The world has changed a lot over the past 40 years, and most of those changes have revolved around one important innovation: The computer.
Back in the 1980s, the world started to use these little machines called computers which were profound because you could program them to theoretically do any task. As these computers became more powerful – and their underlying code became more robust – humans started to use them to do everything, from working, to communicating, to playing.
And so, the Computing Revolution went mainstream.
It is no coincidence that all of today’s trillion-dollar companies are, in some way, computing companies.
Microsoft (MSFT) makes computers. So does Apple (AAPL).
Facebook (FB) builds applications for use on computers. So does Alphabet (GOOG).
Unsurprisingly, those companies have all turned their early investors into millionaires.
In short, the computer profoundly changed our lives over the past 40 years, and the computing companies pioneering those changes have become the world’s most powerful businesses while their shareholders have become its wealthiest people.
So why am I telling you all of this?
Well, today, we’re on the cusp of another technological revolution that could be as big as – if not bigger than – the computing revolution.
In many ways, it is the Computing Revolution 2.0, because it is the computing revolution of the past 40 years but applied to living things as opposed to computers.
I’m talking about rewriting the code of life – a much bigger undertaking than rewriting the code of machines – through an emerging technology field called Synthetic Biology.
I know. It sounds crazy. But scientifically speaking, a life cell is just like a computer – it’s a very powerful machine that runs on digital code. The only difference is that the code of a computer is in ones and zeros, whereas the “code” of a life cell is in Gs, Cs, As, and Ts – or the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA.
So, in theory, we can manipulate the code of life by changing the order of those Gs, Cs, As, and Ts. In so doing, we can “code” living things much in the same way we can “code” inanimate objects, like phones, computers, and cars.
That’s what synthetic biology is all about: Programming life cells like we program computers, by changing the DNA code inside them.
In practice, it means we can manipulate the code of crops so that they’re pest-resistant, or the code of plants so that they’re weather-tolerant. We can manipulate the code of cancer patients to get rid of their cancer. We can manipulate the code of yeast to produce better-tasting beer.
The applications are endless.
But, until recently, the emerging field of synthetic biology has been nothing more than a concept. That’s because rewriting the code of life, as you can imagine, is quite complex. The human body is a wonder – it is infinitely more complex than a computer. Each human has a different “code”. And each living specimen – a plant, a crop, a fish – has a different “code” than humans.
To read all those different codes, you need to employ advanced DNA sequencing methods, which are among the most complex scientific methods in the world. Then, to rewrite those codes, you need to use DNA synthesis or printing – which are so complex that they make sequencing look like child’s play.
Long story short, the universe of synthetic biology is magnitudes more infinite and complex than the universe of classical computing. So, whereas we’ve made huge advancements in programming computers over the 40 years, we’ve made very little progress in programming life cells.
Until now. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have speed up the DNA sequencing process, while advancements in classical computing technologies have improved the accuracy of DNA synthesis and printing. This combination has – for the first time ever – enabled synthetic biology to work in the real world.
Right now, as we speak, food companies are leveraging synthetic biology to create pest-resistant crops, beer companies are using synthetic biology to create higher-yielding yeast, and biotech companies are using synthetic biology to make new vaccines and medicines.
So begins the Synthetic Biology revolution, or, the biggest technological paradigm shift since the advent of the computer.
It’s a critical component of the world’s technological future, as paradigm shifts such as these are fundamental to moving the world forward. Which is why I’m always looking for the best investments within the world’s fastest-growing megatrends to best secure your financial future.
To achieve this for 2022, I’ve teamed up with renowned investors Louis Navellier and Eric Fry, two financial masterminds whose track records speak for themselves. All three of us will get together today December 8, at 4 p.m. ET, during our Early Warning Summit 2022, to discuss the opportunities that lie ahead over the next year.
But while I’m bullish about the promising breakthroughs in synthetic biology, I’m also a realist. As such, I know there are headwinds in 2022, even in the hot sectors, that will make choosing the right stocks difficult.
Don’t let 2022 sneak up on you. Join me, Louis, and Eric this Tuesday to get a head start on alpha in the new year.
The future is knocking. Will you answer?
On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
