Production runs for different products would involve seeding a vat with a yeast strain containing the appropriate genetic instructions and then providing raw materials. To be sure, there will always be applications and environments in which biological fabrication is not the best option, and it is not clear how complex the fabrication task can be, but biology is capable of fabrication feats impossible for any current or envisioned human technology to emulate. The transformation to an economy based on biological manufacturing will occur as technical manipulations become easier with practice and through a proliferation of workers with the appropriate skills. Biological engineering will proceed from profession, to vocation, to avocation, because the availability of inexpensive, quality DNA sequencing and synthesis equipment will allow participation by anyone who wants to learn the details. In 2050, following the fine tradition of hacking automobiles and computers, garage biology hacking will be well under way.
Considerable information is already available on how to manipulate and analyze DNA in the kitchen.
The discussion was immediately picked up in a slashdot.org thread where participants provided tips for improving the yield of the PCR process. More detailed, technical information can be found in any university biology library in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, which contains instructions on how to perform virtually every task needed in modern molecular biology. This printed compendium has recently joined the myriad resources maintained on-line by universities and government agencies, thereby becoming all the more accessible. Open-source biology is already becoming a reality. These critical technologies will first move from academic labs and large biotechnology companies to small businesses, and eventually to the home garage and kitchen.