That barrier to do various acts--and even just cause mischief--is getting lower and lower and lower, so that risk is growing."

The so-called "do-it-yourself" biology movement has taken off during the past two years, said Jason Bobe, director of community at the Harvard Medical School's personal genome project. Just as missile technology and the space program sparked a movement of amateurs who wanted to try their hand at model rocketry in the 1960s, rapid advances in DNA sequencing and lower costs for the equipment needed to carry out experiments are giving rise to the DIY-Bio community, he added.

"We're seeing that these technologies are becoming more powerful and less costly at a rate that's commensurable with Moore's law, but even faster," Bobe said at a Wood-row Wilson Center panel discussion on synthetic biology and security.

Moore's law stated that computer chips are doubling their processing power every two years. Genome sequencing technology is doubling in effectiveness every six months, Globe said. There is one desktop DNA sequencing instrument that can match 35 million base pairs in about eight hours. It costs about $50,000.

"These are not yet consumer toys, but they will be soon. I fully expect devices like these to be in people's garages," Bobe said. "The ability for individuals to access these technologies is really a novel and exciting development."

The DIY biologists are a mix of educators, artists, bio-entrepreneurs looking to start a business and, in some cases, trained biologists who are moonlighting, and pursuing experiments that...