You can get your feet wet with genetic engineering for surprisingly little money.
replyThis guy shows a lot of how it's done: https://www.youtube.com/@thethoughtemporium
Basically you can design/edit/inject custom genes into things and see real results spending on the scale of $100-$1000.
We actually did this in my highschool genetics class back in 1999! We made bacteria change color by splicing in a gene. Awesome stuff.
replyThe (public!) school had a grant from one of Seattle's biotech boom companies.
Is there something like this in text/readable format?
replyMy main concern is using fungi. If it ends up in my lungs I'm most likely screwed, right?
replyYes, but most students produce their best work while infected.
replyThis is the classic meme https://www.reddit.com/r/labrats/comments/mmv2ig/lab_strains...
replyLab strains of things tend to be extremely sensitive and not human adapted. You shouldn't study and modify human-infecting organisms in your basement anyway. While you shouldn't ignore protective equipment and proper procedure... paranoia about infecting yourself with a lab leak isn't warranted.