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THE THIRD KEY TREND IN BIOTECH. In 1998, "genetic engineering was limited to cutting and pasting DNA from existing organisms. Today's biologists can write down a gene sequence that NEVER EXISTED anywhere, place an order over the internet, and receive the desired DNA by return mail. The new science of synthetic biology dreams of a day when blueprints for new life forms can be designed as easily as computer chips." " " http://lnkd.in/dSAHHGJ View in LinkedIn

CELLS AS MACHINES AND CIRCUITS. "Synthetic biological circuits are an application of synthetic biology where biological parts inside a cell are designed to perform logical functions mimicking those observed in electronic networks." Living cells as machines and circuits = biocybernetics. " " http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_biological_circuit View in LinkedIn

PUSHBACK AT INSTITUTIONALIZED SCIENCE. "By the 1970s, this transformation was being called into question. Philosopher Paul Feyerabend called for a "democratization of science." Biochemist Erwin Chargaff advocated a return to science by nature-loving amateurs in the tradition of Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, Buffon, and Darwin—science dominated by "amateurship instead of money-biased technical bureaucrats."" " http://lnkd.in/d-n238m View in LinkedIn

BIOLOGY AS COMPUTING. "As biology emerges as another generalised computing medium, future biological creations will extend their reach into every aspect of our lives." A perfectly remarkable statement of the present and future state of biology. " " http://lnkd.in/dkjx-Yi View in LinkedIn

GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS BECAME INSTITUTIONALIZED. "Prior to the 20th century, science was often the pursuit of gentleman scientists, amateur or self-funded researchers such as Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, and Charles Darwin. By the mid-20th Century, however, science was dominated by researchers employed by universities and government research laboratories."" " http://lnkd.in/d-n238m View in LinkedIn

FIRST TWO KEY TRENDS IN BIOTECH. "The first ... is the DIGITIZATION of biology -- gathering data, examining how human systems work and testing drugs can all be done in a computer. The other is the DEMOCRATIZATION of the tools. "Hackers are taking $3.5 million [£2.2 million] DNA sequencers and building the same thing for 1/10,000 of the price." " " http://lnkd.in/d47FDm9 View in LinkedIn

EASE OF MAKING NEW DNA. "What happens when we can make a vaccine as easily as we can make a tweet? Living systems can be programmed with new functions to do commercially or intellectually useful tasks. That could be great, so long as the people who are creating the bacteria are not out to wreak havoc." http://lnkd.in/dMb5UB6 View in LinkedIn

THE RISE OF THE CITIZEN SCIENTIST is the focus of the next series of blogs. As synthetic biology has made open source, off-the-shelf toolkits available, and DNA sequencing has become cheaper, the same breed of curious-minded enthusiasts as the early computer hackers has arisen. These enthusiasts operate from garage labs and outside of traditional hierarchical science. Whether we like it or not, it is real, and here to stay. And it has consequences. View in LinkedIn

LAZERPRINTING DNA MAY BECOME CHEAPER. "All harmful DNA sequences are available to the public online. We compare incoming orders with all known viruses and bacteria and simply don't print harmful sequences. Of course there are exemptions for certain research groups such as the CDC who need to study dangerous sequences to remediate outbreaks."" " http://lnkd.in/dkuQ_4B View in LinkedIn

TINKERING WITH EDEN," ""is a lyrical, brilliantly written history of the introduction of exotic species into the United States, and how the well-meaning endeavors ... have resulted in ecological catastrophe.. the astronomer who unleashed the gypsy moth in a botched effort to breed the silkworm, the druggist who brought starlings to America because he wanted the landscape to feature every bird mentioned by Shakespeare -- will forever change how we see our increasingly afflicted landscape and its unanticipated inhabitants."" " http://lnkd.in/dhAg58P View in LinkedIn