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 20th 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 20th 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