On Jul 6, 2017, a group led by virologist David Evans of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, announced it had synthesized the horsepox virus, a relative of smallpox, from genetic pieces ordered in the mail for $100,000. Smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980.

Evans hoped the research, most of which was done by research associate Ryan Noyce, helped unravel the origins of a centuries-old smallpox vaccine and lead to new, better vaccines or even cancer therapeutics.