Generative Optogenetics (programmable DNA/RNA using light). The craziest technology program I've seen in recent years. I spent hours reading through the documentation and still processing the implications of what they’re trying to build. This is about creating molecular machines that can be expressed in living cells to translate optical signals directly into DNA and RNA sequences on demand. Think about what this means…. you shine specific wavelengths of light at a cell & it writes its own genetic code in realtime without any external DNA delivery no viral vectors no CRISPR cassettes just light triggering nucleotide incorporation based on photon wavelength. This is a FOUNDATIONAL shift in how we interface with biology bc right now if you want to deliver genetic instructions to cells you need massive supply chains synthesis facilities cold storage delivery mechanisms that break down over distance. DARPA GO wants to turn living cells into programmable biological systems where you can transmit genetic information massively via optical signals & the cell synthesizes the exact sequence you need using its own machinery.the implications are absolutely wild : >single-cell spatial resolution temporal precision to deliver different messages sequentially remote scalable dissemination of genetic instructions>regenerative medicine where you shine light patterns on damaged tissue & cells reprogram themselves in situ>manufacturing where bacterial cultures synthesize complex molecules on command via optical programming>agriculture where crops adapt their genome in response to environmental light signals…https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/go
>>16936204Conceptually interesting, but say you get a polymerase kind of protein where nucleotide binding preference can be influenced by light ... you would then have the primary issue of preventing any polymerase protein from "skipping a step" or simply stalling. Binding preference I could imagine but keeping fidelity would likely prove a real bitch here.
>>16936204so basically you can shine encoded light on to someone and give them cancer. neat.
>>16936204This is a really cool idea, but I'm pretty sure the defense R&D glowies have finally gone full schizo.
>>16936324Nah, think it would be actually doable. Depends on some properties of the polymerase, bit rusty on that, need to investigate ...
>>16936204Looks completely fake and gay, at a glance
Seem pretty keyed. I’ve been waiting for something to put us into a genetic engineering renaissance. Feels like the G-engineering still has so much potential that we’ve barely touched outside of making crops a bit more resistant to pesticides and whatnot
i remember watching one of Michael Levin's presentations and the research being funded by darpa
They have great ambitions, pic. related.
