A.
Cataloguing
and characterizing an infinitely long list of bioparts submitted to the
Registry can be a gruelling task. It’s the kind of job that could
easily be automated but then it takes some thinking to interpret the
results, so humans still need to be part of it. With how quickly
computers and synthetic biology are co-evolving, however, I’m sure that
we’ll soon have computers that will accurately interpret all that data,
resulting in a fully automated process that only needs a fraction of the
current manpower to maintain. It was not a dream-job.
After
that came a job of making new parts for a small flower shop. Tweaking
plants with biosensors that keep them fresh and alive for longer by
infusing them with hormones based on environmental conditions. Improving
their genes to make them more colourful, smell better, make bigger
flowers, resist more pests and flower more frequently. This was fun for a
while (and smelled a lot better than all those bacteria in a lab) but
it lacked the sense of satisfaction one gets from doing something that
does more than improve things aesthetically.
I
was looking to change my direction slightly and actually start helping
people. That’s when morbid circumstances brought me a great opportunity.
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