Did the recent “We’ve Just Created Life” coverage leave you feeling a bit ‘engineered’?
Sounds like you need to watch a Video of the Synthetic Biology symposium at the Edinburgh Science Festival
I’ve called it a symposium, simply because it’s an impressively delivered set of (visually aided) presentations, by well respected speakers and a live studio audience.
In fact this is avaiable on YouTube in eleven separate clips.
See the sidebar below for links to the other ten parts.
The ‘chair’ for the event is the BBC’s irrepressable radio science presenter Quentin Cooper of BBC Radio 4 Material World fame.
The title of the debate is:
“Can this technology solve the challenges of the modern world and become a great source of wealth for Scotland?”
The presenters are:
- Chemist and synthetic biology expert Professor Ben Davis (Oxford University)
- Dr Jim Haseloff, researcher and lecturer in Synthetic Biology (Cambridge University)
- Professor Joyce Tait, Innogen Centre, (ESRC Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in Genomics), University of Edinburgh
- Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh, this debate will explore the potential of synthetic life and the ethical questions it raises.
The event was run in conjunction with
Life Sciences Scotland
Here are the rest of the YouTube clips:
Part 1 (you’ve already seen this first part)
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Here’s a link to Life Sciences Scotland’s own YouTube channel
From what I understand, Synthetic Biology is the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world, or re-design of existing biological systems.
But I would like to know more about its uses or benefits.
Here’s a good article to start in order to know more about the uses and benefits of synthetic biology, Malini:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1414&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=494692
And here’s a helpful excerpt from the article:
“Humans have been altering the genetic code of plants and animals for millennia, by selectively breeding individuals with desirable features. But more recent advances have enabled scientists to make new sequences of DNA from scratch. By combining these advances with the principles of modern engineering, scientists can now use computers and laboratory chemicals to design organisms that do new things — like produce biofuels or excrete the precursors of medical drugs,” says David Rejeski, the director of the Project.
That’s a good find.
Thanks!
This sounds like it’s coming straight from science fiction movies and novels, but after watching the video, synthetic biology does sound promising. I agree however, on what was pointed out in the coverage that dealing with this science can get into tricky and controversial issues.
Here’s a fairly recent article that deals with the issues on synthetic biology:
http://www.examiner.com/creationism-in-national/synthetic-biology-controversy-continues
I just found this article about the proposed use of synthetic biology
http://www.science20.com/news_articles/synthetic_biology_living_buildings_may_help_fight_global_warming
“One solution to reducing the environmental footprint of buildings is to create ‘living’ materials using synthetic biology and cover them with it. Those materials could eventually produce water in desert environments or harvest sunlight to produce biofuels.”
If synthetic biology is used for such purposes, it would greatly benefit mankind.
Good find, Malini. With proper funding from the government, the development of synthetic biology may well exceed expectations. Let’s just hope that this emerging field of science benefits the people more than companies’ pockets.
Check out this recent article about the role of synthetic biology in space.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/03/wwwxconomycom109920/
“Inner ear changes could allow people to escape motion sickness,” Venter said. “(You could have genes for) bone regeneration, DNA repair from radiation, a strong immune system, small stature, high energy utilization, a low risk of genetic disease, smell receptors, a lack of hair, slow skin turnover, dental decay and so on. If people are traveling in space for their whole lives, they may want to engineer genetic traits for other purposes.”
I wonder if NASA is considering it seriously.