Check out Darpa’s latest bright idea: to fund “multidisciplinary research proposals in the area of genomic and proteomic technologies that can continuously and persistently record specific natural or human promulgated environmental, physical and genomic events within the genetic or epigenetic systems of microorganisms.”
Sounds to me like Darpa wants to create a digital spy technology that is encoded into the genes of a living bug. It will apparently record and report on any modifications being made to the bug itself – kind of like the Track Changes option in your Word document.
Why would Darpa care about changes in this particular bug, you ask? Because it might be patented. Patented genes and microbes are precious bio-commodities in the research world. Essentially, Darpa wants to invent a tech tool to protect their intellectual property – in this case, mutant bacteria and viruses – from other scientists. The program is called Chronicle of Lineage Indicative of Origins, or “CLIO.”
There’s been a prolonged rumpus over the question of genetic patents. Basically, if you have a gene patent, it means you’ve managed to isolate a new gene from a microbe and it’s yours to profit from. So now, no one else can make, use, sell or study that gene, without your permission.
But it’s hard to keep track of who is violating the patent laws by playing with genes that don’t belong to them. How to catch the culprits? Darpa’s solution: build an electronic scribe into the bug’s genes. It will track any manipulation of the microbial genome and be able to spot misuse in a moment.
The mere idea is vaguely comprehensible, at best. Think about turning it into a reality and it stumps you. There are barely any prototypes or precedents for this kind of technology. Not only does Darpa want to create recording “tags,” they also want these tags to remain immutable and somehow resist microbe evolution. The way they plan to do this is “possibly a complex mathematical approach.”
They also want the technology to provide secure access to a select few hands — a sort of encrypted password system for genes. Darpa prides itself on far-out research. But password-protected genes? That’s beyond the bleeding edge.
Via: "Wired"
No comments:
Post a Comment