Biomasterskaya: A new look at the biological sciences as an engineering discipline
Hello everyone.
Today we bring to your attention another experimental publication. It seems that for the first time we managed to find in O'Reilly’s asset not so much a technical book as a popular science book.
Undoubtedly, in our century, Dr. Moreau and Dr. Salvator are far inferior in popularity to Dr. House, but science does not stand still, after Dima Lyuba appears, and in the O'Reilly publishing house there is such work:
')
The material on this book from Radar O'Reilly is not the first publication by Mike Lukides on the fascinating topic of synthetic biology, but we believe that this brief review will be the most memorable article you will read today. At the same time we will be very grateful for constructive criticism and participation in the survey.
The emergence of synthetic biology outside the laboratories may generate new startups, new business models and a completely new economy.
.
What should happen in order for a revolution in the biological sciences to succeed? What are the necessary conditions for this?
I have already compared the revolution in biology and computer science. In the history of computer science, one of the most important changes occurred when computers left laboratories (machine rooms with high ceilings, air conditioners, unusual fire extinguishers) in our homes. Computers are no longer perceived as cars served by an army of engineers in white coats (and breaking several times a day) and turned into a technique for ordinary people. In the meantime, even among programmers, people without any special education and academic degrees — teenagers, students, amateurs — began to fall more and more often — the code began to write everything. With pleasure.
Something similar is happening in biology today. But in order to take the next step, we must take a closer look: what should happen in biology for it to leave the laboratory.
One has only to get acquainted with synthetic biology - and exclaim: “Cool! Glowing plants ! Diabetes Cure - Developing Insulin Synthesizing Cells! The resurrection of the mammoths! ”But the true essence of synthetic biology is different. Yes, specialists in this science are interested in such projects and participate in them, but the goals of the new science are much deeper. How to transfer genetic manipulations from science to engineering? What will it mean? The problem is that such operations are feasible now in many laboratories (perhaps, apart from the resurrection of the mammoth, but there are no insurmountable obstacles here), but we still lack reliability. The predictability of such operations. We can change the body's DNA, but we are never 100% sure of the result.
Compare the situation with electronics. At the beginning of the 20th century, experimenting with electronics, the engineer had to independently produce all the parts. Arresters, diodes, hand-wound coils, etc. If you yourself collected such equipment, then you had chances that it would work, but only good chances. Modern electronics began when homemade circuits gave way to standard parts that had specified properties, provided standardized ways to connect parts, as well as standardized circuits to perform certain functions (amplifiers, logic elements, etc.). As a result, today you can go to the store, buy an iPhone and be 100% sure that it will work. It is almost possible that when you turn on the device, it will smoke or simply will not respond.
Biology will have the same transition from laboratory science to engineering discipline. We already know how to handle genetics, but we do not know how to achieve reliability in such experiments. We do not yet have a catalog of standard components that would work exactly as they should and were completely predictable at any time. We are working on it . We are able to integrate genes into organisms, but for the time being we are not able to design genetic schemes that would not be inferior in reliability to electronic stuffing of your computer or laptop. Any engineer knows that there are always many ways to solve a problem, but the effectiveness of various similar solutions is different. Any biologist knows that there are several options for modifying the metabolic pathway to achieve a specific goal, but we do not yet know which of the solutions are the most reliable or effective.
This is the essence of synthetic biology, which tells the book "Biomasterskaya." Laboratory work is very important. The proposed book describes a lot of experiments that can be tested in an educational laboratory and at home. However, in fact, the book " Biomasterskaya " is devoted to rethinking biology in the spirit of engineering. Is it possible to achieve in biology the same reliability as in computer science? Is it possible to learn how to refine DNA in such a way that, when this DNA is introduced into the body, it will give exactly the effect we are seeking? So, is it possible to get a DNA-encoded lighting device with a no less reliable specification than 47K, 1 / 4W resistors that can be ordered from Mouser? Moreover, can I create bacteria that will target cancer cells, diagnose diseases, produce building materials, etc.? Can such developments become a commodity, and not just experimental and research projects? The reboot of biology begins in the laboratory, and it can end in new startups, business models and generate a completely new economy.
We are moving towards this. The book "Biomasterskaya" is intended to point the way to such a future and invite all - students, teachers, and enthusiasts on the road.
Today we bring to your attention another experimental publication. It seems that for the first time we managed to find in O'Reilly’s asset not so much a technical book as a popular science book.
Undoubtedly, in our century, Dr. Moreau and Dr. Salvator are far inferior in popularity to Dr. House, but science does not stand still, after Dima Lyuba appears, and in the O'Reilly publishing house there is such work:
')
The material on this book from Radar O'Reilly is not the first publication by Mike Lukides on the fascinating topic of synthetic biology, but we believe that this brief review will be the most memorable article you will read today. At the same time we will be very grateful for constructive criticism and participation in the survey.
The emergence of synthetic biology outside the laboratories may generate new startups, new business models and a completely new economy.
.
What should happen in order for a revolution in the biological sciences to succeed? What are the necessary conditions for this?
I have already compared the revolution in biology and computer science. In the history of computer science, one of the most important changes occurred when computers left laboratories (machine rooms with high ceilings, air conditioners, unusual fire extinguishers) in our homes. Computers are no longer perceived as cars served by an army of engineers in white coats (and breaking several times a day) and turned into a technique for ordinary people. In the meantime, even among programmers, people without any special education and academic degrees — teenagers, students, amateurs — began to fall more and more often — the code began to write everything. With pleasure.
Something similar is happening in biology today. But in order to take the next step, we must take a closer look: what should happen in biology for it to leave the laboratory.
One has only to get acquainted with synthetic biology - and exclaim: “Cool! Glowing plants ! Diabetes Cure - Developing Insulin Synthesizing Cells! The resurrection of the mammoths! ”But the true essence of synthetic biology is different. Yes, specialists in this science are interested in such projects and participate in them, but the goals of the new science are much deeper. How to transfer genetic manipulations from science to engineering? What will it mean? The problem is that such operations are feasible now in many laboratories (perhaps, apart from the resurrection of the mammoth, but there are no insurmountable obstacles here), but we still lack reliability. The predictability of such operations. We can change the body's DNA, but we are never 100% sure of the result.
Compare the situation with electronics. At the beginning of the 20th century, experimenting with electronics, the engineer had to independently produce all the parts. Arresters, diodes, hand-wound coils, etc. If you yourself collected such equipment, then you had chances that it would work, but only good chances. Modern electronics began when homemade circuits gave way to standard parts that had specified properties, provided standardized ways to connect parts, as well as standardized circuits to perform certain functions (amplifiers, logic elements, etc.). As a result, today you can go to the store, buy an iPhone and be 100% sure that it will work. It is almost possible that when you turn on the device, it will smoke or simply will not respond.
Biology will have the same transition from laboratory science to engineering discipline. We already know how to handle genetics, but we do not know how to achieve reliability in such experiments. We do not yet have a catalog of standard components that would work exactly as they should and were completely predictable at any time. We are working on it . We are able to integrate genes into organisms, but for the time being we are not able to design genetic schemes that would not be inferior in reliability to electronic stuffing of your computer or laptop. Any engineer knows that there are always many ways to solve a problem, but the effectiveness of various similar solutions is different. Any biologist knows that there are several options for modifying the metabolic pathway to achieve a specific goal, but we do not yet know which of the solutions are the most reliable or effective.
This is the essence of synthetic biology, which tells the book "Biomasterskaya." Laboratory work is very important. The proposed book describes a lot of experiments that can be tested in an educational laboratory and at home. However, in fact, the book " Biomasterskaya " is devoted to rethinking biology in the spirit of engineering. Is it possible to achieve in biology the same reliability as in computer science? Is it possible to learn how to refine DNA in such a way that, when this DNA is introduced into the body, it will give exactly the effect we are seeking? So, is it possible to get a DNA-encoded lighting device with a no less reliable specification than 47K, 1 / 4W resistors that can be ordered from Mouser? Moreover, can I create bacteria that will target cancer cells, diagnose diseases, produce building materials, etc.? Can such developments become a commodity, and not just experimental and research projects? The reboot of biology begins in the laboratory, and it can end in new startups, business models and generate a completely new economy.
We are moving towards this. The book "Biomasterskaya" is intended to point the way to such a future and invite all - students, teachers, and enthusiasts on the road.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/261963/
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