By: Veronique Etienne
Well, synthetic biology covers a broad array of subjects so here are three major concepts of syn bio*:
● “the design and
construction of new biological parts, devices, and systems and the re-design of
existing, natural biological systems for useful purposes”
● “a scientific discipline that relies on chemically synthesized DNA, along with standardized and automatable processes, to address human needs by the creation of organisms with novel or enhanced characteristics or traits”
● a scientific focus on the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world, and on the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems
● “a scientific discipline that relies on chemically synthesized DNA, along with standardized and automatable processes, to address human needs by the creation of organisms with novel or enhanced characteristics or traits”
● a scientific focus on the design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world, and on the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems
Potential applications*:
● bioenergy: synthetic fuels, biofuels, electricity, hydrogen, etc.
● agriculture and food production: engineered crops, pest control, fertilizers, etc.
● environmental protection and remediation: restoration, monitoring, detection, etc.
● consumer products: computers, sporting goods, cosmetics, etc.
● chemical production: industrial compounds, high-value compounds, plastics, chemical synthesis, etc.
● human health: medical drugs and devices, over-the-counter medicine, clinical therapies, etc.
● agriculture and food production: engineered crops, pest control, fertilizers, etc.
● environmental protection and remediation: restoration, monitoring, detection, etc.
● consumer products: computers, sporting goods, cosmetics, etc.
● chemical production: industrial compounds, high-value compounds, plastics, chemical synthesis, etc.
● human health: medical drugs and devices, over-the-counter medicine, clinical therapies, etc.
These lists were taken from a framing paper: How will synthetic biology and conservation shape the future of nature? Source
So a few questions for you:
Is this worth the risk?
We've seen lots failures in the scientific world to properly inform and protect the public. Do you think this new technology- with its potential benefit/harm- is really necessary?
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