Can context dependence build better libraries of genetic inverters?

Boolean logic has been implemented in digital electronics to perform computations, and gave rise to the personal computer, the impact of which is hard to overstate. Recently, the Boolean logic has been implemented by Synthetic biology, as genetic logic gates. With these gates, small circuits performing a predefined function can be build and work quite well. However, over the last decade, these circuits failed to scale significantly. Part of the reason is that the gate performance, depends on the context into which it is placed. This is a problem, since it limits the re-usability of any circuit we build.

In this talk, I will present a case-study which illustrates the impact of context on gate performance. I also ask whether "leaning into" the problem of context dependent performance, might help circuit designers build better gate libraries.