The DNA molecule is literally encoding information into alphabetic or digital form.
DNA is the software of life.
Because what we know from experience is that information always comes from an intelligence.
Where there is information, there is a mind. Where there is information-infused life, there is a Creator.
DNA is made up of information and instructions.
Reality informs us, and we mutate accordingly.
Now, researchers have developed a programming language that will allow the toolmakers of the future to “program” living cells, outfitting them with DNA encoded circuits that confer a host of new functions on the “hacked” organism.
Genetic engineering is undergoing a revolution, where next-generation technologies for DNA and host manipulation are enabling larger and more ambitious projects in biotechnology.
Automated DNA synthesis has advanced to where it is routine to order sequences >100,000bp where every base is user-specified, the turnaround time is several weeks, and the cost is rapidly declining.
Recently, this facilitated the synthesis of a complete 1 Mbp genome of a bacterium and its transfer into a new host, resulting in a living cell.
It is literally a programming language for bacteria. You use a text-based language, just like you’re programming a computer.
Then you take that text and you compile it and it turns it into a DNA sequence that you put into the cell, and the circuit runs inside the cell.”
Essentially, you start with the ability you want to program into the bacterium say, detecting the presence of certain harmful chemicals.
You write up a program describing it, and a DNA sequence is created that will achieve the desired function.
The new language, has already been used to create biological circuits that can respond to up to three inputs in different ways.
And its implications for medical technology, agriculture, and even biological computing are simply staggering.
But the really revolutionary aspect of the new programming language is that it can be used by literally anyone.
It’s genetic engineering for the masses. The designers even plan to make the language’s user interface universally available on the Internet.
The designers based their language on Verilog, a popular coding language for programming computer chips.
The key to making the whole thing work was tailoring the language to the complex conditions within cells; they had to make computing elements like logic gates that could be slipped into a bacterial genome.
Furthermore, the language is easily customizable. Right now, the genetic elements are specialized for the E. coli genome.
But the researchers are working on a means for allowing designers to write a single code, which could then be translated to fit the genomes of other organisms.
And the speed of the new method means that DNA circuits that would normally take years to design and build now require the mere touch of a button.
The appearance of this new biological programming language represents something of a game-changer.
It means we can start to have a say in our biological destiny, and that we can likewise control the destinies of the living things with which we share the planet.
In the meantime, the researchers are looking to design practical applications for the technology—including ingestible bacteria that can aid in lactose processing, bacteria that can colonize plant roots and generate toxins to ward off insect attacks, and self-regulating yeast strains that automatically “shut off” when producing harmful byproducts in fermentation reactions.