Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
11:22
Automated Robotic Liquid Handling Assembly of Modular DNA Devices
Published on: December 1, 2017
14.2K
A wise consistency: engineering biology for conformity, reliability, predictability.
1Department of Bioengineering, University of California, 2151 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704-5230, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Mailstop 955-512L, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
|November 26, 2013
Summary
Engineered organisms in synthetic biology require complex designs for safe human and environmental interactions. This review covers methods to characterize uncertainties, enabling predictable and reliable complex biological system design.
Area of Science:
- Synthetic biology
- Systems biology
- Bioengineering
Background:
- Next-generation synthetic biology applications involve engineered organisms interacting with humans, animals, and the environment.
- Applications include cellular and viral therapies for health maintenance and improvement.
- Complex system designs are needed for reliable and specific functions in these intimate settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review systematic methods for characterizing uncertainties in biological systems.
- To address challenges in designing predictable and safe complex biological systems.
- To lower barriers to predictive design for reliable synthetic biology applications.
Main Methods:
- Review of systematic methodologies for uncertainty characterization.
- Analysis of challenges posed by biological building blocks, hosts, and environments.
- Focus on methods enabling predictable system behavior.
Main Results:
- Identification of effective methods for characterizing uncertainties in biological systems.
- Demonstration of approaches to manage complexity in engineered organisms.
- Highlighting techniques that improve the predictability and safety of synthetic biology systems.
Conclusions:
- Systematic uncertainty characterization is crucial for reliable complex biological system design.
- Addressing uncertainties lowers barriers to developing safe and predictable engineered organisms.
- This work facilitates the advancement of synthetic biology applications in diverse environments.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Control Systems
1.7K
Control systems are everywhere in contemporary society, influencing diverse applications from aerospace to automated manufacturing. These systems can be found naturally within biological processes, such as blood sugar regulation and heart rate adjustment in response to stress, as well as in man-made systems like elevators and automated vehicles. A control system is essentially a network of subsystems and processes that collaboratively convert specific inputs into desired outputs.
At the heart...
At the heart...
1.7K
01:20Conformity
32.5K
Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group.
32.5K
01:26Constraints and Statical Determinacy
1.1K
In structural engineering, the equilibrium of a system is not only determined by its equations of equilibrium but also with the help of constraints. Constraints refer to restrictions on the motion of a system. The proper combinations of constraints can minimize the total number of constraints needed to maintain a system in mechanical equilibrium. When this happens, the system is said to be statically determinate. For such systems, the unknown reaction supports can be estimated using equilibrium...
1.1K
01:20Random and Systematic Errors
11.2K
Scientists always try their best to record measurements with the utmost accuracy and precision. However, sometimes errors do occur. These errors can be random or systematic. Random errors are observed due to the inconsistency or fluctuation in the measurement process, or variations in the quantity itself that is being measured. Such errors fluctuate from being greater than or less than the true value in repeated measurements. Consider a scientist measuring the length of an earthworm using a...
11.2K
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
29.1K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
29.1K
01:29Reliability and Validity
12.9K
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
12.9K