Chinese scholars explore a new stage in the development of synthetic biology

From "trial and error" to "design", Chinese scholars explore a new stage in the development of synthetic biology

From "trial and error" to "design", Chinese scholars explore a new stage of synthetic biology development.

Is it "difficult" to synthesize life?

There have been countless artificial synthetic starches that have caused a sensation to "absorb powder", but few people understand that the efficiency of artificial synthesis is 7 times higher than that of natural synthesis.
"Trial and error"
.

Is it possible to have less trial and error or even no trial and error, bid farewell to the similar "handwork workshop" stage of synthetic biology, and let the next "synthesis" realize rational design and function prediction?

"Forecast assumes a life process 'true understanding', modeling, design synthesis in the 'true understanding' basis, in order to improve efficiency to achieve the desired objectives
.

" In the Xiangshan Science Conference held recently, China Kexue Yuan academician , molecular Microbiologist Zhao Guoping told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that this will be the goal of the next stage of synthetic biology

Academician of the Academy of Sciences

Experts at the meeting believed that synthetic biology should be pushed to a new development stage of quantitative synthetic biology through the establishment of quantitative theoretical models, the formation of artificial intelligence data sets, and the use of engineering biology platforms
.

Speaking from an imminent application

Speaking from an imminent application

"Cell therapy has been done for so many years, and I feel that I can't do it anymore, but with synthetic biology, I feel hope has come again
.

" Tian Zhigang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor of the School of Life Sciences of the University of Science and Technology of China, said it was true

academician

Designable, controllable, and predictable are an important condition for cells to be approved for use in humans as drugs, and they are also the goal of synthetic biology
.

Tian Zhigang gave an example: The CAR-T cell therapy that is currently on the market that is expected to cure B lymphoma is mainly to kill B cell lymphoma with CD19 "features".
Imagine sending a team to search with "portraits".
Squad, track down a cell with "crispy" on the face, and this small team will kill the "crimped" cell when it sees it
.

So the problem is that the immune B cells in the human body are all "carried" (that is, they are labeled with CD19)

globulin

However, the CAR-T cell squad designed by humans can carry a "logic gate" circuit to determine the "logic" of the possibility of side reactions during the treatment process, so as to automatically terminate the dispatch of killers at a critical stage
.

"Light, heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, chemicals, etc.

Design ability is limited, still relying on massive "trial and error"

Design ability is limited, still relying on massive "trial and error"

"The development of synthetic biology, makes building control, complex artificial biological systems possible
.

" China Ke Xueyuan researcher at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology Liuchen Li said

Academy of Sciences

The limited design capabilities have caused the current situation in which synthetic biology is highly dependent on massive "artificial trial and error"
.

"The construction and optimization of most artificial biological systems still rely on trial and error, lacking the ability of rational design, and difficult to achieve quantitative control
.

The higher the complexity of the biological system, the less the ability of rational design

It can be seen that the massive "manual trial and error" stage is not only difficult to achieve "quantitative control" with quality and quantity, but also limits the synthesis of systems that achieve complex goals
.

To put it bluntly, at this stage, it is still far from trying to synthesize a "life computer"
.

To achieve predictability and design, synthesis and quantitative integration are required

To achieve predictability and design, synthesis and quantitative integration are required

So, at which stage can we design a complex and rigorous synthetic life system similar to a computer? Experts at the meeting believed that synthetic biology should explore the stage of quantitative synthetic biology
.

"The concept of quantitative biology has been in existence for a long time, and now it is necessary to rationally use quantitative models as synthetic guidance, and use synthetic tests to verify quantitative models.
This kind of'fusion and convergence' is quantitative synthetic biology
.

" Zhao Guoping explained , This is an advanced step in the theoretical framework and technical system of synthetic biology

Zhong ASTRI ASTRI

How to quantify? Benefiting from the development of molecular biology, big data, artificial intelligence and other disciplines, the participating experts proposed a "black box model" centered on artificial intelligence machine learning and a "white box model" based on experimental dimensional theory and engineering verification.
Model" two ways
.

For example, the "black box" model is realized by using the rapid analytical advantages of machine learning algorithms to realize the rational design and function prediction of synthetic biology
.

Saying goodbye to "handwork workshops" will bring deeper disciplinary responsibility for synthetic biology
.

It not only carries the human cognition of nature and life
.
"Social property embodied in synthetic biology contribute to the community, to respond to social concerns," Zhong Keyuan researcher at the Institute of Biophysics Zhang Xianen pointed out by quantitative synthetic biology, supporting universal realization of the goals of synthetic biology will eventually understand the mechanism of life (Creation for knowledge) and giving back to human society (Creation for use)
.

Zhong ASTRI ASTRI