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Review
. 2021 Aug 9;6(3):50.
doi: 10.3390/biomimetics6030050.

Are There Biomimetic Lessons from Genetic Regulatory Networks for Developing a Lunar Industrial Ecology?

Alex Ellery  1
Affiliations
Review

Are There Biomimetic Lessons from Genetic Regulatory Networks for Developing a Lunar Industrial Ecology?

Alex Ellery. Biomimetics (Basel). .

Abstract

We examine the prospect for employing a bio-inspired architecture for a lunar industrial ecology based on genetic regulatory networks. The lunar industrial ecology resembles a metabolic system in that it comprises multiple chemical processes interlinked through waste recycling. Initially, we examine lessons from factory organisation which have evolved into a bio-inspired concept, the reconfigurable holonic architecture. We then examine genetic regulatory networks and their application in the biological cell cycle. There are numerous subtleties that would be challenging to implement in a lunar industrial ecology but much of the essence of biological circuitry (as implemented in synthetic biology, for example) is captured by traditional electrical engineering design with emphasis on feedforward and feedback loops to implement robustness.

Keywords: genetic regulatory networks; holonic architecture; in situ resource utilisation; industrial ecology; manufacturing architectures.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Near closed loop lunar industrial ecology (emboldened materials are pure metal oxides for direct reduction using the Metalysis FFC process). This summarises the detailed sustainable lunar industrial ecology presented in [2]. Inputs to the lunar industrial ecology are energy and lunar raw materials and outputs are processed materials—reagents are recycled.
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Near closed loop lunar industrial ecology (emboldened materials are pure metal oxides for direct reduction using the Metalysis FFC process). This summarises the detailed sustainable lunar industrial ecology presented in [2]. Inputs to the lunar industrial ecology are energy and lunar raw materials and outputs are processed materials—reagents are recycled.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Artificial potential field path through a rockfield (repellors) towards a goal (attractor)—this rockfield models the Mars Viking 2 landing site but appropriate constraints may be crater slopes, slippery locations due to loose soil, etc., which impose constraints on straight line paths between start and goal locations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Holonic architecture of holons.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lac operon (top) repressed; (bottom) active: 1 = RNA polymerase; 2 = repressor; 3 = promoter; 4 = operator; 5 = Lactose; 6 = lacZ; 7 = lacY; 8 = lacA (Creative Commons Attribution—Share Alike 3.0 credit T A Raju).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Genetic regulatory network (credit US Department of Energy).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cell cycle (credit National Institute of Health).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Lytic-lysogeny cycles (GNU Free Documentation License 1.2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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