Creating-altering life – The Frankencell

The first film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Novel Frankenstein was released in 1910. The story describes the ambitious work of Dr. Victor Frankenstein to create the most perfect human being the world had ever seen. Finally, one night, his dream was realised… but it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

Exactly one century later, in May 2010, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute created the world’s first self-replicating bacterial cell with a completely synthetic genome. This announcement marked an outstanding scientific milestone in an emerging field of research – Synthetic Biology. The goal of this project and indeed this field is to apply the knowledge and methods of biology, engineering, and other related disciplines in the design of chemically synthesised DNA to create useful products or organisms with novel or enhanced characteristics… sounds like Victor’s idea, doesn’t it ?

Synthetic biology as a field is still in its early stages with its most promising potential benefits or indeed  its challenges not yet realised. The UK was amongst the first to recognise and respond to the opportunities and challenges raised by synthetic biology.

In November 2012, in a major speech at the Royal Society the Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon. George Osborne MP listed Synthetic Biology as one of the “eight GREAT technologies” that will propel the UK to future economic growth. As consequence, the UK government is making a series of investments in research in this interdisciplinary field. For example, the UK Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Boards are devoting over £90 million on world leading synthetic research and commercialisation.

Recently, on July 2013, the Minister for Universities and Science Rt Hon David Willetts announced £1million funding for UK researchers of the international consortium (from the UK, USA, China and India) attempting to build a chromosome for the world’s first synthetic yeast, and a new £10 million Innovation and Knowledge Centre named SynbiCITE that will boost the UK’s ability to translate the emerging field of synthetic biology into application. SynbiCITE will also provide a bridge between academia and industry.

To address the opportunities offered by synthetic biology responsibly, a Synthetic Biology Roadmap for the UK was produced. It takes a holistic view of the innovation process, to anticipate issues and facilitate progression of applications and services towards the ultimate goal of realising a clear vision for a UK synthetic biology sector.

I doubt that in the 1800s Mary Shelley’s had ever envisioned a realistic future for Dr. Victor Frankestein’s aspirations. Synthetic biology has the potential to increase prosperity and address some of the major challenges facing our planet – it can heal us, feed us and fuel us – but one thing is certain in order to prevent the ending of Dr. Victor Frankestein’s dreams, much work needs to be done, and it has to be done responsibly.