Synthetic Biology: Revolutionizing Industries, Navigating Science Frontiers

Synthetic biology holds promise but requires careful oversight to ensure that its development causes minimal to no harm, according to experts.

This discipline aims to apply engineering principles to biology, akin to how electrical engineering uses precise tools like capacitors and resistors. This discipline envisions cells as “factories,” capable of producing materials traditionally made by fossil-fuel-driven industrial processes. A prime example is biomanufacturing, where cells are harnessed to create products such as pharmaceuticals, biofuels and high-value materials, including those used in cosmetics and clothing, according to Nina Dudnik, senior commercialization advisor at the Noble Reach Foundation.

“Our industrial revolution idea of manufacturing is an enormous factory powered by fossil fuels and this idea of a biomanufacturing system, where your real factory is, is individual cells,” Dudnik illustrated.

Synthetic biology’s role in future development is promising because it has the potential to revolutionize various industries by enabling advancements in areas such as medicine, agriculture, defense and environmental sustainability. It offers opportunities to create innovative solutions, like developing disease-resistant crops or new therapeutic treatments. However, it also presents significant ethical, ecological and security challenges that require careful oversight to ensure the technology is used responsibly.

“You’ve got to reach that happy medium between providing enough policy and regulation, but without impeding the progress in the technology area,” said Brian Bothwell, director of engineering and technology assessment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a legislative watchdog.

One key to leveraging these organisms for desirable results is around carbon dioxide capture from industrial emissions. This gas can be used to feed microbes, which then produce materials for various industries, such as textiles and biofuels.

Researchers are working toward finding the best candidates in this budding field.

“Among prospective industrial production cells, mainly bacteria and yeasts are being proposed as chassis cells for upcoming synthetic biology applications as they can use various feedstocks from a wide range of sources,” according to Simone Bachleitner, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

Financial growth is expected in the sector, predicting the market could expand tenfold to $100 billion by 2030. While research has increased since 2008, and several commercial products have emerged, the technology remains largely in an experimental phase, with widespread commercial applications still on the horizon, according to Bothwell.

This field is challenged by the difficulty of scaling up production efficiently. Dudnik noted that while small-scale, high-cost production is feasible, the field has yet to make the leap to large-scale, affordable production.

“The component parts of genetics and cells end up interacting with their environment in ways that we cannot predict, so it’s become sort of complicated, but the core dream still persists, and it’s gotten much, much more complex,” Dudnik said.