The silver bullet that is genetic engineering

When I hear the word bio-engineering, my first thought is of GMO foods, like a tomato that can last longer without rotting, or a crop that’s resistant to a virus.

These advancements have already had a huge impact in the world of food. But Genetic modification and Genetic engineering isn’t limited to making longer lasting tomatoes. It can also be used to solve a huge range of other problems. Take biofuel for example, when harvesting biofuel from plants like corn, we get about 3–4% of the plants mass turned into biofuel, but genetically modified algae are able to produce as much as 60% of their weight in oils that can be processed to make biodiesel. This drastically reduces the energy, space, and resources needed to make one liter of biofuel.

The most amazing thing about the field of bio-engineering is that it is (relatively) accessible to almost everyone. When my interest for this topic first started growing, I assumed you would need access to an expensive lab and have to study for years to modify organisms. But with a few hours of studying and a really cheap gene editing kit, you can start to mess around with pre-made modifications, like glowing bacteria. And editing the genetic code to make your own modifications isn’t rocket science either. Sure, it requires a little more digging on the internet to find good information, but you don’t need to go to university to design your own bacteria. And that is what’s so incredible. Anyone can come up with an application for bio engineering, and with a little elbow grease, get it to start working at home if they wanted to.

Also, because so many of the products and substances created by any living thing, be it animal or plant or other, can be replicated in bacteria, this opens up a whole new avenue of possibilities. The bacteria can do this because a lot of organic substances are just unique configurations of a few simple building blocks. Think of it like Lego. With just some2x2 blocks, 2x4 blocks, and 1x4 blocks you could create an almost infinite number of objects, from cars to cities to animals. People have made genetically modified bacteria produce everything from luminescent proteins to Insulin! If you wanted to, you could place the instructions for making cows milk and chocolate in the same organism and LITERALLY MAKE CHOCOLATE MILK! If only it could have come from a brown cow… But the most interesting avenue for me is the new opening in material sciences. Bacteria can be engineered to produce natural fibers like cotton or wool, make natural rubber, or make cellulose, the main component in wood. Imagine a world where we can create paper and cardboard without the need to cut down trees, saving 4 billion trees from being cut down each year! Concrete can be made to heal itself with bacteria that creates calcium carbonate when activated! The sheer scope of applications for genetic engineering in material sciences is mind boggling.

Genetic engineering is also promising to change the face of the medical system. With the ability to alter our own DNA, people all over the world are looking at how we can implement gene editing to make advancements in almost every field. Some are looking at personalized medicine, some are looking at increasing lifespan, there are already several groups working on cures for various Cancers, the list just goes on. And the applications in the medical field are large enough to warrant its own article, but suffice to say, the ability to play God with our genes has offered up incredible opportunities, and sparked immense controversy.

Genetic engineering has the chance to improve our lives in so many ways! But we still have lots of work to do, and until then, I think the best thing to do is continue to make gene editing more and more accessible to everyone. Because the pace of technological development is faster now than ever. I mean, within 70 years of the wright brothers first flight, we developed a plane that can go almost 7 times the speed of sound! Not to mention landing on the freaking moon!! That was within ONE lifetime. Think about what will happen in yours.

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