Crispr routinely makes headlines. To the degree that people are even aware that life can be edited, it's this technique they tend to reference. But Crispr, while powerful, is problematic: Scientists can't directly see the changes they're making to a molecule. What if I told you that soon we'll have not only read and edit access to genetic material, but write access too? Meaning that, in the not-too-distant future, we will program living, biological structures as though they are tiny computers.

A new field of science called "synthetic biology" aims to do just this by digitizing genetic manipulation. Sequences are loaded into software tools--like a word processor, but for DNA code--and are eventually printed using something akin to a 3D printer. Rather than editing genetic material in or out of DNA, synthetic biology gives scientists the ability to write entirely new organisms that have never existed. Imagine a synthetic biology app store, where you could download and add new capabilities into any cell, microbe, plant, or animal. If that sounds implausible, consider this: Last year, UK researchers synthesized the world's first living organism--E. coli--that contained DNA created by humans rather than nature. Earlier this year, a group of researchers started with a cluster of stem cells from an African clawed frog as a base, and then used a supercomputer, a virtual environment, and evolutionary algorithms to create 100 generations of prototypes to build. The result: a tiny blob of programmable tissue called a xenobot. These living robots can undulate, swim, and walk. They work collaboratively and can even self-heal. They're tiny enough to be injected into human bodies, travel around, and--maybe someday--deliver targeted medicines.

These little blobs are an example of write-access to life--a relatively new field of science. This umbrella term refers to the many different areas of research, tools, and systems aiming to remix, redesign, and optimize the living world. And the types of conversations we're having today about artificial intelligence--misplaced fear and optimism, irrational excitement about market potential, statements of willful ignorance made by our elected officials--will mirror the conversations we will soon be having about synthetic biology.