The design and implementation of synthetic gene regulatory networks that compute is a central effort to synthetic biology. Genetic components are arranged into circuits to perform pre-defined functions such as logic gates or bistable switches in living cells. Despite the success of the field there is vast room for improvements since the mechanistic workings of living systems are still largely unknown. For example, the implementation of synthetic circuits often follows topological rules from engineering, with genetic gates arranged one after the other to mimic an electronic circuit. However, natural regulatory networks have evolved architectures full of feedbacks, redundancies and unexpected or counter-intuitive (to us) connections. Here, we computationally explore that search space of topological arrangements for synthetic networks. We fix circuit parameters, define output dynamics, and use an evolutionary algorithm based on Cartesian Genetic Programming to evolve solutions that can be realised as synthetic gene networks. Results suggest there are emergent properties hidden in counter-intuitive implementations that impact decisively on phenotypic responses—an aspect so far neglected. We use stochastic simulations to measure the results against both human designed networks, and use the design of a genetic inverter and the design of a genetic AND gate as example problems.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that humanity has a time window of about 12 years in order to prevent anthropogenic climate change of catastrophic magnitude. Green house gas emission from air travel, which is currently rising, is possibly one of the factors that can be most readily reduced. Within this context, we advocate for the re-design of academic conferences in order to decrease their environmental footprint. Today, virtual technologies hold the promise to substitute many forms of physical interactions and increasingly make their way into conferences to reduce the number of travelling delegates. Here, we present the results of a survey in which we gathered the opinion on this topic of academics worldwide. Results suggest there is ample room for challenging the (dangerous) business-as-usual inertia of scientific lifestyle.