Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Synthetic biology manipulates the stuff of life. For synthetic biologists, living matter is programmable material. In search of carbon-neutral fuels, sustainable manufacturing techniques, and innovative drugs, these researchers aim to redesign existing organisms and even construct completely novel biological entities. Some synthetic biologists see themselves as designers, inventing new products and applications. But if biology is viewed as a malleable, engineerable, designable medium, what is the role of design and how will its values apply?

In this book, synthetic biologists, artists, designers, and social scientists investigate synthetic biology and design. After chapters that introduce the science and set the terms of the discussion, the book follows six boundary-crossing collaborations between artists and designers and synthetic biologists from around the world, helping us understand what it might mean to 'design nature.' These collaborations have resulted in biological computers that calculate form; speculative packaging that builds its own contents; algae that feeds on circuit boards; and a sampling of human cheeses. They raise intriguing questions about the scientific process, the delegation of creativity, our relationship to designed matter, and, the importance of critical engagement. Should these projects be considered art, design, synthetic biology, or something else altogether?

Synthetic biology is driven by its potential; some of these projects are fictions, beyond the current capabilities of the technology. Yet even as fictions, they help illuminate, question, and even shape the future of the field.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

A goal of most kinds of technology is to "black box" the science behind the technology; for example, a car's driver does not necessarily need to know how the engine works in order to drive the car. Biology is now at the same point. Though biologists do not know everything about how living things work, they have elucidated some of the most critical parts, as evidenced by rapid advances in genetics and medicine. Scientists are currently exploring many of the engineering applications of biological knowledge in a field known as synthetic biology. The authors of this book, all pioneers and practitioners in this rapidly changing field, provide a wealth of examples of current projects in synthetic biology, complete with images. In fact, one can spend quite some time just looking at the fascinating and sometimes unsettling images used to explain the science. This wide-ranging and highly specialized book is definitely not suitable for every audience, but readers with backgrounds in genetics, microbiology, medicine, and even art will find plenty to think about in its intriguing and visionary pages. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. --Randall K. Harris, William Carey University