Friday, 27 September 2019



Synthetic Biology: A multicellular Approach

The field of synthetic biology has made rapid progress in a number of areas including method development, novel applications, and community building. In seeking to make biology “engineerable,” synthetic biology is increasing the accessibility of biological research to researchers of all experience levels and backgrounds. One of the underlying strengths of synthetic biology is that it may establish the framework for a rigorous bottom-up approach to studying biology starting at the DNA level. Building upon the existing framework established largely by the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, careful consideration of future goals may lead to integrated multi-scale approaches to biology.

Synthetic biology is a new interdisciplinary area that involves the application of engineering principles to biology. It aims at the (re-)design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world. Synthetic biology combines the chemical synthesis of DNA with growing knowledge of genomics to enable researchers to quickly manufacture cataloged DNA sequences and assemble them into new genomes.



Improvements in the speed and cost of DNA synthesis are enabling scientists to design and synthesize modified bacterial chromosomes that can be used in the production of advanced biofuels, bio-products, renewable chemicals, bio-based specialty chemicals (pharmaceutical intermediates, fine chemicals, food ingredients), and in the health care sector as well.

Synthetic biologists are working to develop:
·         Standardized biological parts -- identify and catalogue standardized genomic parts that can be used (and synthesized quickly) to build novel biological systems;
·         Applied protein design -- re-design existing biological parts and expand the set of natural protein functions for new processes;
·         Natural product synthesis -- engineer microbes to produce all of the necessary enzymes and biological functions to perform complex multistep production of natural products; and
·         Synthetic genomics -- design and construct a ‘simple’ genome for a natural bacterium.

Examples of synthetic biology companies:
Commercial firms that sell synthetic DNA (oligonucleotides, genes, or genomes) to users are DNA synthesis companies, including ATG: biosynthetic, Blue Heron Biotechnology, DNA 2.0, GENERATE and Genomatica.
Leading consumer companies of the DNA that are building novel biological systems for bioproducts, biofuels, and the healthcare sector include Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., Codexis, Genencor (A Division of Danisco), Life Technologies, Genomatica, Qteros, CODA Genomics, Modular Genetics, DNA2.0, Inc., Verdezyne, DSM, Myriant, Gevo, Inc., LS9, Inc., OPX Biotechnologies, Solazyme and Synthetic Genomics, Inc.



Thursday, 12 September 2019

DIVERSITY IS DESTINY: View on Genetics


DIVERSITY IS DESTINY: View on Genetics

Biology is a science that deals with variations. There is no one perfect type of a species. Diversity, in this sense, is not just something to aim at but something necessary for a population to flourish. The idea that natural selection works only on mutations is a deeply misleading oversimplification. It is much more likely to alter the proportions of an already existing mixture of genes. What is more, game theory shows that the balance of advantage will shift as a result of the shift in a gene’s frequency.

This is especially true of the genes which can influence human behaviour and emotional predispositions. Not only is the chain of causation from gene expression to behaviour unimaginably complex, but it is also profoundly affected by outside circumstances. Identical twins, who share the same DNA, are not identical people, because they cannot entirely share the same life and experiences.

Using a data set of nearly half a million people, of whom 27,000 reported same-sex contact, researchers found – in their own words – “In aggregate, all tested genetic variants … do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual’s sexual behaviour”. There are five loci which appear to have a measurable, though far from decisive, influence on sexual preference. Some are also involved with the sense of smell, and one is associated with male pattern baldness.
This leads to perhaps the most interesting feature of the research: it not only shows that there is no clear genetic cause for same-sex attraction, but that the attraction itself does not form a coherent whole. Some of the genetic variations weakly associated with same-sex behaviour are different in men and women. In place of the old idea that there might be a single cause for a single pattern of behaviour, there is now an understanding of multiple causes for varying patterns of behaviour. In place of a single scale of sexual attraction as posited by Kinsey, in which desire for the same sex and opposite sex are linked so that more of one means less of the other, the researchers suggest that these are independent variables. Diversity is good in itself and humans are more – much more – than the sum of their genes.

Synthetic Biology: A multicellular Approach The field of synthetic biology has made rapid progress in a number of areas including m...