Researching the Engineering of Life

What happens when engineering and biology meet? The answer is important, because they already have. An interview with Jeong-Yeol Yoon and Mark R. Riley from the University of Arizona, authors of a letter to the Journal of Biological Engineering on the goals and challenges facing biological engineering.

Many of the goals described in your letter seem to imply a more direct (or at least a more deliberate) participation of humans on global ecological cycles. What are the scientific and engineering challenges involved in working with such large-scale systems?

Mark R. Riley (MRR): Many of the approaches presented in our <i>Journal of Biological Engineering letter on grand challenges suggest using alternate approaches to modify the impact of human activities on ecological cycles which follow the developing area of ecological engineering. Humans have been changing their local ecology for millennia; but there is now not only a greater appreciation for the unintended consequences of such modifications but renewed motivation to correct former mistakes. For example, many rivers in the mid-west and western portions of the US have been altered to reduce flooding or to provide water for irrigation of crops. Unfortunately, many of these improvements have actually increased flooding in other locations, leading to greater total negative impact than in the un-modified water handling. Major efforts are in place to restore streams to the previous and “natural” paths which not only are more stable, but also can have decreased maintenance costs.

Jeong-Yeol Yoon (JYY): A substantial number of input parameters are required in analyzing a large-scale system, which includes physical and/or biosensor readings, databases of historical surveys, results of a small-scale modeling, and so forth. The development of very large sensor networks is particularly in high demand, and is believed to be extremely challenging. A biosensor network is even harder (and probably not possible with current technologies): Can you imagine a real-time biosensor network that could swiftly monitor E. coli in food from its production all the way down to consumption? How about the real-time monitoring of H1N1 flu over an entire city? Lack of these systems and information forces us to draw the maximum possible information and proper decision making out of limited input parameters. A mathematical algorithm or an expert system should be developed to deal with this issue, on top of developing very large biosensor networks.

What changes in scientific funding, management, or methods would be necessary to make biological engineering as effective as possible in tackling these challenges?

JYY: Biological engineering is truly interdisciplinary in its nature. As many governments have encouraged interdisciplinary research in their scientific funding, biological engineering has become one of the most sought-after disciplines in governmental funding. What’s next, however? What if one person does not want to share their results with a collaborator, to protect him or herself? What if one person claims the primary authorship on all collaborative publications simply because her or his work serves as a necessary link within the entire work? What if one discipline’s tradition significantly contradicts the other’s? As scientific funding and management has primarily been government-driven, I believe the governments should also provide very practical and detailed ethical guidelines when developing a research funding program.

MRR: Biological engineering is often associated with medically-oriented applications; however, the field has many broader impact applications including delivering safe drinking water (in some cases with recycled water), food safety, renewable energy production, biodegradation of waste, etc. Enormous amounts of federal and private funding has gone into developing successful medical applications, but there has been a broader recognition that ensuring safety of drinking water and food, producing renewable energy, and others applications have significant societal impacts and successful business models. Much of the prior funding burden has fallen on state and federal agencies, but privatization has a large potential for profit centers based on ensuring safety and sustainability especially through harnessing natural processes. These issues go beyond quality of life, but rather relate to individual well being (especially personal safety). The challenges facing advanced societies in the 21st century require sophisticated methods which in reality merely mimic the regenerative and restorative process of nature.

How do you see advances in biological engineering changing business practices and day-to-day life during the next decade?

JYY: Biological engineering has not been associated with day-to-day human life as so-called information technology (IT) has been in the past two decades. No doubt biological engineering will make a very strong impact in daily human life in the next two decades, but it will not start from the medical applications. It will begin from environmental/ecological and food/agricultural applications, probably within the next 5-10 years. Such technologies are not only easier to implement but also their market has much a broader worldwide impact.

MRR: The impact of biological engineering on public activities will be enormous, but as with many technological changes, the inner workings are likely to be behind the scenes and away from public view. For example, ensuring the safety of drinking water and food, despite the enormous burdens on these industries, is most successful when there are no sicknesses caused by tainted hamburger meat or vegetables. In the U.S., to suggest that our public infrastructure is overstressed, overutilized, and operated long beyond its intended lifespan would be a major understatement. Public health problems will continue to rise unless substantial efforts are made. Numerous businesses are likely to develop that provide and ensure the safety of individuals in the same way that home medical diagnostics has expanded in recent years.

These predications do not assume any further intentional release of harmful organisms, but merely the continued growth and overuse of our infrastructure. Further public scares would only speed the development of industries aiming not only at detecting such releases, but just as importantly, at mitigating their effects. Currently much of this burden lies with the public sector, but the entry of significant private sector financing has already begun. Public concerns about the H1N1 influenza virus have led to increased public interest in health care and it will be the biological engineers who will develop rapid diagnostic and containment and mitigation methods to ensure safety.