John von Neumann famously postulated the idea of a Universal Constructor, a machine that could build anything, itself included. While that may forever remain elusive, our cells contain marvelous constructors called Ribosomes, which assemble all the proteins for us based on reading programming instructions. In one of the most important scientific breakthroughs we have not only learned how to read and decode those instructions but also to write them. This makes cells programmable and is ushering in a new age of biology and healthcare.

Today we are excited to announce our investment in Humane Genomics, a company developing synthetic viruses as a way of reprogramming cells. While this has many potential applications, Humane Genomics is currently focused on fighting cancer. To this end the company has developed a virus that is designed to be reproduced only inside of cancer cells, causing those cells to rupture and die. Viruses, such as this one, which are meant to fight cancer are known as oncolytic viruses.

Humane Genomics is not the first or only company to pursue oncolytic viruses as a cancer treatment. What makes the company's approach unique though is its digital design platform, which lets them explore many different variations quickly and has led the team to develop a system of on- and off-switches that makes their virus highly specific to cancer cells. Humane Genomics is initially targeting pediatric liver cancer and is collaborating with Texas Children’s Hospital as a research partner.

Humane Genomics is co-founded by Peter Weijmarshausen, who previously co-founded Shapeways. We are thrilled to be backing Peter again, together with his co-founder Chad Moles and the rest of the team at Humane Genomics.