I am not surprised. The liability alone probably would have resulted in this - Deepak Singh

Bummer. Hoping the safety issues can be worked out. Would be a great side-effect if _real_ safety (as opposed to cover-your-ass safety) practices were developed in garage science as a result of this. - Steve Koch

Irrespective of safety (real or perceived), navigating the legal side is going to be very difficult. From what I can tell, serious DIYbio in the way that it has been envisaged (real genetic manipulation outside of a traditional uni/industrial lab) would be legally impossible in Australia. From what I have heard of Mac Cowells work trying to get a DIYbio lab space going in Boston, it sounds like there are similar legal issues in the US. I'm hoping they can come up with a solution. - Andrew Perry

It is essentially impossible in the UK as soon as a GMO is involved (i.e. the DNA goes into bacteria). No idea what the legalities of testing youself are but I suspect that taking a sample puts you into a microbial containment class 2 situation (potentially contaminated with pathogens). All of which could be solved by properly licenced core labs being made available but that sort of takes the DIY/Garage aspect oout of it - Cameron Neylon