S5.18 The Genesis Machine
Kat: Hello, and welcome to Genetics Unzipped - the Genetics Society podcast, with me, Dr Kat Arney. In this episode we’re exploring the frontiers of genetic engineering and synthetic biology with Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel, authors of the new book The Genesis Machine - taking a look at what’s possible now, what’s coming fast in the future, and what we as individuals and wider society should do about it.
Imagine a world where creating an entirely new organism is as easy as ordering a customised T-shirt online - you just type in the genetic code you want into a software platform, and a specialist firm will string together DNA to your exact specifications.
Or a world where a rogue biohacker exploits a security loophole in that DNA ordering service to unleash an unstoppable pathogen.
More positively, how about a world where fertility clinics can offer couples the option of creating a baby from eggs and sperm created from their own reprogrammed skin cells, rather than relying on genetically unrelated donors. Where aging no longer happens thanks to gene therapy. Or where you can chow down on a cruelty-free giant panda burger made from genetically engineered lab-grown cells.
Since the earliest days of genetic engineering in the mid-20th century, scientists have been pushing the boundaries of what it’s possible to do with the underlying code of life, DNA. With the advent of high-speed DNA sequencing technology, genome engineering tools like CRISPR, rapidly improving methods for synthesizing DNA in the lab and an explosion of software and AI, we’re entering a whole new world of biology.
Not only do these genetic engineering tools bring potentially huge advantages for society in terms of health, wealth and wellbeing, they also bring risks and dangers. So what’s actually possible, versus scaremongering science fiction? What’s coming fast down the pipeline that we need to know and think about? And how - and who - decides how this stuff should be regulated?
Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel: the genesis of The Genesis Machine
All of these questions - as well as the scenarios I outlined - are explored in a new book called The Genesis Machine: Our quest to rewrite life in the age of synthetic biology. It’s authors are Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Institute, who spends her time digging into the technologies that are changing the world, and Andrew Hessel, a geneticist who comes from the frontiers of genomic science and is the co-founder of Humane Genomics, a company creating novel gene therapies, and Genome Project-write - an international collaboration accelerating the development of DNA synthesis technologies.
That’s all for now. Thanks to my guests Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel, and their book The Genesis Machine is available from all good - and all evil - bookshops
We’ll be back next time with another biblical-sounding episode - looking at the origins and evolution of photosynthesis. Let there be light!
For more information about this podcast including show notes, transcripts, links, references, music credits and everything else head over to geneticsunzipped.com You can find us on Twitter @geneticsunzip and please do take a moment to rate and review us on Apple podcasts - it really makes a difference and helps more people discover the show.
This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by me, Kat Arney. It is produced by First Create the Media for The Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies dedicated to promoting research, training, teaching and public engagement in all areas of genetics. You can find out more and apply to join at genetics.org.uk. Our theme music was composed by Dan Pollard, and the logo was designed by James Mayall, and audio production was by Sally Le Page and Emma Werner. Thanks for listening, and until next time, goodbye.
