I was reading the FAQ of Blue Heron | http://www.blueheronbio.com/resources/faq

and then...

Q: What’s the maximum length gene that Blue Heron can synthesize?

A: Blue Heron has delivered a gene of over 52kb in length and regularly delivers genes of 20kb to 25kb in length. Further, Blue Heron has developed technologies that promises to make it possible to produce genes between 100kb and 300kb in length. Blue Heron is the clear leader in synthesis technology and is the first choice for projects involving unusually long or difficult sequences.


So my three questions are:

1. Why is genetic information measured in kb?

kilobase (kb)
a unit of genetic information equal to the information carried by 1000 pairs of the base units in the double-helix of DNA; also used as a unit of relative distance equal to the length of a strand of DNA containing 1000 base pairs


2. Can this information be stored in some sort of computers or related machines?


3. What is the potential for this research in genetic engineering? (or in other words... can it create an original and never before seen creature using this type of technology?


I find this topic quite interesting... but unfortunately I'm not well versed in molecular biology. But all this sounds like something big... is this as good as it looks like?

I'm just curious about this whole topic.

Thanks for reading and for your help.

It's measured in kilobases because it;s measured in kilobases. Scientists are lazy, it's easier to write 50kb instead of 50,000 base-pair.

2. Can this information be stored in some sort of computers or related machines?

Sure can! Look up the field of bioinformatics and poke around this website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

3. What is the potential for this research in genetic engineering? (or in other words... can it create an original and never before seen creature using this type of technology?


Not only can it, it has already been done!

http://www.guardian.co.u...nter-synthetic-life-form

Yeah... it made sense when I started reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_pair
...just seconds after I posted the question





Thanks for the key word! Bioinformatics
...I will read more about it. Oh and thank you very much for the site.





Mmmhh yeah... actually there is a thread about that article in this forum... and some say it is actually not quite the creation of synthetic life.

...but I guess my real question is... can these scientist create big new creatures? Like new birds or new mammals, or maybe new humans etc? Is that possible with the available technology today or it is just only a dream?

Eh what do you mean by new? You can certainly genetically modify current animals to get some interesting results. If you're talking about creating humans with wings, well we aren't there. Yet.

I see I see..

...indeed, by new I meant humans with wings. Or at least the potential to do so.

Thanks for all the info man, Gotta read a lot hehe.

Regards.

In theory any thing is possible. In practice no. The genetic pathways are far to complex for something like a wing. We are just getting our feet wet working with the genomes of mice and other model organism. Evolution is series of extremely small changes, usually one base pair at a time, to the base pair data base. When it comes down to it this means you can only change existing appendages and organs of an organism. To give a human a wing, like in your example, you would have to sacrifice the arms. This is what has happened in bats. You adapt one existing part of the body for other uses.