The Next Software Revolution
We were en route to a revolution when Alan Turing, a British Mathematician, made the first Turing machine in the year 1936 and with Kilby & Noyce’s invention of the first silicon chip. Since then inventions have gone on at a tempestuous pace; bringing us at heels of the next software revolution. The first revolution was ushered in by printing circuits, encoding zeros and ones on silicon; the second is to come with our ability to code As, Ts, Gs, and Cs which are the building blocks of DNA or with our ability to code biochemistry on living cells themselves.
The thought of an information processing system engenders an image of a computer or an IT system hub. Ironically, we ourselves are made of trillions of such systems, and they are called cells; they are quintessentially tiny information processing systems. Each cell is programmed to perform a specific function, at predefined times, and our most significant task is to understand how these little cells execute such complex tasks, and then to harness their power by programming biology.
Cells in an organism behave as tiny computers, executing molecular level programs. Learning to program biology shall give us enormous power to develop new therapies, program faulty cells or reprogram cells to do things unimaginable. The impact would be so significant that it would pale the first software revolution. If would morph the countenance of medicine, agriculture and energy. Imagine plants which can be programmed to resist diseases, and be perennial rather than seasonal. It would double crop production and ensure food security. It would facilitate the programing of immunity in humans, in animals, to fight diseases of all sorts.
Today, we have a few tools that can make living software feasible; CRISPR helps us in editing genes accurately; one base at a time. Furthering present tools, developing new systems will take time and expertise because the task is much more herculean as the living software bears no resemblance to the ones we have yet developed; the job of parlaying the present knowledge is uphill one.
These living software (living cells) can regenerate, reorganise and operate at a molecular scale that fits perfectly to develop a well-functioning macro-system. From responding to changes in weather, water and sunlight conditions to nutritional requirements, plants tackle a wide range of complex calculations without a brain, hence there has to be a program in plants that enables them to respond to their environment.
The most interesting are the embryonic cells, which have the potential of becoming any type of cell, and tapping into the science behind the decisions taken by embryonic cells holds a powerful secret that if harnessed can give incredible power to humans to create any type cell they like.
In 2007, scientists have already accomplished a great feat; they inserted a few genes to send the skins cells back into the embryonic state. The process is called reprogramming and if perfected, could be of fantastic use because it would give us the power to send any cell to its naive state and build any organ we like. Even after a decade of effort, the present processes are inefficient, and there is a lack of fundamental understanding of how the living cell works.
To understand the function of a living cell, scientists compared it with the software they write, which define what that software should do. Unlocking genetic coding by observation, for instance, if Gene A is inactive, then gene B & C are also inactive. This simplistic example illustrates the approach to unlock the genetic program, but at a highly sophisticated level.
Scientists have been able to develop a program that explains the regression of a cell back into the embryonic state. This feat reconciles so many different observations into a program; it is highly predictive and was even lab tested. It predicted how the gene would regress to the naive state; which gene would switch on and in what sequence. So, the program allows us to understand the computation carried by the cell in the context of genetic interactions. The imperative need is to develop a broader understanding of biological computation and at different levels.
A century ago, it would have been impossible even to imagine how much progress would be made, and here we are at this point in history, trying to gauge the potential transformation, the power of biological computation will result in. This powerful technology could also run the risk of misuse. In the hullabaloo of scientific breakthrough, the ethical concerns can not, and must not be relegated to the second spot.
The potential to change things is enormous. We could unlock the mystery of how plants harness solar energy so efficiently and use it to build better solar cells by printing those programs into synthetic DNA circuits that offer material for better solar cells.
We are at the beginning of a technological revolution which will culminate in the creation of an operating system that runs a living software. Hail the new world!
