Vie w p o i n t Jacques Cohen
The Crucial Role of CS in
Systems and Synthetic Biology
Biological cells, coerced to function as hardware and driven by
artificial DNA, can perform such nanoscale tasks as detecting toxic
substances and manufacturing new drugs.

In the coming decades the
hardware-software paradigm
that has been central to com-
puter science since its inception
may well be challenged—or at
least complemented—by an
exciting new development:
synthetic biology. Biological
cells will become an alternative to current hard-
ware, and an analog of software will be engineered
to direct cells to produce useful artifacts or sub-
stances. The hardware-software model will thus
come increasingly close to mimicking miniature
(nanosize) robotics that induce living organisms,
like bacteria, which have existed in nature for bil-
lions of years, to assemble minuscule amounts of
compounds. Scientists would thus be able to per-
form tasks that are still largely unimaginable today,
like cleaning the environment, making new drugs,
and detecting dangerous chemicals.

LISA HANE Y

Computer science has always been in the vanguard of new scientific and engineering developments. The one I advocate here will help us move into the next frontiers. The emerging field of synthetic biology [ 1, 3, 4] is the engineering counterpart of designing computer-like biological machinery and its associated software, or wetware. Wetware indicates how programs that assemble the desired artifacts are constructed in a biological wet-

lab, in contrast to the dry-lab used to assemble and program electronic components.

The goals of synthetic biology can be accomplished only if biologists and computer scientists fully comprehend the dynamic behavior of living cells. A discipline called systems biology [ 5], which encompasses synthetic biology, strives to understand dynamic cell behavior. Systems biology is essentially analytical, whereas synthetic biology deals with the engineering issues of changing known cell behavior to accomplish human goals.

My aim here is twofold: urge computer scientists to follow closely what is happening in synthetic and systems biology, participating actively in their development; and emphasize that the idealistic goals of systems and synthetic biology will not be feasible without the engaged contribution of computer scientists. Fulfilling these objectives will open inspiring new vistas for our field.

To illustrate the promise of synthetic and systems biology, consider a prototype experiment that demonstrates what is currently feasible in these new fields. A Petri dish containing a special strain of harmless bacteria sits on a laboratory bench at a research center. A slight fragrance of mint emanates from the dish. A scientist in a lab coat adds a few drops of a chemical, and the mint scent is quickly replaced by a strong odor of...bananas

( web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/igem.html).