Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Gene synthesis
Introduction
Gene synthesis is the process of synthesizing an artificially designed gene into a physical DNA sequence.
Gene synthesis was first demonstrated by Har Gobind Khorana in 1970 for a short artificial gene. Nowadays, commercial gene synthesis services are available from hundreds of companies worldwide, with a price often below $1 a base pair. Some expressed concern that such services could be used by terrorists to create new strains of existing viruses/bacterias, or to resurrect extinct biological hazard organisms[1].