“I view DNA as an analog information system, and I hope to convince you in fact that it is absolutely the software of life.” - Craig Venter (via John Tierney)
DNA is the blueprint of life. DNA is transcribed into RNA which are translated into proteins which are the movers and shakers of the biology world (with some RNA help?). By analyzing your genome Doctors can weigh your risk for disease and in a few years will probably be able to guess your shoe size and accuracy of your jump shot. By looking into lots of genomes we can map out evolutionary histories and to some extent make predictions.
But the real clincher for me is that DNA is such a portable platform (to borrow some software terminology) you can take a gene from a tomato and clone it into a bacterium and vice versa. There has been a push lately to codify these genetic building blocks in a rational way, so that it will be easier to use these BioBricks. This codification is both a cause and an effect of the growing role that industry is playing in the development of genomic technology. Academic Biology has left us with a very complicated library of biological information. Genbank has done a great job of cataloging these resources, but it is just a start.
We need the Web 2.0/Facebook approach for Genomics, Proteomics and for all the other "omics" which will be coming in the next century. One thing is for sure, it would make annotating GO info easier.
For more information on Craig Venter and George Church's talks about the future of synthetic biology and its impact on humanity go here. And for the record I was giddy as a school-girl when I read about Sorcerer II's voyage.
What is Synthetic Biology?
- Synthetic biology refers to both:
- the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world
- the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems.
from Syntheticbiology.org a marvelous portal, which along with Open Wet Ware constitute an online community committed to connecting this brand new field with the world.
How do we manage this resource?
As anyone who has seen GATACA knows, this information is a double-edged sword. Its all well and good that you know you have an 45% chance of getting toe-cancer in 5 years, but what if your insurance company gets to see it too? Should they put you on a list to get dropped like a bad habit at the first opportunity or stick it out even though it is bad business? We in America have had a devil of a time changing one iota of our healthcare system and I will be honest, I don't see this looking good in the 20-50 year spectrum.
Germany and Synthetic Biology
"The DFG (which funds university research), the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the German Academy of Science and Engineering argue in a 27 July report that synthetic biology has great value to society — as long as the field's expansion is balanced with ethical debate." - Nature.
I couldn't seem to find the actual press release in English, but going by the article on Nature's website, Germany is taking a big lead in raising awareness of the field which has the potential to bring both helpful and hurtful technology into the world. I am all for a deeper discussion of the implications that research has. We are beyond the flower garden where all research is good and golden and are steadily moving into the thorny bushes of an uncertain future.
I intend to give the ethical issues greater focus in future articles and will only suggest that society will always have a mixed opinions and pray that a few opinionated people don't make my job doing proper research that much harder.
What is my angle?
My personal interest in Synthetic Biology comes from my belief that the tools of molecular biology can unlock a potential of organisms to remake them as we chose. By exploring this potential we will find solutions to many if not all of the worlds earthly ills. Rigorous understanding of biological systems will allow for greater uses of microbes use of as vectors in production of pharmaceuticals and remediation of toxic spills as we are able to use a modular chassis and just swap what the bugs eat up or spit out. Truly the 21st century alchemist stone.
Some hot topics in the coming years...
Fuel
As my last article talked about, we are getting some really cool and innovative solutions coming from biologists to solve the problem of getting clean fuel to the masses. I suspect that the 21st century will deliver a cornucopia of options with technology being adopted by region. For example East Texas would be able to generate enough biodiesel/bioethanol to fuel itself while West Texas can probably survive on wind power.
Clean Air
The prominent use of aquaculture for biofuel producing algae means that waste CO2 will soon be a commodity.
Drinking Water
I am not one for Malthusian arguments. They appear in times of great cynicism showing forth great maths to implicate the death of humanity because of its fertility. However, it looks like drinking water may be a premium in the next century for large parts of the world and finding a way to de-salinize or purify dirty water will be of great use to humanity. I can see some biological solutions to this, but I think mundane engineering will be the ones to solve this problem.
Food
One could imagine symbiotic bacteria in our stomachs adding digestive power to our bowels letting us consume fibrous plant matter by chewing the cud (just like cows do). Or growing bacteria or yeast in vats to produce tasty scop, like in Islands in the Net.
Shelter
I dream of planting house-trees. Think about it, if you can program the instructions for growing into a house into a little seedling all you need to do is find the right soil and plenty of rain.
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