Le vivant programmable de la biologie de synthèse

Abstract

At the beginning of the 2000s, the field of biotechnology saw the emergence of a new multidisciplinary field, that of synthetic biology. It consists of genetically modifying microorganisms, by combining molecular biology with genetic engineering and computer tools. What conception of life underlies these practices and innovations? Among the main ones, we find that which assimilates living things to a machine. This result comes from a survey carried out among around forty people working in the field of synthetic biology. In order to account for this machinic vision of a “programmable living organism”, the article first addresses the playful nature of this activity. Such a conception of life is more broadly linked to an evolution in biology granting a large place to mathematics and computer science. This movement towards “programmable living” ultimately reflects an increase in the instrumentalization of living organism.

Keywords

• bio-informatic
• synthetic biology
• biotechnology
• scientific imaginaries
• machine living organism