Fast, cheap and somewhat in control.docVIP

Opinion Fast, cheap and somewhat in control Adam P Arkin*??, Daniel A Fletcher?§ Addresses: *Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ?Physical Biosciences Division, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ?Virtual Institute of Microbial Stress and Survival, Berkeley, CA 94710, USA. §Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Correspondence: Adam P Arkin. E-mail: aparkin@ Published: 30 August 2006 Genome Biology 2006, 7:114 (doi:10.1186/gb-2006-7-8-114) The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at /2006/7/8/114 ? 2006 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract Efforts to manipulate living organisms have raised the question of whether engineering principles of hierarchy, abstraction and design can be applied to biological systems. Here, we consider the practical challenges to controlling living organisms that must be surmounted, or at least managed, if synthetic biology and cellular bioengineering are to be productive. Manipulating biology through the ages industries of the 20th century [2]. After the introduction of The natural world around us is not quite so natural. Over many generations, societies have engaged in a struggle to mold nature to serve the needs, real and perceived, of their members. From cultivating grains to mining coal, we have sought to address local and global demands for food, genetically engineered herbicide- and insect-resistant crops in 1995, genetically engineered maize is now more than 20% of the US crop, and approximately 80% of the US soybean crop is now genetically engineered [3]. shelter, health, and convenience through technology Engineered biological systems are being used to address a wide variety of society’s needs. Examples include the pro- duction of insulin and more than 200 o