COMPREHEND THE COMPLEX: LEARN HOW TO CLONE YOUR DOG 

My column last year on bio-hackers, those with-it kids who soon will be creating new life forms in their basements through the wonders of genetic manipulation, provided information on where to obtain necessary materials and further data.

Now, only a fax away, a most helpful program for your Macintosh computer: The Gene Construction Kit. It's a DNA manipulation, design and illustration tool. No Communications Age home should be without it. Although it is a bit pricey.

It's a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program for cloning-design and track gene cloning and construction projects. It automatically tracks construct history and maintains alternative views of both sequence and graphical construct representations. It contains an "electronic notebook" for creation and search of entered comments. Furthermore, it lets you display and graphically manipulate DNAs and other objects in desktop-publishing-type windows. It allows the publishing of complex documents.

The Gene Construction Kit makes the complex easier to comprehend. Remember when, 10 years ago, computers were considered far too sophisticated for the average intellect to understand? Today there are more than 50 million computers in North America. Now you can learn what molecular biologists know. Previously unknown ways to handle polycloning sites and much more is here to lead you on.

According to company literature, a microbiologist from UCLA says there is "Nothing like it anywhere short of IntelliGenetic's StrataGene $50,000 expert system." MacWeek magazine says the Gene Construction Kit "...has won acclaim from molecular biologists".

More information:

The Gene Construction Kit, Textco, Inc., 27 Gilson Road, W. Lebanon, NH 03784.

Voice/Fax: 603/643-1471. Free demo disk. Full kit price US$895. Requires a Macintosh Plus or newer model.

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