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Overview Sensitivity Tuner --- Characterisation --- Modelling Colour Generators --- Carotenoids (Orange/Red) --- Melanin (Brown) --- Violacein (Purple/Green) The Future Safety

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The Future

Synthetic biology is an exciting new area of science, that is rapidly developing and changing. It has the potential for use in a wide variety of areas, and new technologies. We considered these issues throughout the summer, and took part in workshops which explored the potential for our devices in the future.

The Near Future - applications of the sensitivity tuner and colour output

For proof of concept, we attached our sensitivity tuners to the arabinose sensor, however there are so many different sensors in the registry (and in the natural world!) which could benefit from this device. In particular the area of environmental sensing, where we feel our device has the greatest potential for use. The registry already contains sensors for lead, arsinic and other pollutants. The use of the sensitivity tuner would make these sensors able to distinguish more accurately between levels of pollutant, and the pigment output would allow them to be used without expensive equiptment, in places where this may be impractical or too costly. We looked at the potential for this system in helping countries such as Bangladesh, which has severe problems with arsinic pollution, in areas where expensive sensor devices are unavailable.

The Distant Future - potential for colour

In the colours future workshop (organises by Daisy Ginsburg and James King from the Royal College of Art) we concentrated on our various pigments, considering how the ability to use pigments from the natural world might affect the world we live in. We divided these considerations into four main groups:

'Products' Both bacterial pigments and synthetic biology in general has the potential to be used to create many different products and technologies. Crispian, Alan and Caitlin explored the use of synthetic biology in a range of products from childrens toys to commencial food-colouring. This would create issues of property and patents; if the biobrick for colour is in an open source registry, would this create problems for people hopeing to patent a certain colour, or a gene for a colour? Megan and Mike took this to an extreme with a sketch from a world where the colour orange was patented, and it's use under strict control.

'Services' Along with new technologies, comes the creation of new services, providing jobs that previously did not exist. Working with synthetic biology tools and products could become an industry in itself, with a unique skill-set. As the design of devices reaches higher levels of abstraction, the concept becomes more available for different industries to use, and provides new ways to consider the workings in biological cells. In view of our colours, we imagined a future where pigments from the natural world were in high demand, creating the job of 'colour-hunter', people looking for the brightest and best colours, from the smallest and most easily reproducible genetic systems.

'Groups' New technologies and ways of thinking also have a social effect. Products created gaps between the have and have-nots, while changes in employment patterns and sectors can create a need for new skill-sets. The field of synthetic biology is becoming more widely recognised as a group (and a degree title!) that more and more people are becoming part of. Shuna, Siming and Viv looked at how colours could effect social groupings and cultures, especially given that different cultures will have very different associations for each colour.

'Laws'

Synthetic biology, and the parts registry is open source, and yet the world of products and services relies heavily on ownership and property rights. This creates issues of property and patents; which may require new laws. Megan and Mike took this to an extreme with a sketch from a world where the colour orange was patented, and it's use under strict control (much to the anger of coutries whose national flags contain the colour, as well as a certain well known mobile phone provider!)