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The genomic revolution is being driven by advances in analytical
and computational techniques, and George Church has been behind
many of them. Starting in the late 1970s, Church helped create
the tools, including early software and protocols for DNA
sequencing, that eventually made possible the Human Genome
Project.  These days, Church, a professor of genetics at the
Harvard Medical School, and his 50-person lab are still finding
ways to synthesize and sequence DNA faster and more cheaply. One
of his latest interests is synthetic biology, in which
researchers design and synthesize biological “parts” that they
then incorporate into microbes or cells.  Some anticipated
products of synthetic biology: engineered cells that produce
novel types of pharmaceuticals, redesigned