The Open Cell Project: Analysis, Design and Construction of Simple Living Systems

Joint meeting of Boston/Central New England Chapter of IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM (cosponsored and hosted by the Broad Institute)
The science of biology typically studies systems at a level of complexity far beyond our understanding. As we attempt to approach biology from an engineering perspective, this complexity becomes a major impediment to progress. As engineers, our approach is to design and build systems from well-understood, simple parts, assembled with tried and true techniques. My recent work has centered on the understanding and modification of a particularly simple living system -- one which could be said to be barely alive. I'll explain how we are approaching the level of understanding of this organism necessary for its engineering, and how we hope to create an open access platform for construction of novel and simple living systems.