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Photoshop for DNA

Posted by Zonk on from the mix-your-own-nematode dept.

pafischer writes "Forbes is reporting on a Biotech startup company trying to make DNA manipulation as easy as Photoshop. From the article: 'The goal is to move from having to merely tweak the proteins that are used as biotech drugs to being able to design them, even taking material from multiple organisms and using them to create new, functional genes.'"

5 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Oh No! by justforaday · · Score: 4, Funny

    Judging from the quality of some of the Photoshopped images I've seen out there, I really don't want to see what people will create with this...

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
  2. bad article summary from bad article title by geoffspear · · Score: 4, Informative
    The title of the linked article is the only part that even mentions Photoshop. Nowhere in the article does anyone claim that the process would be as easy as using Photoshop, or any other software programming.

    They do compare the advance in genetic manipulation to the difference between editing with Wite-Out and editing with a word processor, but that's what we call an analogy. They're not claiming that producing genes would be something anyone with no training can do with their home computer.

    --
    Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
  3. Gimp by suso · · Score: 4, Funny

    How about making it as easy as Gimp instead. I like the interface better.

    *Ducks*

  4. Leave genes to the geneticists by drewzhrodague · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I agree that genes should be left for geneticists, but when your compiler, debugger, and emmulator/simulator check for bad or even icky results, it might actually be fun to toy with genes, in an neat visual way.

    At least, I have fantasies about modifying vegetables, fruits, and bugs. I expect that wasps can be reengineered to produce complete reams of laser printer paper, even with a sealed paper wrapper. I expect that ants or cockroaches could be modified to clean your house, better than they do. I expect bacteria or other small folded shapes can be reengineered to spit-out carbon nanotubes, construct simple buildings, or eat trash and grow fuel-cell cartridges.

    All this hinges on us being able to effectively "file/print" DNA molecules. It's fun to watch technology accelerate, I am one excited geek.

    --
    Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
  5. Ain't gonna happen by nanoakron · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hate to say it, but this sounds like a pipedream. They want to 'take the proteins and tweak them' an dthen have a computer program spit out the DNA required to make that protein.

    Well whoop-de-do. I'd like to make a computer that can generate wormholes. Doesn't mean it's going to happen.

    Firstly, protein modelling is notoriously complex. Remember folding@home? http://folding.stanford.edu/
    That's right - hundreds of thousands of computers cracking the problem of 12 amino acid chains. That's an oligopeptide, sort of like a 'protein lite'. Real proteins are hundreds to thousands of amino acids long.

    IBM's Blue Gene supercomputers were even specifically designed with protein folding simulations in mind - read http://www.research.ibm.com/bluegene/.

    So this company seems to be doing the following

    1 Come up with nifty, but blindingly obvious, idea
    2 Crack the age-old problem of accurately simulating protein folding
    3 Profit!!!

    It's just that step one is literally so obvious that you could ask a kid. And step 2 is so notoriously complex that I don't expect this company to amount to anything more than a plughole for research grants.

    -Nano.