The following is a summary of our recent interview with Genspace's Dr. Ellen Jorgensen, which can be accessed on our site here or on iTunes here.
Did you know that scientists can now create synthetic life forms by reprogramming DNA in a computer? If not, welcome to the brave new world of synthetic biology!
In a recent podcast with Financial Sense, Dr. Ellen Jorgensen, co-founder and Executive Director of Genspace, explains how scientists have made DNA code the software of 21st century.
Exciting New Findings
We’re witnessing the genesis of a new industrial revolution, Jorgensen said, adding that she expects to see synthetic chromosomes appear in organisms in the next 5 to 10 years. Already, scientists have built chromosomes from scratch in yeast, and researchers have suggested applying their efforts toward synthesizing the genome of higher organisms, she stated.
Right now, scientists can chemically synthesize or “print” DNA, consisting of a long chain of smaller molecules, by starting with a molecule tethered to a solid surface and adding the rest, like adding beads to a string. This is the method researcher Craig Venter used to build the first synthetic bacterial cell in 2011, Jorgensen stated.
“What we’re seeing now is the emergence of programs that are actually learning how to put together pieces of DNA...[which are then] loaded into an organism”
“The whole reason Venter created a minimal bacterial cell was to be able to get a handle on the processes in it and potentially model it to the extent that (we) could really predict what’s going to happen,” she added.
Another revolution in the field involves CRISPR, which is a newly developed tool scientists can use to efficiently edit DNA and alter genomes. These and other new techniques are allowing researchers greater control and are opening up the possibility for new applications in multiple fields.
Computational Science and Genetics
These leaps forward aren’t purely being driven by research in the field of biology, however.
“We’re at that point now, where you can design things on a computer and somebody else, an expert at building DNA, will build it for you,” Jorgensen said.
Writing a program to do the job of linking pieces of DNA together in a machine and using software to control the process adds to the value of these techniques, Jorgensen said.
“What we’re seeing now is the emergence of programs that are actually learning how to put together pieces of DNA most effectively in order to achieve success when that DNA is then loaded into an organism,” she stated.
Beyond even this, however, software is allowing us to better model cellular activity, meaning we can more accurately control output.
“We can write a program that completely approximates what happens in a cell, all the different chemical reactions that happen, all different communication pathways,” she stated. “Then we can make a virtual cell, and that cell is so accurate, we can predict what’s going to happen when we load a piece of DNA coding into it. Now we’re really talking about a foundational advance in the sciences.”
Pros and Cons of Synthetic Biology
These advances could become inestimably important to the industrial production of proteins, medicines and everything else synthetic biology has to offer, Jorgensen stated.
“The positives are pretty obvious,” she added. “This is a new technology that can be brought to bear on all sorts of large problems... It has great potential for helping the planet and mankind.”
There are several potential pitfalls, however. As with any new tech, there’s the chance hype will overshadow the technology.
“I’m hoping the hype around it and the expectation that it’s all going to happen immediately doesn’t result in economic harm to synthetic biology itself,” Jorgensen said.
Also, with the technology growing and changing so rapidly, Jorgensen sees the potential for regulatory missteps. The general public isn’t broadly aware of the technology or its potential, she added, and she hopes regulation doesn’t hinder future progress.
She doesn’t see a catastrophic event developing from the technology as it’s being used now because it’s mostly being done in fermentation vats under very controlled conditions.
Citing CRISPR as the perfect example, she noted that two proposed uses include editing human embryos and creating what’s called a gene drive, which has the potential to change the genetics of an entire species over a fairly short number of generations.
The later involves using CRISPR to affect the spread of Zika by altering mosquito DNA, and it’s in this type of application that Jorgensen sees the most potential for negative effects.
“I think things like that sound really cool, and I can’t wait for some of those advances,” she said. “The environmental stuff for me is a little bit more concerning because you’re releasing something into the wild, and that I would prefer they look very carefully at. On the other hand, I don’t live in an area that’s plagued by Zika.”
For the most part, these technologies shouldn’t be alarming to the populace, Jorgensen said, and she especially wants to see progress continue.
“I would encourage everybody to become literate in this science, the same way everyone is encouraging people to learn how to code,” she said. “It seems to me a base literacy that we’re going to need in the coming century.”
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