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SynBio + Nanotech #2 (Minimal Synthetic Cell (A living "artificial…
SynBio + Nanotech #2
The Road Ahead
- Gene circuits have already been created, including "transcriptors" [biotransistors]: the final component required to build biological computers that operate inside living cells
- However, they aren't a viable product yet, so in the future we may grow bioelectronics
- In May 2010, JVCI created the first synthetic bacterial cell as the "first self-replicating life form w/ a computer as its parent". In March 2016 they then made the first "minimal synthetic cell"
- In May 2015, sister company Synthetic Genomics launched a desktop DNA printer
Minimal Synthetic Cell
- A living "artificial cell" has been defined as a completely synthetic cell that can capture energy, maintain ion gradients, contain macromolecules as well as store info + have the ability to mutate
- Simply: "An artificial/minimal cell is an engineered particle that mimics one or many functions of a biological cell"
- Basically have knocked the DNA out until it's just about to reproduce - just the DNA that keeps the thing alive
- An actual living artificial cell is a much harder thing to create
- Nobody has been able to create such a cell
Desktop Printing DNA
- Print some DNA and then make something out of it: bottom-up approach
- Makes particular stretches of DNA much easier + cheaper to obtain than ever before
- Excites many scientists who are keen to use these tailored strings of genetic instructions to do all sorts of things, ranging from finding new medical treatments to genetically-engineering better crops
SynBio Applications
- Amyris already uses SynBio to make biodiesel, aviation fuel, moisturisers, solvents + synthetic artemisinin as a malaria treatment
- Ginkgo Bioworks is using SynBio to create enzymes for use in brewing, baking, medicine + fragrances [e.g rose oil from SynBio yeast]
- Anticipated products including PLA fermented from glucose by E.Coli, as well as synthetic spider silk, rubber + acrylics
Flying w/ Plants
- Amyris makes genetically-engineered yeast that digests sugarcane syrup + excretes a renewable version of farnesene
- Amyris' aviation biofuel successfully powered a demonstration flight in Paris in 2013
- Total emissions of greenhouse gases are 80% lower than conventional jet fuel as most of the carbon had already been absorbed by the sugarcane as it grew
SynBio Pioneers
- Synthetic microorganisms will increasingly turn organic "feedstocks" into industrial materials
- In the UK, the OpenPlant Initiative is developing "plant synthetic biology" that may one day allow many products to be grown on the vine
- "Factories on Legs" have already been created too - including the transgenic 'spider goats' invented by Randy Lewis in Utah
Spider Goats
- Spider silk [web and tethering silk] is very strong [stronger than steel]. Webs are made of polymer
- Farming spiders isn't practical, as each produces a tiny amount and it isn't easy to get
- Can produce useful material from the polymer
- The gene for creating polymer can be implanted into goats
Ethical Concerns
- There are concerns that genetically manipulating life is an inappropriate attempt at 'playing God'. Some of this work also has implications for ecology, social justice and public health
- A major concern is dual-use research: biological research w/ legitimate scientific goals that may be misused to pose a threat to public health or national security
- The concern is that SynBio tools will be used, for example, to make dangerous pathogens more transmissible or lethal, raising the spectre of bioterrorism
- Potential safety concerns around engineered biological systems: could be harmful, unintended effects of new synthetic biologies
- Potential reckless applications of SynBio: biohackers aiming to gene-engineer themselves, deliberate terroristic misuse, leak of organisms outside the lab etc