This 'biological fax machine' could teleport life to other planets
Whoa
Scientists have created a "biological fax machine" that could one day teleport life to other planets, said Brian Alexander at Technology Review. The device, called a "digital-to-biological converter," uses code containing genetic instructions to print DNA, RNA, proteins, and even viruses with chemicals pre-loaded into the machine. Eventually, the device could be used to quickly send drugmakers vaccine templates before an outbreak spreads, or create personalized medicines at patients' bedsides.
Researchers at Synthetic Genomics are also working on figuring out how to print actual life-forms, starting with bacteria. But the goals for the technology don't stop there. "I [want] to do something out of this world," said Juan Enriquez, an executive with Excel Ventures who has invested in the technology, "to send one of these things to Mars and print fuels, or print part of an atmosphere, or nutrients."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Unthinkable tragedy'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Passenger: 'pleasingly off-kilter' ITV crime drama
The Week Recommends There's 'plenty to be feared' in this British murder mystery set in a quiet northern town
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published