Synthetic Biology To Change Life In More Ways Than One
A recent front-page story in the Investor’s Business Daily shows just how far Singularity technology is penetrating mainstream life.
And synthetic biology, just one field that’s adding fuel to the accelerating future, is poised to penetrate the mysteries of biological life even more deeply.
With the big money of Roche, BP, and Microsoft lining up behind them, Synbio researchers are investigating how DNA sequences can be reprogrammed. Basically, synbio can create new life forms and those new forms can be put to work for a myriad of uses.
Some of the predictions are mind-blowing.
According to the article, synbio could produce creations, like:
- Algae that can be used as jet fuel.
- Grains that cure diseases.
- Gourds that can be grown into human-sized shelters.
Of course, we have to address the negative ramifications. Like any tool, the technology used to create grains that cure, could easily be turned into grains that kill. Algae that becomes jet fuel could be algae that becomes explosives.
Our real challenge will not be developing technology to harness the power of DNA; that will happen naturally, as the laws of exponential technology growth reveals. The real challenge is harnessing the human intention to use these powers for good.
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