Molecular Circuits
Applications and Timeline
Synthetic biology has made many breakthroughs with molecular circuits. Synthetic biologists have designed and created many different molecular circuits, ranging from logic gates that form to core of modern day computers, to artificial biological circuits.
Using either real or synthetic DNA, synthetic biologists can use recombinant technology to create entire biological systems that perform tasks usually attributed to electronic networks.
Recently, MIT engineers have created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results, which are encoded in the cell’s DNA and passed on for dozens of generations. These circuits are important because they have achieved the ability to retain long-term information and perpetuate data. For more information, click here.
In addition to memory circuits, synthetic biologists have also created many logic gates designed for different types of Boolean logic, such as NOR or AND gates. For more information on engineering biological circuits, click here.
For example, to see a possible design of a biological OR logic gate, click here.
For a possible design of a biological AND logic gate, click here.
Artificial Life
Artificial life, also referred to as synthetic life, has become a hot synthetic biology topic in recent years. Using synthetic DNA, researchers have attempted with some success to design and create synthetic life. A big motivation of increased interest and success in synthesizing artificial life is the increased availability and affordability of gene synthesis. With technological breakthroughs in de novo DNA synthesis and DNA fragment assembly, experimentation in synethetic life has been much more widespread.
Most notably, Craig Venter and his team successfully created a synthetic cell in May 2010. Using an existing genome from the simple bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides, the team built up the synthetic cell from scratch. The organism was able to start replicating, resulting in a success of the experiment. For more on this landmark achievement, click here.
Using this development of artificial life, scientists hope that in the future, cells can be created to aid in the biofuel industries or environmental cleanup. For example, cells can be created to purposefully breakdown pollutants in the atmosphere, potentially lowering effects of global warming. As well, if cells were engineered through synthetic biology to have properties such as digesting plastic, this could lessen the negative effects of littering on the earth and aid the future population.
Synthetic DNA and Synthetic Molecules
In recent years, there have been many technological advances in the fields of synthetic DNA and synthetic molecules. Synthetic DNA has numerous advantages over real DNA; for one, synthetic DNA can be mass produced using specific techniques. Manufacturers can design and create synthetic DNA and make genetic code on demand. While this process is still not perfected, there are many viable options for synthetic biologists.
Tom Knight, one of the "fathers of synthetic biology", is the creator of BioBricks, which are standardized synthetic DNA sequences. Each BioBrick will bring out certain characteristics, and as a normalized standard for synthetic biology, BioBricks have garnered much success in ensuring an even, identical DNA sequence component for synthetic biologists.
Knight’s BioBricks began the first process for DNA synthesis. However, Gen9’s BioFab system, developed years later, is a more cost-effective method that can produce tens of thousands of double-stranded DNA fragments for speedy DNA synthesis. This breakthrough in synthetic biology largely allows for all innovators and investors to recreate long strands of DNA fragments even up to thousands of base pairs long at a fraction of the previous cost. This is not only beneficial to consumers but also to investors who are looking at upcoming companies for further profits.
DNA synthesis is an incredibly helpful addition to the biotechnological community. As other biotechnology companies strive to develop new drugs and perhaps methods of gene therapy, the ability to create specific fragments of DNA is revolutionary, as these companies struggle to locate and identify certain genes. As well, this allows for the reconstruction of a gene using its protein product, another novel idea in designing innovative techniques and drugs.
For more on Tom Knight, BioBricks, or synthetic DNA, visit the BioBricks Foundation here, or the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, here.
Tom Knight is highlighted in the "Innovators" subsection of this website. For additional reading, read an article on BioBricks here.
The Future of Synthetic Biology
As synthetic biology is a new and fast moving discipline, it is hard to say for sure what the exact future of synthetic biology is. However, continued breakthroughs in synthetic DNA and molecular circuits ensure that engineering, computer science, and biotechnology will be intertwined more than ever in the coming years.
Timeline
There have been many other achievements in the emerging field of synthetic biology. Below is a simple timeline depicting several of the prominent milestones of this science.
Since the rising popularity of synthetic biology, many more people are becoming aware of the benefits and uses of the resulting technology. Though the timeline above only displays major events up until 2008, there have of course been more developments and breakthroughs.
2010: Craig Venter and his institute created the very first functional synthetic cell.
2011: European scientists rewrite E. coli's genetic code, leading to possible future industrial uses on a large-scale level.
2012: Biomedical engineers Kishida and Silver develop magnetic yeast cells with the potential for therapeutic properties.
2012: Gen9 develops BioFab, a must cheaper and quicker system for DNA synthesis.
2012: George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, releases a book concerning synthetic biology, discussing the possibilities of reconstructing extinct organisms.
2013: Engineers at MIT create molecular circuits capable of performing functions and possessing memory.
For further news and information on the developments of synthetic biology, click here.
