London, August 1 : Amateur scientists have apparently been cooking up mutant microbes at home with help from popular websites Ebay and YouTube.
The "biohackers" were said to have assembled makeshift gene laboratories in their own homes and were creating genetically-engineered bugs.
Kay Aull, Boston, said she purchased all the material required from websites such as eBay to make genetically engineer bacteria.
"It''s really just some simple biochemistry. It doesn''t need to take place in the lab with scary equipment, there''s no magic involved, it''s chemistry. It''s something you could cook up yourself," Sky News quoted Aull as saying.
Authorities were said to be concerned the unregulated activities could put public health at risk.
But Mac Cowell, founder of online forum DIYbio, said the fears were misplaced.
Cowell said: "I''m sensing the cultural zeitgeist people have against scary biotech. I think the main danger is if you''re doing it on your own - the chemicals can be considered hazardous waste so you need to know how to dispose it. Basically don''t put it down the drain."
The "biohackers" were said to have assembled makeshift gene laboratories in their own homes and were creating genetically-engineered bugs.
Kay Aull, Boston, said she purchased all the material required from websites such as eBay to make genetically engineer bacteria.
"It''s really just some simple biochemistry. It doesn''t need to take place in the lab with scary equipment, there''s no magic involved, it''s chemistry. It''s something you could cook up yourself," Sky News quoted Aull as saying.
Authorities were said to be concerned the unregulated activities could put public health at risk.
But Mac Cowell, founder of online forum DIYbio, said the fears were misplaced.
Cowell said: "I''m sensing the cultural zeitgeist people have against scary biotech. I think the main danger is if you''re doing it on your own - the chemicals can be considered hazardous waste so you need to know how to dispose it. Basically don''t put it down the drain."
