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One of the first generation of smart drugs that will change the pharma industry. With smart materials and nanotechnology, the possibilities are significant. http://lnkd.in/d5FxQQu View in LinkedIn

FOUR CRITICAL KEYS IN MODERN BIOTECH: (1) digitization of life; (2) democratization and cheapening of tools; (3) writing DNA as computer code to create entirely novel life forms; and (4) big data as part of life sciences today. How these trends interact and their unforeseen consequences is the precise juncture biologists find themselves in today. We are at a truly historic confluence with many moving parts. View in LinkedIn

PROGRAMMING LIFE. "Today a scientist can write a long genetic program on a computer ...then use a synthesizer to convert that digital code into actual DNA... when a faux chromosome gets plopped into a cell, it will be able to direct the destruction of the cell's old DNA and become its new "brain" -- telling the cell to start making a valuable chemical, for example, or a medicine or a toxin, or a bio-based gasoline substitute."" " http://lnkd.in/dCV_93T View in LinkedIn

FORTH KEY LIFESCIENCE TREND: BIG DATA. Biology's big problem is too much data. More scientific information has been generated in recent years than in the entire history of the world. "Today, compared to the collection of genomes of the microorganisms ... each human genome, which easily fits on a DVD, is comparatively simple. Its 3 billion DNA base pairs and about 20,000 genes seem paltry next to the roughly 100 billion bases and millions of genes that make up the microbes found in the human body."" " http://lnkd.in/dMb5X44 View in LinkedIn

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