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Comment by WhompingWindows | Hacker News Reader

Can we use synthetic biology to create an open-source bacterial strain that produces insulin, then distribute the incubators and purifiers to diabetics? Something akin to 3-d printers but for home-brewed medications.

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We can. But its not realistic. You need purified water, media, etc to grow the strain, you need waste disposal for when you purify the harvest. And the biggest bug bear - maintaining sterility for all the pieces of equipment, and the environment to. I suppose you could design it to be a single use, closed system. But even then, the challenges are enormous. I work in pharma and producing vaccines in a clean-room is challenging enough. The FDA can shut you down for a single OOS/OOT. I would never in a million years inject myself or anyone I know with something made from a DIY kit like that.

I feel that this statement sets the perfect as the enemy of the good. If your alternative is to take this or die due to not being able to afford the proper medicine you need, what is your choice? What solutions do you put forward for fixing the pricing problems?

I'm not proposing a policy here. I'm giving my reasons why something is A Very Bad Idea.

>If your alternative is to take this or die due to not being able to afford the proper medicine you need, what is your choice?

I don't view it as "an alternative". Just like drinking battery acid is not "an alternative" to treating esophageal cancer because it happens to kill off cancerous cells.

>What solutions do you put forward for fixing the pricing problems?

I don't know of a market based solution that would do that. But you can have the government provide a single-payer system, and negotiate the prices. That's one sensible option IMHO.

As "bad" of an idea as it is, it's still better than "give up and die".

It isn't, really. That the entire point. Just repeating that it is without actually making a _science_ based argument is plain silly. If you inject yourself with non-sterile material, there is an extremely high chance you will now die from two things (or more), instead of just one. Depending on the organism, an untrained person attempting to grow bacteria outside of a lab might create an even bigger problem, for e.g. if they improperly dispose of it, the organism (or other metabolites/proteins/etc) could leech into the soil and cause further damage, or worse.. contaminate the water supply. Heck the city won't even let you install a sprinkler without making sure you're not sending the water back into the supply. And you guys are thinking about growing bacteria at home. I don't think I can make my case any clearer. This is a terrible idea. But OK, you do you...

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