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Genome writing project aims to rally scientists around virus-proofing cells
Launched in 2016 with the sprawling ambition to build large genomes, the synthetic biology initiative known as Genome Project–write (GP-write) is now, slowly, getting down to specifics. Ahead of a meeting today in Boston, GP-write's leadership announced a plan to organize its international group of collaborators around a "community-wide project": engineering cells to resist viral infection.
GP-write's original proposal to design and assemble an entire human genome from scratch seems to have receded from view since the project's rocky launch, when a private meeting of its founders sparked accusations of secrecy and speculations about labmade humans. A proposal published weeks later in Science described GP-write as a decadelong effort to reduce by more than 1000-fold the cost of engineering and testing large genomes consisting of hundreds of millions of DNA letters.
The narrower project announced today—redesigning the genomes of cells from humans and other species to make them "ultrasafe"—represents "a theme that could run through all of GP-write," says geneticist Jef Boeke of New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, who leads the project along with Harvard University geneticist George Church, lawyer Nancy Kelley of Nancy J Kelley + Associates in New York City, and biotechnology catalyst Andrew Hessel of the San Francisco, California–based software company Autodesk Research.
Previously: Genome Project-Write To Attempt Synthesis of Human Genomes
Genome Project-write Still Looking for Funding
(Score: 2) by leftover on Monday May 14 2018, @10:15PM (1 child)
The description, at least when passed through one layer of PR/journalists, reminds me of C-suite suits talking about encryption. "Just flip the 'secure' bit and we are golden." A few things they need to grasp: #1 - The problem is hard, likely in NP-complete territory even for a static snapshot of actors. #2- Bacteria have been under attack by viruses for quite some time now. They are masters of the GA process and they are still susceptible to infections. #3 - Virii are masters of adaptive counter-defense. This armour vs anti-armour game is being played out in minutes per generation with populations that are truly staggeringly large over periods measured in millions of years.
Maybe they would grasp a meme-ified version: Never underestimate the computational bandwidth of a trillion bacteria trying to stay alive.
Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Monday May 14 2018, @11:21PM
And even in the best case, Herr Gödel has something to say about it being foolproof.
It can never be completely certain, but you can lower risk. Just like using antibiotics, they'll work until they don't work any more. Then you have to find a new solution to the Red Queen.