The Human Genome Project Write

On The Digital Life podcast this week, we chat about the Human Genome Project Write. Synthetic biologists are building the engineering blueprint for life: a human cell that contains all the DNA it needs to produce more human cells. Such a blueprint could be a significant step towards major medical breakthroughs, including wiping out genetic diseases. Synthetic biologists build DNA using specialized bio-informatics design software to write the code. In the lab, this DNA code is then chemically synthesized. The software tools for this process, however, are still at their formative stages, and lack the necessary abstraction layer. Synthetic biologists must still work at the most basic level of DNA code—the A,C,G, and Ts—unlike, say computer coders who usually stay several layers above the 0s and 1s. Some of the other challenges this project will face include creating a legal framework and policy to govern the technology, establishing rules around intellectual property, and even coming to a shared understanding of ethical boundaries and prohibitions across the genomic research community. Join us as we discuss.