The cell is the foundation of all life. This fundamental unit has given rise to a vast array of organisms, some unicellular and some multicellular. But what if we changed this view, instead considering these life-carrying elements as small machines? Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginko Bioworks, seeks to make this kind of thinking into a reality. Kelly views cells much akin to that of a computer, with a coding language made out of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and tyrosine. As Kelly puts it, "synthetic biology is programming cells like we program computers, by changing the DNA code inside them"1. Ginko has already implemented this methodology in a variety of fields, such as fragrances and flavorings. One of their largest bioengineered flavorings is synthetic mint, which Kelly believes is the "biggest flavor ingredients out there"1. Kelly states that the next target of this technology is the fertilizer industry, replacing nitrogen-based fertilizers that create runoff and greenhouse gas emissions with simple seed treatments. Through synthetic biology, Kelly hopes that his company will innovate and provide novel solutions to the most environmentally unfriendly and expensive problems we face in society.
(1) Weber, J. (2019, November 6). Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Wants Biology to Manufacture Physical Goods. Retrieved November 8, 2019, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-06/ginkgo-bioworks-ceo-w....
Comments
Grammar
The "view cells much akin to that of a computer" portion of the fifth sentence is grammatically incorrect, and might be replaced with something like "Kelly views cells much like computers".
Synthetic mint
When quoting Kelly "biggest flavor ingredients out there", the sentence leading up should say "which Kelly believes is one of the" not just "believes is the". Either that or remove the 's' from ingredients.
Starting sentence with "But"
"But what if we changed this view, instead considering these life-carrying elements as small machines?" Is there a way to reword this so it doesnt start with the word "but?"