TEDxLosGatos - Andrew Hessel - Even evolution evolves

Andrew Hessel, Genomic Scientist

Andrew Hessel is the Co-Chair of biotechnology and bioinformatics at Singularity University, an educational institution created to train leaders in exponential (fast-changing) technologies. He views living cells as powerful information processors that are programmable with genetic engineering. His personal focus is synthetic biology, a suite of tools that allow genomes to be manipulated with relative ease. Andrew is also the co-founder and managing director of the Pink Army Cooperative, a social biotechnology company working to create open source personalized breast cancer treatments.

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[MatthewJPrice]

Holy crap, I had no idea this sort of progress was occurring in this area. This is a big deal even in a year already full of breakthroughs

[RalfLippold]

Excellent talk by @andrewhessel - #storytelling of its finest :) cc @steffenster @rainer @angieincampo

[jpoconnor]

We're getting close to a leeloo Fifth Element.

[gev]

Very informative Andrew.  Thank you for sharing your knowledge.  It is true that Darwinian mechanisms lack adequate coherent causal explanations for the complex information found in the DNA molecule. Interestingly, however, you really don't address the origin of the computer code of life that you allude to in your presentation.  Information such as computer code is universally accepted as a product of intelligence.  It is irrational to look at any system of sequence specific language and invoke a cause other than intelligence as the source of that information.  The sequence specific language in DNA is further coded to perform a specific task with an end product in view.  As scientists and entrepreneurs and as just curious humanoids can we just look the other way and shuffle our feet, clear our throat and proceed as if we are not interacting with an intelligence that is vastly superior to our own?   After all, the complexity that we are beginning to understand and utilize has been the common stuff of life on this planet for billions of years.