Scientists held a secret meeting about creating synthetic human genomes on May 10 at Harvard University.(More…)
Earlier in the week around 150 scientists, lawyers and entrepreneurs from around the world met at Harvard University Medical School to talk about the possibility of creating a synthetic human genome using chemicals to manufacture DNA. In layman’s terms, they…
Bioengineer Drew Endy shares his vision to reprogram biology as a precision manufacturer and possibly change civilization as we know it.
"... “I decided the future was going to be based on a technology where you get to put atoms where you want them.” [Knight]
That technology is all around us, and it’s called biology. At its core, the idea behind synthetic biology is simple: design and build biological systems to do what we want them to do. To do that, you need to design DNA sequences and insert them into the bacterial cells of your choice, a technique pioneered by the first generation of genetic engineers. But the early days, the late 1990s and earlier, were rough. Everyone had their own way of making snippets of DNA. “That drove me crazy as an engineer,” says Knight. ..."
I found this article while scanning through the synthetic biology tag with the simple description 'a must read for anyone interested in synthetic biology'. It's very well written and easy to read, covering some of the advances and ideas behind synthetic biology and some of the industrial applications to target for the future.
It starts nicely with a little piece with Drew Endy and covers a basic history of synthetic biology beginning with Tom Knight, the 'godfather of synthetic biology' and covering the steps he, Endy and others took to develop the field including the creation of BioBricks, the iGEM competition, engineering E. coli as transistors and wood-fungus building materials.
I especially enjoyed the aspects the article provided on the criticisms of the field as it was developing and the thoughts and feelings of Endy and Knight when it came to pushing through the negativity.
