Today's paradigm of rapidly advancing technology is not only accelerating, but converging, self-reinforcing and merging. Metabolic Engineering is an excellent example of information technology, biotechnology, materials science and nanotechnology being blended to achieve an end result that none on an individual basis would likely achieve. We have been creating hybrid crops with desireable characteristics for many decades (if not centuries), but the difference here is that the intervention is much more direct, the end result more pre-defined and the organisms used go well beyond crops and different breeds of livestock. While there are certainly risks, and there will likely a multitude of unforeseen and undesireable results, we are entering an age where "hit & miss" will be increasing replaced with "aim & fire". Please see the following link for more background on metabolic engineering:
The Future of Metabolic Engineering – Designer Molecules, Cells and Microorganisms « Berkeley Lab News Center
No comments:
Post a Comment