(Press-News.org) Scientists working on biological design should focus on the idiosyncrasies of biological systems over optimisation, according to new research.
In a study, published today in Science Advances, researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Ghent have shown how exploring the unknown may be the crucial step needed to realise the continual innovation needed for the biotechnologies of the future.
Recognising the role of open-endedness in achieving this goal and its growing importance in fields like computer science and evolutionary biology, the team mapped out how open-endedness is linked to bioengineering practice today and what would be required to achieve it in the lab.
For success, algorithms used for biological design should not solely focus on moving toward a specific goal – such as better yield – but also consider the creation and maintenance of novelty and diversity in the solutions that have been found.
Dr Thomas Gorochowski, co-author and Royal Society University Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at Bristol, explained: “When we try to design a complex biological process, it’s often tempting to just tweak something that partially works rather than take the risk of trying something completely new.
“In this work we highlight that in these situations the best solutions often come from unexpected directions, because we don’t always fully understand how everything works. With biology, there are lots of unknowns and so we need a vast and diverse toolkit of building blocks to ensure we have the best chance of finding the solution we need.”
Professor Michiel Stock, lead author from Ghent University, added: “Biological systems have a natural capacity for innovation that has led to the overwhelming biodiversity we see in nature today.
“Our own attempts to engineer biology, in contrast, lack this creativity – they are far more rigid, less imaginative, and often doesn’t make the best use of what biology is capable of.
“With all life around us originating from the open-ended process of evolution, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could harness some of that power for our own biological designs.”
The ability to create new biotechnologies is becoming increasingly important for tackling global challenges spanning the sustainable production of chemicals, materials and food, to advanced therapeutics to combat emerging diseases. Fueling this progress are innovations in how biology can be harnessed in new ways. This work supports this goal by offering a fresh direction for new research and design approaches.
The study was made possible due to a travel grant from the FWO Flanders and funding from the Royal Society, BBSRC and EPSRC.
Paper:
‘Open-endedness in synthetic biology: a route to continual innovation for biological design’ by Michiel Stock and Thomas E. Gorochowski in Science Advances (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi3621)
END
Endless biotechnological innovation requires a creative approach
2024-01-19
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
The secret life of CD4+ T cells: from helpers to melanoma fighters
2024-01-19
In the study led by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) and published in Science Immunology, the researchers found that CD4+ T cells, traditionally called ‘helper T cells’ for their role in aiding the activation of other immune cells, are remarkably effective in controlling melanoma.
University of Melbourne’s Dr Emma Bawden, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Doherty Institute and lead author of the study, said this discovery challenges the conventional understanding of the role of CD4+ T cells in cancer immunity.
“Our ...
Study says ice age could help predict oceans’ response to global warming
2024-01-19
A team of scientists led by a Tulane University oceanographer has found that deposits deep under the ocean floor reveal a way to measure the ocean oxygen level and its connections with carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere during the last ice age, which ended more than 11,000 years ago.
The findings, published in Science Advances, help explain the role oceans played in past glacial melting cycles and could improve predictions of how ocean carbon cycles will respond to global warming.
Oceans adjust atmospheric CO2 as ice ages transition to warmer climates by releasing the greenhouse ...
From snack to science: Innovative grant brings popcorn into the classroom
2024-01-19
URBANA, Ill. — In a few years, popcorn could become a standard element in science classrooms across Illinois and the nation. With funding from a new USDA grant, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign crop scientist and collaborating educators are developing a popcorn-based curriculum to reinforce concepts around agricultural science, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, computer science, genomics, research methods, and more for 4-H and high school students.
The funding may be new, but Tony Studer has proselytized ...
The case of a patient with multiple myeloma cured after hepatitis treatment reveals that this cancer can be caused by viruses, and opens up new treatment options
2024-01-19
Hepatitis C and B viruses are one of the causes of this type of cancer –a most frequent on in blood–, and the pathologies that precede it, known as gammopathies.
Early identification of an infection with these viruses can help doctors to prescribe appropriate treatment and prevent it from leading to malignant pathologies.
The research has been discussed in an editorial article in the journal Haematologica
A few years ago, a patient was cured of multiple myeloma after being treated for hepatitis C, astounding researchers from the group led by Joaquín ...
Why family businesses get more from women leaders
2024-01-19
Family businesses account for more than 70 percent of global GDP, and survey data shows that they are much friendlier to female leadership: up to 55 percent have at least one woman on their board and 70 percent are considering a woman for their next CEO. Experts have attributed this outlier gender parity to an emphasis on long-term strategies or family values. But a new study, published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, suggests that women’s success as leaders in family businesses is deeply rooted in how employees interpret their leadership style.
“Family firms tend to focus on being inclusive ...
Wobbling particles in the sky
2024-01-19
The atmosphere contains many tiny solid particles. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) and the University of Göttingen in collaboration with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France and the university of Gothenburg, Sweden, now studied how such non-spherical particles settle in air. For this, they used a new precision apparatus equipped with high-speed cameras and a novel particle injection mechanism. Using a 3D-printer, they created particles of different shapes resembling discs of thickness as low as 50 micrometer and rods of length as high as 880 micrometers. Thanks to this setup, they could observe that particles ...
Hiring globally mobile, highly specialized workers after their firm’s failure can be a strategic move, despite a loss of legitimacy
2024-01-19
New research published in Global Strategy Journal identifies globally mobile workers with highly specialized skills as a strategic hiring strategy, due to the workers’ legitimacy and mobility after being laid off by a failure of their former employer. The study shows that laid-off workers experience comparatively high legitimacy loss if they worked in the unit or geographical location where other workers were suspected of being responsible for the corporation’s failure. As a result, their bargaining position with a prospective employer is weaker, even if their special skills ...
New study demonstrates the importance of diverse social ties to entrepreneurship, even in divided societies
2024-01-19
We’ve known for a decade that political affiliation increasingly affects Americans’ everyday lives, including where they live, whom they befriend, and whom they welcome as in-laws. A recent Cato Institute survey revealed that nearly a third of Americans worry that voicing their political views could even harm their employment. This intensifying political tribalism, especially during an election year, threatens to limit the social networks vital to entrepreneurs. However a new study, published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, offers an example of how to connect across political entrenchment from a surprising ...
DNA origami folded into tiny motor
2024-01-19
Scientists have created the world’s first working nanoscale electromotor, according to research published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The science team designed a turbine engineered from DNA that is powered by hydrodynamic flow inside a nanopore, a nanometer-sized hole in a membrane of solid-state silicon nitride.
The tiny motor could help spark research into future applications such as building molecular factories for useful chemicals or medical probes of molecules inside the bloodstream to detect diseases such as cancer.
“Common macroscopic machines become inefficient at the nanoscale,” said ...
How firms frame training programs for gig workers boosts promotion and uptake of the programs, strengthening the bond between worker and company
2024-01-19
General skills training programs for those hired under flexible arrangements can strengthen the relationship between firm and worker, thus benefiting both groups. But for that to happen, the programs need to have strong buy-in from both managers and workers. A new study published in Strategic Management Journal found the use of relational terms to frame training programs is key: Such phrasing makes managers more likely to promote the programs and increases uptake among the gig or contract workers.
The research team included Thomaz Teodorovicz of Copenhagen Business School, Sérgio Lazzarini of Western ...