Erik has long been interested in genetic engineering. When asked about new businesses, Erik wrote about a company making genetic engineering available to the consumer market. And, he’s pretty excited about it. He’s actually a consumer of the product. Don’t ask what’s going on in his kitchen.
By Erik Bearman
The ODIN was founded by Dr. Josiah Zayner, who got his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Zayner believes “the future is going to be dominated by genetic engineering and consumer genetic design will be a big part of that. We are making that happen by creating kits and tools that allow anyone to make unique and usable organisms at home or in a lab or anywhere” (https://www.the-odin.com/about-us/ ).
The ODIN website allows you to purchase DIY genetic engineering kits and ship them to your residence. Examples of kits you can order are DIY Bacterial Gene Engineering CRISPR Kit ($169.00), Genetic Design Starter Kit ($49.99), Glowing Jellyfish Bacteria ($29.99), and Frog Genetic Engineering Kit ($1,999.00). The kits come with all the equipment and supplies you need to perform your own at-home experiments. The ODIN even offers online classes to perform these experiments at your own pace. Among the online teachers is the esteemed Dr. George Church, Harvard Medical School’s Professor of Genetics.
The purpose of these experiments is to teach upcoming geneticists how to do basic modification that will be essential in their fields. It also gives average people (even those without a college education) a chance to do great work. For example, David Ishee, a Mississippi dog breeder, wants to use the ODIN’s kits to help him breed dogs quickly while also getting rid of genetic problems that are common in pure breeds.
Although this company is revolutionary, it is not the first time genetic engineering has been introduced into the business world. Look at your supermarket’s produce section for GMOs. And, in the timber industry, geneticists have created trees that produce premium wood at a faster rate: “the timber industry does not have to chop down so many virgin forests…[and] it has more top-quality wood” (https://marketbusinessnews.com/genetic-engineering-definition-meaning/).
The ODIN makes a substantial amount of money, but not many people outside the genetics or biohacking communities have heard of it. However, as genetic engineering slowly approaches the center of our future livelihoods, more people seeking to learn about biology might hear about these accessible DIY experiments. While controversies may abound regarding this work, Zayner’s work gives access of genetic engineering to the people while not limiting the power to big businesses.
Up-and-Coming Business Editor: Jake Sonderman
https://www.the-odin.com/about-us/
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