AQUACULTURE & FISHING (SHRIMP)
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The fishing on shrimp is causing habitat destruction, derelict fishing gear, overfishing and bycatch. The cultivation of shrimps in aquaculture is causing Mangrove destruction, soil and water pollution and overfishing.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
After researching the problems around the cultivation of shrimp I came across the technology of synthetic biology. 'The biological revolution' they call it. It could help us with farming in a more sustainable way. The thing is that in the EU there are very tight restrictions on technologies like these. With 'these' I mean technologies like GMO's, crips and synthetic biology. Even though there are very tight restrictions there is a lot of DIY happening in this field and they are further developing and researching these technologies at places like the university of Wageningen. It makes me think of techno-solutionism. This is the idea that you can solve everything with technology. I think it is important for people to know these technologies are developing so that they are prepared on possible future food resources. When I refer to 'the people' I refer to humanity/society and then in specific the ones that are not involved or have no knowledge of these technologies developing. But what is possible with a technology like synthetic biology. Let's look at some projects designers did.
Microbes that can help us breathe on mars, important medicinal animal organs that can be 3D printed, patented 'organisms' that can help with biodiversity and diseases in nature, hybrid human-animal organs and plants that could grow on mars. It seems like a very promising technology. These projects are based on future promises of synthetic biology and explore possibilities that 'maybe' one day will exist. But let's look into what specialist have to say.
"It is remarkable that the diversity of life is the result of 4 letters. Imagine the English alphabet had 4 letters what kind of stories would you be able to tell? What if the genetic alphabet had more letters? Would life with more letters be able to tell different stories?"
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"It would be able to build more proteins. Proteins build from more than the 20 normal amino acids that are usually used to build proteins."
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"With the power of synthetic chemistry and molecular biology we created a bacteria with 6 letter DNA just in under 20 years."
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Motivation:
Conceptual: The molecules of life are seen as special. This work maybe suggests that the molecules of life aren't that special. Maybe life as we know it. Isn't the only way it could be. maybe we are not the only solution. Maybe not even the best solution, but just a solution.
Practical: Exploring what stories life with an expended vocabulary could tell. Stories are in this case the proteins a cell produces and their functions.
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"Proteins allow cells to do what they do. If we have cells that make new proteins with new functions can we get them to do new things natural cells can't do. for example, make bacteria that eat different kind of oils to clean oil spills."
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"The time of semi-synthetic life is here."
"Genetic engineering is the ability to take natural pieces of DNA & recombine them to make new chimeric molecules."
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"We have explored this technology but we are not comfortable with it. Maybe it is not safe, maybe it disrupts the purity, maybe it messes up the normative aspects of nature or maybe it is just new."
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"How can we start to talk in new ways about biotechnology?"
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"I want to be alive, I want to be contributing to life. If I do something and it is more likely to lead to more improbability, more improbable patterns that continue to thrive and exist, then that was a good decision."
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"Could we make living matter fully engineer able? Make life programmable?"
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Designers of biology <> Builders of biology
Sounds exciting <> sounds scary
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"We should figure out what to do in the middle of exciting and scary by taking it to the people."
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"Could I reprogram my pine tree to grow computer chips? I will probably not be able to reprogram a pine tree in my lifetime. But I can probably reprogram a wood fungus that eats sawdust. That converts the sawdust into chitin as a type of plastic. I can bring into that organism the capacity from the oceans to do bio-mineralization to make silica and metals. But what is the most important thing is not me making things. It is biology making things."
So what is synthetic biology? You could see synthetic biology as lego blocks. But instead of the lego plastic building blocks the lego is now DNA. This means that in the future we could build from scratch. This means that we could design nature. I don't know about you, but to me this sounds exciting and scary at the same time. At the moment they are at the level of designing microbes. So the designing of plants or animals is not even in the picture yet. But as Drew Endy says it his Stanford TEDX talk: "Could I reprogram my pine tree to grow computer chips? I will probably not be able to reprogram a pine tree in my lifetime. But I can probably reprogram a wood fungus that eats sawdust. That converts the sawdust into chitin as a type of plastic. I can bring into that organism the capacity from the oceans to do bio-mineralization to make silica and metals. But what is the most important thing is not me making things. It is biology making things." To me this is already really impressive and honestly before doing this research I had no idea this was even possible.
The first semi synthetic bacteria with synthetic DNA.
“It’s the first self-replicating cell on the planet that’s parent is a computer,” says Venter, referring to the fact that his team converted a cell’s genome that existed as data on a computer into a living organism.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18942-immaculate-creation-birth-of-the-first-synthetic-cell/#ixzz6I6emIHoi
SYNTHETIC FARMING - FOOD RESOURCES
What does this al mean or what could this all mean for the way we farm and cultivate our food? Even though, I choose the cultivating of shrimp, reading, hearing and seeing all this information about synthetic biology made me curious to the possibilities of synthetic biology within the farming and food industry. So I did some research and I found the following possibilities for farming.
- Redesigning photosynthesis
- more nutrients
- more taste
- 'better' looking
- all year long crops
- smart plants (bio sensors - plants that are able to detect specific plant pests or pathogens, or abiotic stresses such as heat and
water. Improving on site decision making.)
- less water usage
- microbes that can help with the soil (for example salification)
- nitrogen fixation
- animal wellbeing (recreating animal cells)
- resistance (less pests and pesticides)
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These are already a lot of solutions to food problems we are facing nowadays. But for those to happen we have to go into the DNA of organisms and change it or even build one from scratch. What do we think about that? I didn't even know these things where possible. It makes me think that a lot of people don't know about it. If we keep on treating our food and our world the way we do know, this might be necessary for us to survive. Do we even know that this could be one of the consequences? It seems like there is a big knowledge gab between the science and the people. As Drew Andy says in his TEDxstanford talk: "We should figure out what to do in the middle of exciting and scary by taking it to the people." I believe this is true. We have seen over the years that the developments of technologies are inevitable. So we better start talking about it. How can I combine this idea of synthetic biology with the farming of shrimp? I want to show the possibilities of this technology and with this create space for discussion. If it is a good thing or a bad thing. I will leave that up to you to decide.
THEY CALL THIS THE 'BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION'. HOW HAVE FORMER REVOLUTIONS CHANGED THE LANDSCAPES OF THE FARMING INDUSTRY? (keep in mind that this is my own view on this based on the research I did)
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
THE TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
THE BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
How can I approach this subject in a speculative manner?
The university of Wageningen talks about working together with nature instead of against nature. What would The Netherlands look like in 2120? More green and more water. What will this do to our lifestyles?
FUTURE FOOD RESOURCES (seafood)
What if we could grow shrimp meat on plants? (synthetic biology)
DUCKWEED​
HALOPHYTES
SEAWEED
while the demand for seafood rises, all over the world farmers are dealing with ecosystem constraints. a research of the university of wageningen says that even though 70% of the earth consists of water. Today only 17% of our food comes from fisheries and aquaculture. And while 30% of world's fish stocks are overfished; 60% fished at maximum levels. With innovations in fisheries practices and in management fish yields can increase, feeding more people.
Model book: speculative everything, design fiction and social dreaming from Anthony Dunne & fiona Raby