A few weeks ago we recorded a conversation with George Church, a Harvard University geneticist and one of the founders of modern genomics. In the resulting podcast, you'll hear Church offer his thoughts on the coming transformation of medicine, whether genes should be patentable, and whether the public is prepared to deal with genetic data.

Here's how Church characterizes the state of genomics:

"It's kind of like '93 on the Web. In fact, in a certain sense, it's more sophisticated than electronics because we have inherited three billion years of amazing technology that was just like a spaceship that was parked in our back yard and we're just reverse-engineering and probably not fully utilizing even the stuff that we've discovered so far."

For more about this episode and links related to the things we discussed, visit http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/07/podcast-george-church-genomics-spaceship-parked-in-our-back-yard.html

[Thumbnail image courtesy Harvard University Center for the Environment]

More on this episode

George Church on genomics: "Like a spaceship that was parked in our back yard"

The age of bio-inspired technology is upon us. Whether it's DNA as data storage, transparent displays based on mollusk shells, or surveillance robots modeled after swarming bees, the possibilities abound for natural systems to serve as patterns for the products of the future.

In this episode of The Digital Life we consider the evolution of the designer as technologist and engineer in conjunction with the ever expanding importance of bio-inspired technologies.

Get the full transcript: 
http://thedigitalife.com/bull-session/designing-bio-inspired-technology



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Designing Bio-inspired Technology

Dr. “George Church is one of the most brilliant scientists in the world,” says Steven Pinker on the front cover of Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves.

Regenesis is the recent book that Church wrote together with Ed Regis, where the authors “imagine a future in which human beings have become immune to all viruses, in which bacteria can custom-produce everyday items, like a drinking cup, or generate enough electricity or biofuel to end oil dependency. Building a house would entail no more work than planting a seed in the ground…”

These are just few low-hanging fruits that the tree of synthetic biology may provide for us. So why is it that some scared pundits are calling it “the most dangerous idea”?!…

During my Singularity 1 on 1 interview with George Church we discuss the above plus a variety of other topics such as: how he got interested in genetics and why he considers himself more of a technologist and inter-disciplinarian; the synthetic biology revolution of the past few years (beating Moore’s Law by a factor of 6); his views on religion; his dyslexia, high cholesterol and other mutations; 23andMe and DNA testing in general; the difference between genetics and synthetic biology; transhumanism, faith, mirror organisms and mirror humans; intellectual property rights and patenting living organisms; genomics and longevity…

My two favorite quotes from Dr. Church are:

“Inactivity and complacency are the most dangerous ideas… and assuming things will be fine if we do nothing.”

“We should not assume things will stay the way they are. Or that inactivity is the right path.”

George Church: Inactivity and Complacency Are The Most Dangerous Ideas

Debbie Millman talks with Krista Tippett about her religious orientation, her struggle with depression, and about why it's so hard to understand our historical moment. 

Krista Tippett

A look into the future of design. The Studio is a new publication by Crew that takes a look at the lives, stories and inspiration behind today’s top agencies and creative professionals.

The Studio - Iain Roberts of IDEO

Gil, co-founder of a start-up that tests your genes for genetic mutations that can lead to cancer, explains why – after selling his last company to Twitter and helping start Google’s mobile offerings – low-cost DNA testing was his next focus. Podcast with Laura Mandaro of USA TODAY and Shruti Gandhi of Array Ventures.

Color Genomics’ Elad Gil: From Google and Twitter to the human genome

On The Digital Life podcast this week, we chat about the Human Genome Project Write. Synthetic biologists are building the engineering blueprint for life: a human cell that contains all the DNA it needs to produce more human cells. Such a blueprint could be a significant step towards major medical breakthroughs, including wiping out genetic diseases. 

Synthetic biologists build DNA using specialized bio-informatics design software to write the code. In the lab, this DNA code is then chemically synthesized. The software tools for this process, however, are still at their formative stages, and lack the necessary abstraction layer. Synthetic biologists must still work at the most basic level of DNA code—the A,C,G, and Ts—unlike, say computer coders who usually stay several layers above the 0s and 1s. 

Some of the other challenges this project will face include creating a legal framework and policy to govern the technology, establishing rules around intellectual property, and even coming to a shared understanding of ethical boundaries and prohibitions across the genomic research community. Join us as we discuss.

The Digital Life

The Human Genome Project Write

The Digital Life http://www.thedigitalife.com is an online radio show that explores important, timely topics in the world of design and emerging technologies like genomics, robotics, and the Internet of Things.

The show is created by GoInvo http://www.goinvo.com, a studio designing the future of healthcare, whose clients include market leaders like Apple, Johnson and Johnson, and Walgreens, as well as micro startups that will create the markets of the future.

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tdlpodcast

The Human Genome Project Write

The Digital Life Podcast

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