Reply #4: Actually, scientists can recreate certain viruses ex nihilo... [View All]

[Sufi Marmot]

that what they did was cut and paste from one virus to another. They didn't create a virus, nor did they create the gene sequence within it. They just aren't capable of that as yet.

Polio virus synthesis Virologists are developing these types of systems for (at least) a few viruses. Ironically, de novo assembly probably makes it safer to study nasty viruses in the lab because you can induce their assembly under tightly controlled conditions and don't have to passage active viruses over and over.

However poorly this serves the CIA/virus creation paranoia crowd, this is important work that could unlock the how and why of extreme virulence and could have an effect in virology across the board. Agreed.

-SM