A Harvard biologist and master inventor investigates how new biotechnologies can permit the resurrection of extinct species, release massive renewable energy reserves, and extend human life.
In their book Regenesis, George Church and science journalist Ed Regis explore the potential of the nascent discipline of synthetic biology.
Ed Regis George Church
The development of new species of creatures is made possible through synthetic biology, in which considerable sections of the genomes of existing organisms are modified selectively.
Far from the nightmare described in science fiction, these technologies have the potential to improve human and animal health, enhance our intelligence and memory, and possibly lengthen our lifespan.
Regenesis is more than just a guide to the future of life; it provides a spectacular glimpse at the potential of this world-changing technology.
Imagine a world in which humans are immune to all diseases, in which bacteria can custom-make ordinary objects, such as a drinking cup, and in which they also produce enough electricity to eliminate oil dependence. Building a house would need no more effort than planting a seed.
The pioneering geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis demonstrate that synthetic biology is bringing us closer and closer to making these fantasies a reality.
In Regenesis, Church and Regis investigate the potentials and dangers of the growing area of synthetic biology. The development of new species of creatures is made possible through synthetic biology, in which considerable sections of the genomes of existing organisms are modified selectively.
Until now, nature has been the sole arbitrator of life, death, and evolution; now, with the advent of synthetic biology, we can determine our biological future.
As Church and Regis demonstrate, it permits us to revisit important stages in the evolution of life and, using synthetic biological processes, choose alternative paths from those initially chosen by nature. Such endeavors will involve considerably more than microbial manipulation.
Full-scale genome engineering will make astonishing achievements conceivable, such as the resurrection of woolly mammoths and other extinct animals and the creation of mirror life forms with the opposite chemical structure as our own.
Far from the nightmare described in science fiction, these technologies have the potential to improve human and animal health, enhance our intelligence and memory, and possibly lengthen our lifespan.
Regenesis is more than just a guide to the future of life; it provides a spectacular glimpse at the potential of this world-changing technology.
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