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GAME CHANGER. "In 2010, biologist Craig Venter, already known as a key figure behind the mapping of the human genome, announced his creation of a microbe that earned the name Synthia: “the first self-replicating species on the planet whose parent was a computer.” https://lnkd.in/eFMx6_S View in LinkedIn

THE CREATION OF LIFE FROM INFORMATION. "Venter had been the first person in history to make a functioning creature from information. Looking at the strings of letters representing the DNA sequence for a virus called phi X174, which infects bacteria, he thought to himself, "I can assemble real DNA based on that computer information." And so he did, creating a virus based on the phi X174 genomic code." https://lnkd.in/dyGvsfW View in LinkedIn

PROGRAMMABLE LIFE revolution parallels changing from an alphabet of ABC to 1/0; Craig Venter created the first synthetic cell from four bottles of inert chemicals; "we can now write the gene code for cells from scratch. This will transform almost all industries in the coming 50 years." https://lnkd.in/e-geyA5 View in LinkedIn

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY ushered in the concept of 'programmable life' and 'digital biology', radical concepts that break with earlier thinking. The cell is now considered the hardware of living things, and DNA is its programmable software. View in LinkedIn

DISTRIBUTION HUB. "Another concept of DNA has been that it is a factory for making proteins. But in the present context DNA appears to be more like Zappos or Amazon’s distribution hubs or the UPS Sort. DNA contains the instructions for making all of the proteins that a body needs, yes, but it also choreographs the elaborate logistical dance that delivers the right proteins to the right location at just the right time." http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/12/13/seven-ways-to-look-at-the-double-meaning-of-dna-code/#2715e4857a0b7e447793109a View in LinkedIn

CONTEXTUAL MEANING IN DNA. "The duons are like words or phrases within the “text” of our DNA that mean two different things, depending on context. And yet, as in human language, not all words have this double meaning. The Science paper suggests that these duons are “highly conserved” through evolution, which means that they are the Darwinian keepers." http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/12/13/seven-ways-to-look-at-the-double-meaning-of-dna-code/#2715e4857a0b7e447793109a View in LinkedIn

PROGRAMMING LIFE. "In five years time, we will be programming bacterial cells in the computer and compiling and storing its program into these new cells so they can readily execute them.” https://lnkd.in/dSKGWDR View in LinkedIn

SYNTHETIC BUGS. "All the key barriers to the artificial synthesis of viruses and bacteria have been overcome. Einstein's revolutionary theories helped unravel the secrets of the cosmos. They also led to the atom bomb." http://www.cfr.org/united-states/biologys-brave-new-world/p31894 View in LinkedIn

REWRITING LIFE. "But the implications of being able to engineer cells go deeper, according to Enriquez. “This isn’t just about economic growth, this is also about where we are going as a human species,” he said. Humans will no longer merely adapt to or adopt the environment, but “begin to understand how life is written, how life is coded, how life is copied, and how you can rewrite life.” http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/26/making-living-matter-programmable/ View in LinkedIn

MANIPULATION OF LIFE. "Juan Enriquez, a self-described “curiosity expert” and co-founder of the company Synthetic Genomics, compared the digital revolution spawned by thinking of information as a string of ones and zeros to the coming synthetic biology revolution, premised on thinking about life as a mix of interchangeable parts – genes and gene networks – that can be learned and manipulated like any language." http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/03/26/making-living-matter-programmable/ View in LinkedIn