Comment & Debate
“And man made life.” The Economist. May 20th 2010: “Synthetic biology […] promises much. In the short term it promises better drugs, less thirsty crops (see article), greener fuels and even a rejuvenated chemical industry. In the longer term who knows what marvels could be designed and grown?”
Paul Freemont, of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at Imperial College London, described the achievement as a “step change advance”. He said: “The applications of this enabling technology are enormous.”[1]
“Synthetic Life: The Third Revolution” Doug Sock’s blog on Open Salon. June 9th, 2010: “For the first time in history, computer aided and man designed DNA has booted up a cell.
Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute recently inserted printed and programmed artificial genetic material into cells which then began to replicate.
Think that’s not important? You haven’t been doing your reading in bioengineering!
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
The implications of this will be ignored by most for another year or so, but for those of us with our nerdy little ears to the ground, a new age in humanity has just dawned.
What does this mean?
In long run, this is nothing short of the third major revolution in the history of mankind.
The agricultural and industrial revolutions have nothing on the implications of the Synthetic Life Revolution.
Imagine a fast growing bacteria that could eat petrofuels and produce harmless nutrients. How fast would the ocean be cleaned up then?
How about a harmless virus that makes us immune to all other viruses?
Another application? The creation of bio-fuels at incredibly high speeds. Flex-fuel hybrid cars running on the new bio-fuels anyone?”