The most amazing science paper you can read this year! Synthetic embryos grown ex-utero (no sperm/no eggs/no utero needed) - the scientific basis for renewal.bio
Using Twist Bioscience DNA - interesting data points:
215Pb/Gram
~1,300 copies per unique oligo enough to get a 100% data back
Almost unlimited coping of recoverable data using PCR
Now only need to increase the throughput and price of DNA synthesis by 4-6 orders of magnitude
This is Omri (founder of Genomecompiler.com). I'm always amazed about how many biologists think their work is pipetting small amounts of liquids and performing massively low productivity experiments rather then their real work of increasing our understanding of nature and finding solution to real world problems (like disease, hunger, aging, running out of civilization critical commodities, etc) using the best available tools.
Robots aren't taking our jobs - they help us be more productive so a biologist Ph.D. might in the future get paid like a CS undergrad!
In general it's an invite only conference. They invite about 15 speakers and overall ~60 people to the event. Very high level people - from the google co-founders, many google[x] employees, google svp's, investors (Steve Jurveston, Mark Andreessen and other) and google friends.
I got there for two reasons:
1) My company (http://genomecompiler.com) is a Singularity University company and Peter Diamandis referred us
2) We fit the bill for a moonshot (huge problem, breakthrough technology, radical solution)
Like sitting in dinner table with Sergei and hear Peter talking space flights and astroids just to have him launch a astroids mining company after a few month. Or listening to Google Glass head talk about electronics in contact lenses (!) a few months before google glass was released :-)
Anyhow - I love what they are trying to achieve, both in this effort and in supporting Singularity University - to get people to solve humanity grand challenges with the fast moving technologies that are coming online. Be a support group and cheerleader for you while you're in the ups and downs of extremely "out-there" startup.
Forget sequencing - DNA synthesis and designing of new genetic programs/apps (new creatures) using synthetic biology and software like Genome Compiler (genomecompiler.com) is the interesting future.