Anthropology & Synthetic Biology. Neither models nor miracles: a look at synthetic biology. The 20th century broke open both the atom and the human genome.
Physics deftly imposed mathematical order on the upwelling of particles. Now, in the 21st century, systems biology aims to fit equations to living matter, creating mathematical models that promise new insight into disease and cures. But, after a decade of effort and growth in computing power, models of cells and organs remain crude. Researchers are retreating from complexity towards simpler systems. And, perversely, ever-expanding data are making models more complicated instead of accurate. On Biotechnology Without Borders. Can the reengineering of biology be coupled to the spread of tools and knowledge sufficient to improve the health of people and the environment worldwide?
We believe the answer is yes, albeit with much work to be accomplished both technically and culturally. Practically, a comprehensive overhaul of the process by which living systems are engineered is needed. Legal, political, and cultural innovations are also required to collectively insure that the resulting knowledge and tools are freely availably to those who would use them constructively. Synthetic Aesthetics. WHAK! [KEVIN KELLY:] The main question that I'm asking myself is, what is the meaning of technology in our lives?
What place does technology have in the universe? What place does it have in the human condition? And what place should it play in my own personal life?