I'm pretty sure you're wrong about this. I know of several groups that are doing de novo protein design, and have made entirely new proteins that are catalytically active. If you have a working protein, synthesizing a gene for that protein and getting it expressed would be trivial.
I'm pretty sure you're wrong about this. I know of several groups that are doing de novo protein design, and have made entirely new proteins that are catalytically active. If you have a working protein, synthesizing a gene for that protein and getting it expressed would be trivial.
Wrong. There is some work being done altering some genes to provide different qualities. A lot is being done with plants to increase their shelf life and protect them from insects and vermin. The process to even accomplish this is not easy. Special programs are needed to see how a change of a DNA base may affect the modified protein. Each amino acid coded has different properties and causes the protein to fold differently. The folding itself is part of the functional properties of a protein.
What you forget is that the gene has to function within the organism. It has to work with the rest of the organism to achieve its purpose. For this one needs to have it expressed (not at any old time, but when it is needed), have it become part of the developmental program, have cells made specifically to achieve its function, have a system of receiving messages specific to its functions and sending out messages for its function. So no, a new gene, with a totally new faculty is quite impossible, even today.