Programmable Planet: The Synthetic Biology Revolution
A new science is reengineering the fabric of life. Synthetic biology offers bold new ways of manufacturing medicines, clothing, foods, fragrances, and fuels, often using microbe fermentation, much like brewing beer. The technology can help confront climate change, break down industrial pollutants, and fight novel viruses. Today, researchers are manipulating life forms and automating evolution to create vegetarian "meat," renewable construction materials, and cancer treatments. In the process, they are changing our concept of what life science can achieve. Is this a new industrial and information revolution--or dangerous tinkering that could unleash unintended consequences?
Programmable Planet is a grand tour through the world of synthetic biology, telling the stories of the colorful visionaries whose ideas are shaping discoveries. Ted Anton explores the field from its beginning in fighting malaria in Africa to the COVID vaccines and beyond. Covering medical and agricultural triumphs and blunders, he examines successes in energy production, plant gene editing, and chemical manufacturing, as well as the most controversial attempts at human gene enhancement. This book reports from the front lines of research, showing policy makers' struggle to stay abreast of the technologies they aim to regulate. Even-handed, lively, and informative, Programmable Planet gives a glimpse of the promise and problems of a new biology-based industry.Earn by promoting books
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If you've ever wondered about the promise--and the peril--of synthetic biology and its power to transform life, then Programmable Planet is the book for you. Ted Anton's exploration of both the history and the future of the ways we engineer life is incisive, engaging, and downright fascinating.--Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety in the Early Twentieth Century
Programmable Planet is a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read. Anton is an expert storyteller who blends the human element with cutting-edge science like a synthetic biologist engineering a novel organism. Timely and at times provocative, the book provides a wonderful grounding for those interested in learning more about synthetic biology's promise and threat. And we should all be interested in learning more.--Aoife Brennan, president and chief executive officer, Synlogic
In this rollicking compendium, Anton documents a huge number of ways synthetic biology can be used in practice, embedding these examples in the experiences of the people involved.--Drew Endy, Stanford University
