The process of turning on the gene you've implanted in these E. coli, and then when they're done making enough of your desired protein, lysing them, and purifying your protein away from the DNA, the E. coli's other proteins, and other and sundry cell debris, takes me several weeks of 16-hour workdays in the laboratory. (I'm harvesting and purifying histone proteins in vitro.)

As a matter of fact, I presented a PowerPoint presentation of all this at the local Mensa "con" last month, and next month I'll be reprising it at ConText.