One of the big drivers of the future will be synthetic biology, the art of using DNA to program bacteria or yeast cells so that they will produce something useful. There are plenty of examples. DNA can be used to make fertiliser, to change the taste of food, to resurrect the scent of extinct flowers.
And this is just the beginning. As we learn more about nature’s code the only limits to what can be achieved may be the limits of human imagination. Will we have chairs built by cells out of tusk ivory? Future DNA coders who can program an arm for you? Or, frighteningly, DNA programs that are used to create bioweapons. A, C, G, and T programming will become much more important than the old 0 and 1 programming.
Come and test your imaginations at GeekSpeak. Bring your brought-back-to-life dinosaur and your friends!
IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.
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