Benner Steven A, Yang Zunyi, Chen Fei
Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and The Westheimer Institute for Science and Technology.
C R Chim. 2011 Apr;14(4):372-387. doi: 10.1016/j.crci.2010.06.013. Epub 2010 Aug 7.
While chemical theory cannot yet support an engineering vision that allows molecules, DNA sequences, and proteins to be interchangeable parts in artificial constructs without "tinkering", progress can be made in synthetic biology by pursuing challenges at the limits of existing theory. These force scientists across uncharted terrain where they must address unscripted problems where, if theory is inadequate, failure results. Thus, synthesis drives discovery and paradigm change in ways that analysis cannot. Further, if failures are analyzed, new theories emerge. Here, we illustrate this by synthesizing an artificial genetic system capable of Darwinian evolution, a feature theorized to be universal to life.
虽然化学理论目前还无法支持这样一种工程愿景，即让分子、DNA序列和蛋白质在人工构建物中成为可互换的部件而无需“修补”，但通过在现有理论的极限处应对挑战，合成生物学仍能取得进展。这些挑战迫使科学家们涉足未知领域，在那里他们必须解决那些没有既定方案的问题，一旦理论不足，就会导致失败。因此，合成以分析无法做到的方式推动着发现和范式转变。此外，如果对失败进行分析，新的理论就会应运而生。在此，我们通过合成一个能够进行达尔文式进化的人工遗传系统来阐述这一点，达尔文式进化是一种被认为是生命普遍具有的特征。
