Build a Synthetic Self-Replicator Focus Group Description Background

Long a fascination of science fiction writers and space exploration visionaries, nanomachines that can replicate themselves are already here: we have an existence proof on Earth in complex living systems such as one celled ( and even more complex many- celled) organisms. Other “bionanomachines ”-viruses- are able to reproduce themselves through the use of cell machinery external to themselves. Creating synthetic self-replicators would greatly scale up production of nanomachines from the atomic and molecular scale to the macroworld, as the process of self-replication allows for exponential growth. Your task is to propose a scientific plan for the design and creation of a simplified synthetic self-replicating nano-machine, using a replication method either completely self-contained as in a cell, or requiring the use of external machinery such as by a virus. The Problem All cells on earth appear to be built according to the same molecular plan, using evolved molecular self-replication – • Ribosomes are molecular assemblers working from stored information • DNA is the information storage medium, directing the assembly of other parts • DNA polymerase duplicates the information storage mediu