The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution

by Susan Hockfield

Overview

"Entertaining and prescient…Hockfield demonstrates how nature’s molecular riches may be leveraged to provide potential solutions to some of humanity’s existential challenges." —Adrian Woolfson, Science

A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies that radically reshaped the world: radios, televisions, aircraft, computers, and a host of still-evolving digital tools. Today, a new technological convergence—of biology and engineering—promises to create the tools necessary to tackle the threats we now face, including climate change, drought, famine, and disease

World-renowned neuroscientist and academic leader Susan Hockfield describes the most exciting new developments and the scientists and engineers who helped to create them. Virus-built batteries. Cancer-detecting nanoparticles. Computer-engineered crops. Together, they highlight the promise of the technology revolution of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393358261
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Susan Hockfield, Ph.D., president emerita and professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the first woman and first life scientist to lead MIT. She is a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

1 Where the Future Comes From 1

2 Can Biology Build a Better Battery? 19

3 Water, Water Everywhere 49

4 Cancer-Fighting Nanoparticles 73

5 Amplifying the Brain 91

6 Feeding the World 117

7 Cheating Malthus, Once Again: Making Convergence Happen Faster 145

Acknowledgments 169

Notes 175

Index 221

Editorial Reviews

"Timely, provocative insights into ways the genomic and bioengineering revolution is likely to transform our world in the next half century as profoundly as computer chips powering the information revolution transformed the past fifty years."

Graham Allison

"Life sciences are at the doorstep of meeting the major challenges of our time: energy, food, water, and disease. Hockfield views this future through the eyes of scientists at the interface of engineering and biology in an exciting and enjoyable book."

Phillip A. Sharp

"Susan Hockfield’s lively and authoritative book brings to life the bio-revolution that is coming and that will dwarf the computer revolution in causing disruption—or better and worse."

Ashton B. Carter

"A highly readable and deeply informative look over the scientific horizon into a future where biology and engineering converge to offer extraordinary means to improve our world."

Drew Gilpin Faust

"Efficiently weaves in previous scientific discoveries and breakthroughs, current research, the mechanics behind each project, and engaging profiles of the individuals—engineers, physicians, botanists, inventors, and entrepreneurs—who are leading the way....A refreshing celebration of exciting things to come."

Booklist

"An essential book for our fast-moving times. Hockfield covers an immense range of the emerging technologies that will reshape our lives. At the same time, she offers a crucial synthesis, much needed in an age of fragmentation. The result is a powerful reading experience, combining depth and clarity, and offering a generous supplement of hope."

Vartan Gregorian

"Entertaining and prescient....Hockfield demonstrates how nature’s molecular riches may be leveraged to provide potential solutions to some of humanity’s existential challenges."

Science - Adrian Woolfson

"Beautifully captures the science and the stories underpinning the convergence of biology and engineering as a transformative twenty-first century enterprise. One of those stories—biologically organized batteries—addresses the clean-energy revolution needed for mitigating climate change, capturing both of Hockfield’s signature initiatives as MIT President."

Ernest J. Moniz

★ 2019-02-28

A look at how new advances in bioengineering have the potential to radically transform our lives—and they are closer to reality than we think.

From genomics to artificial intelligence, innovations in science and technology have already made significant impacts on our daily lives. However, Hockfield, the first woman and first life scientist to be president of MIT, argues that significant progress is needed to combat the major issues that face a rapidly growing—and rapidly consuming—global population. In this vibrant and accessible book, she is optimistic that scientists are in the midst of a "revolutionary convergence of biology and engineering" that has the potential to not just overcome great challenges, but usher in a new golden age of biotechnology. The author continues, "ingenious and powerful biologically based tools are coming our way: viruses that can self-assemble into batteries, proteins that can clean water, nanoparticles that can detect and knock out cancer, prosthetic limbs that can read minds, [and] computer systems that can increase crop yield." What's especially exciting about the narrative is that much of the research Hockfield describes occurred as a result of her foresight and tenacity; her vision at MIT was to bridge disciplines in a manner similar to the pioneering work that was conducted at Bell Labs in the mid-20th century. Her insight and expertise enhance the vividness of her writing. Imagine a virus-based car battery that takes the form of a dashboard; a nanoscience-driven urine test that can detect cancer long before an MRI; or a method to feed 9.5 billion people using genetic modification. The author effortlessly navigates complex advances for a lay audience while telling the stories of the brilliant scientists who are innovating in these fields. In these uncertain times, Hockfield instills hope for an enriched and peaceful tomorrow.

A thrilling, insightful, and highly readable work of popular science.

Kirkus Reviews