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Biotech's Future Could Reside in the Home

The enormous potential of biotechnology won't be realized by large corporations making new crops, but by companies aiming at homes and small farms, says physicist Freeman Dyson.

Biotechnology will enter into individuals' daily lives in the 21st century much in the same way that electronic devices like personal computers and digital cameras brought the advances in physics and chemistry into the homes of the late 20th century, Dr. Dyson says.

In the early computer era, pioneers like John von Neumann wrongly assumed computers would develop into "large centralized facilities." Similarly, people today generally think of genetic engineering as the exclusive domain of large corporations. Instead, Dr. Dyson says, biotechnology will make its largest advances by becoming "small and domesticated." For centuries, people have been effectively genetically engineering plants and animals through selective breeding. As individuals gain access to the tools of biotechnology, they will expand the diversity of pets and plants for recreational purposes, even creating games that allow children to tinker with genes, competing to make the prickliest cactus or scariest lizard. Genetically modified tropical fish with new colors already are appearing in pet stores.

Beyond household fun, Dr. Dyson, the father of information-technology guru Esther Dyson, anticipates that the domesticated form of biotechnology will allow rural communities to challenge the economic power of cities, by transforming themselves into biotechnology research centers. He notes that Dolly, the first cloned sheep, came from an animal-breeding center in Scotland, rather than Silicon Valley. With their expertise in biotechnology, rural communities might even come up with technologies for heavy industry, such as developing earthworms that could wring aluminum from clay or seaweed that could extract magnesium from sea water.

Dr. Dyson, known for making bold predictions in many scientific fields and a favorite source for science-fiction writers, says biotechnology still poses many dangers. He leaves it to future generations to resolve how his futuristic vision can be safely adopted.