Freiburg University 2006

From 2006.igem.org

Revision as of 16:00, 13 April 2006

Welcome! We play without rules.

Project

• [http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~kouznet/BioVLSI.pdf Very Large-Scale Integration design in Biology]

• [http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~kouznet/life6000.pdf Life with a price of 6000 €]

Now we see it could be cheaper, but it will need a great intellectual impact. So, we’re opened for sponsors.

Comments

As I understand it, the idea is to create a "life automaton" consisting of 6 proteins? That is what I took out of your proposal. That seems quite ambitioned, but I can't really judge it, and even if it is quite ambitioned, that does not mean that it is bad, of course.

My understanding says that you are using 6000 € for denovo synthesis of 6 genes required for making minimal life. Right?

So, what if after all the simulations and tests on the computer, you order the DNA for minimal life and it turns out that it doesn't work... What will you do then?

This is because biology is unpredictable and you must not assume that the DNA which you order will work in the first time itself... You must keep some backup money or plans...

OK, fine.. So you want to go in a completely different direction by creating alternative life.. Good.. All the best for this project.

Well, if you want to go to the extremes then are you limiting yourself to already established phenomena such as DNA, membranes, etc. You may want to adopt a completely new and novel ideas which might be simpler than DNA and other stuff of the normal cell.

So, keep all the options open. Research the literature well and create Artificial Life...

You have to separate specifically the general and specific objectives to long and short time; implications, obstacles and limitations.

Questions

• - Dilettante: "Where is a place of synthetic biology here - good old gene engineering >> bio-nanotechnology >> orthogonal life >> artificial life?"
  - Expert: "Hmmm..."
• - Professor: "What is new in Synthetic Biology?"
  - Student: "Wiki!!!"

These peoples do great things

Albert Libchaber [http://www.rockefeller.edu/research/abstract.php?id=93] Carlos Bustamante's [http://alice.berkeley.edu/ lab] David Deamer [http://www.chemistry.ucsc.edu/deamer_d.html] Eric Kool’s [http://www.stanford.edu/group/kool/ group] Fred Menger’s [http://www.chemistry.emory.edu/faculty/menger/index.html group] Jack Szostak’s [http://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/szostakweb/ lab] Norman Packard’s [http://www.protolife.net/ Protolife] Pier Luigi Luisi’s [http://www.plluisi.org/index.html group] Steven Benner’s [http://www.chem.ufl.edu/groups/benner/ group]