Biologists love to call the recombinant DNA technology, Genetic Engineering. We cut parts of DNA from an organism, introduce into another and modify it in the process. We rely on discovering novel genes and proteins to look for new therapeutic and industrial approaches. But, is modifying or discovering something engineering? No, its not! Engineering is about developing things from scratch. Synthetic biology (or Genetic Engineering v2.0 as I love to say it) would allow us to develop completely new organisms in the future and possibly alien-like too. It would impart to biology the elements which it lacks when compared to other types of engineering. What are those elements of engineering that genetic engineering lacks? Here is the answer.
The Promise of Synthetic Biology
“Let me now comment on the question “what next”. Up to now we are working in the descriptive phase of molecular biology. But the real challenge will start when we enter the synthetic phase of research in our field. We will then devise new control elements and add these new modules to the existing genomes … Continue reading
