Synthetic biology

Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Synthetic Biology

April 17-18, 2009, Salle Dussane, Ecole normale supérieure,

45 rue dUlm, 75005 Paris

Synthetic biology has recently emerged as a new discipline, with huge ambitions – to create new forms of life -, and an engineering spirit.

The two-day meeting in Paris will gather biologists, historians and philosophers of science. It is intended to answer two groups of questions : 1. What is the place of synthetic biology in the history of biology ? Is it highly different from genetic engineering ? What are the relations with systems biology ? Can we compare the new synthetic biology with the efforts made at the beginning of the 20^th century to « create life » ? 2. What is the true novelty of synthetic biology ? Is its engineering spirit an important component ? What is the place of modelling ? Is synthetic biology an applied science, or a fundamental one ? What are the relations between synthetic biology and the works pursued on the origin of life ? What are the relations between synthetic biology and chemistry ? And between synthetic biology and evolutionary biology ?

Friday 17 April

8H 45: Welcoming Address

9H – 9H30: Ute Deichmann (Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and University of Cologne, Germany)

Chemistry and the artificial creation and engineering of life at the turn of the 20t^h century – research and reflection by Jacques Loeb

9H30-10H: Discussion

10H-10H30: Andrea Loettgers (Caltech)

Meeting the challenge of introducing an engineering approach to biology

         10H30-11H: Discussion

         11-11H30: Iea and coffee break

         11H30-12H: Evelyn F. Keller (MIT)

What does synthetic biology have to do with biology ?

         12H-12H30: Discussion

         Lunch break

         14H30- 15H: Vincent Schächter (Paris)

A computational perspective on synthetic biology

         15H-15H30: Discussion

         15H30-16H: Samuel Bottani (Université Paris Diderot)

Maps, networks, models, and bricks

         16H-16H30: Discussion

         16H30-17H: Tea and coffee break

         17H-17H30: Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent (Université Paris 10) Synthetic life as an old dream of chemists

         17H30-18H: Discussion

Saturday 18 April

9H – 9H30: Maureen O’Malley (Egenis, University of Exeter)

Making knowledge in synthetic biology

9H30-10H: Discussion

10H-10H30: Antoine Danchin (Institut Pasteur)

Maxwell’s demon’s genes

         10H30-11H: Discussion

         11-11H30: Iea and coffee break

         11H30-12H: Christophe Malaterre (IHPST)

Can synthetic life shed light on the origin of life ?

         12H-12H30: Discussion

         Lunch break

         14H30-15H: Andres Moya (University of Valencia)

Synthetic biology and the blind watchmaker

         15H-15H30: Discussion

15H30-16H: Michel Morange (Ens, IHPST)

Synthetic biology: a bridge between functional and evolutionary biology ?

         16H-16H30: Discussion

         16H30-17H: Tea and coffee break

         17H-17H30: Frédéric Worms (Ens)

Philosophical conclusions

         17H30-18H: Discussion

         18H: End of the workshop

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