"Unknown Unknowns" in Synthetic Biology

Update: Ash (@curiouswavefn) found a similarly structured article, this one in J. Med. Chem.

Somehow, I don't recall seeing this gem anywhere on the chemblogosphere...

Famed natural products chemist Jon Clardy wrote a 2014 perspective article in ACS Synthetic Biology. Interestingly he structured the content after former U.S. Secretary of Defense* Donald H. Rumsfeld's 2002 "There are known knowns" testimony. Remember it?

"...as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."

Per the Clardy review, artemisinin (antimalarial) represents one of synthetic biology's well-researched "known knowns." Moving synthetic gene clusters for cryptic metabolites into more easily-cultivated host organisms meets the "known unknowns" criteria, whilst uncovering novel natural products with novel gene clusters and unidentified biological roles captures syn-bio's "unknown unknowns."

--
*And, lest we forget, former CEO of Searle Pharmaceuticals - poetically apt, here?

Friday Fun: Backhanded Compliment

From a recent correction in OPRD, an odd bit of recognition.

In a 2014 paper, Burgard and Turconi, two Sanofi process chemists, laid out their vision for a high-yielding, industrial-scale semisynthesis of artemisinin. Somewhere along the way, a reference to another semisynthesis (Tetrahedron, 2013) got missed. Here's how the overlooked authors find themselves incorporated (emphasis mine):

"Bearing major breakthroughs in synthetic methodology, we are confident that this hybrid approach is far superior to a total synthesis and none of the many total syntheses published [insert ref here] appears to even approach providing a basis for a commercially viable process."

 Ouch. Them's fightin' words.

Happy Friday,
SAO

*One wonders if the first word should be "barring," as in, the authors allow that synthesis might one day catch up. As written, it's much more of a boast.

Friday Fun: Artemisinin on NPR

NPR Story

2012 Keasling lab article in PNAS

Wikipedia: Artemisinin