Fertiliser costs have tripled so synthetic biology startups are re-inventing how its made
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF This year, you might not know it, your food costs will increase not necessarily because of scarcity but because the cost of fertiliser tripled last year and for farmers and consumers in poor countries that’s almost a death sentence. Love the Exponential Future? Join...
Human mini-brains could make biological computers more powerful than silicon based AI
WHY THIS MATERS IN BRIEF You are more intelligent than a computer AI, but that will change in time, but biology is still far superior to silicon … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, ...
World’s first Pig-Human heart transplant patient died from a Porcine virus
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Xenotransplantation relies on organs from other species that can be transplanted into humans to be genetically engineered to be virus free, this one wasn’t and it’s set the field back years. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses...
New genetic firewalls keep engineered alien bacteria safe from outside attack
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We’re becoming increasingly adept at coding life and created new kinds of DNA, and that’s good and bad … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog....
Viruses become CRISPR Trojan Horses to genetically re-engineer bacteria
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bacteria can be hard to reach, and even harder to genetically modify – until now. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. CRISPR, arguably the world’s...
Another breakthrough brings powerful molecular computers closer to reality
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Future computers won’t necessarily be silicon, they could be chemical, liquid, molecular, or even biological in nature. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. All life,...
Microbes can now make a rare in demand Cancer drug
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Using bio-manufacturing and genetic engineering we are getting better at re-programming nature to make us all kinds of products, from armour to drugs. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, ...
Scientists cram millions of years of evolution into months with chromosome level re-engineering
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to genetically re-engineer chromosomes is the genetic equivalent of being able to re-write the paragraphs of a book all at once and is revolutionary. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential...
Researchers turn plants into biological computers to grow better crops
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By turning nature into a biological computer researchers can get plants to do all kinds of things they could never do before and design better crops. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, subscribe to the podcast, future proof yourself with courses from...
AI is getting great at simulating and designing proteins and drugs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Proteins essentially make the life work, and by understanding them faster we can now create cures and treatments for diseases faster. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, subscribe to the podcast, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential...
A new DARPA project is experimenting with living factories in space
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Why take stuff with you into space when bacteria and other bugs can make everything you need in situ? Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog....
In a world first researchers created a digital cell that grows like the real thing
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF By digitising biology in this way it means one day we will be able to create and test new cures for all kinds of diseases at digital speed. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read...
This sci-fi like E. coli biocomputer solved a classic maze problem with no errors
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The future of computing is a lot more sci-fi than you might think and we’re building that future today … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
World’s first living robots made by AI surprise scientists by spontaneously reproducing themselves
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI, supercomputers and scientists created the world’s first living programable robots from frog cells, and they just spontaneously reproduced themselves surprising the everyone … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and...
Molecular farming means your next vaccine could be grown in a plant
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF What if your food could vaccinate you against diseases? And other odd questions … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. It’s a hot summers day and you bite down on a plump,...
Scientists used CRISPR to create a superbug resistant to all viruses on Earth, again
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF This is the second time we’ve created a superbug, and it shows how powerful gene editing technology can be. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Do you remember the time I talked...
MIT and Harvard scientists develop a face mask that detects COVID-19 in the air
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Were you exposed to the COVID-19 virus when you were out and about? Now you can find out … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. A little while ago I wrote about...
Scientists built a perfectly replicating synthetic cell
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In the future not all organisms will be children of Mother Nature … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Synthetic cells and basic synthetic organisms that have no equal or equivalent in...
In a world first an AI just made it’s own synthetic human genome
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF What happens when AI can design its own humans? And then breed them ex vivo? The future is weirder than you could ever imagine … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Have...
Researchers de-extincted a killer Pox virus for $100k using mail order DNA
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Extinction is no longer for life, and being able to bring back extinct killer viruses or create new ones is both exciting and terrifying. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, enjoy exclusive content, future proof yourself with XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Eradicating smallpox, one...
