Pimp my Genome! The Mainstreaming of Digital Genetic Engineering
ABSTRACT
DNA is a programming language for living cells. The cell's basic operating system, or genome directs functions like growth and reproduction, energy utilization, and the production of useful compounds like ethanol or penicillin. With genetic engineering, new functions can be added to cells or broken metabolic pathways repaired. Until recently, genetic engineering has required the DNA molecule itself to be physically manipulated, a tedious and expensive process. Now, automatic DNA synthesis permits virtually any DNA code to be made from scratch, opening up genetic engineering to anyone with a computer and a credit card. The capabilities of this new synthetic biology are growing explosively.
DNA is a programming language for living cells. The cell's basic operating system, or genome, directs functions like growth and reproduction, energy utilization, and the production of useful compounds like ethanol or penicillin. With genetic engineering, new functions can be added to cells or broken metabolic pathways repaired. Until recently, genetic engineering has required the DNA molecule itself to be physically manipulated, a tedious and expensive process. Now, automatic DNA synthesis permits virtually any DNA code to be made from scratch, opening up genetic engineering to anyone with a computer and a credit card. The capabilities of this new synthetic biology are growing explosively.
But great questions and challenges remain. How can engineering complex biological systems, even entire organisms, be done with the reliability of other engineering disciplines? What new risks are associated with opening biological engineering to the masses? How should these technologies be controlled and regulated? And how should intellectual property be managed? The issues faced by science and society are complex and controversial, and how they are resolved will likely have great impact on how these technologies are applied over the coming decades.
