Synthetic Biology
Course for Master Students
Cover image from: https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/blog/how-is-synthetic-biology-shaping-the-future-of-drug-discovery-340290
part 5
Cover image from: https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/blog/how-is-synthetic-biology-shaping-the-future-of-drug-discovery-340290
Companies that use synthetic biology technologies
The development of synthetic biology: economic and industrial perspectives
�Worldwide synthetic biology market is segmented by products:
By technology:
agriculture, and aquaculture).
Bioethical, biosafety, social, and philosophical issues of synthetic biology
Bioethics is a branch of applied ethics, a philosophical discipline that studies moral issues primarily concerning humans. It determines which actions are morally acceptable and which are not. In other words, bioethics is the organic combination of the latest achievements in biological and medical sciences with spirituality. In modern society, it has become a hallmark of civilization.
Biosecurity is the prevention, reduction, and elimination of the impact of hazardous biological agents on humans, animals, plants, and the environment. On the other hand, biodefense involves measures aimed at preventing the loss, theft, or use for harmful purposes (bioterrorism) of microorganisms, biological materials, etc. Biological security is a separate scientific discipline that combines the theory and practice of protecting all living things from hazardous biotic factors. Therefore, it belongs to the natural sciences and medical-biological knowledge. As an engineering discipline, it encompasses organizational and engineering-technical measures and means aimed at protecting the workforce, the population, and the environment from the influence of pathogenic biological agents.
Synthetic biologists aim to create living machines or entirely artificial organisms. As a result, ethical questions arise in the field of synthetic biology. Currently, there are primarily two key questions when discussing the ethical issues of synthetic biology.
The first question is whether there is something new here.
The second question is how discussions on the ethical, legal, and social aspects of SynBio should proceed.
�The recommendations of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) for genetically engineered microorganisms stipulate that all organisms containing synthetic DNA and BioBricks must be isolated at high levels of biosecurity (level three or four).
There are five proposed policy options to enhance the safety of benevolent/safe synthetic genomics:
Synthetic Biology and Patenting Issues and Monopoly Creation
The main goal of synthetic biology is to modify microorganisms through genomic intervention to produce living machines capable of converting biomass into fuels such as ethanol or hydrogen. The Venter team hopes to create a synthetic form of Clostridium by combining the genomes of two separate species, Clostridium cellulolyticum and Clostridium acetobutylicum, which together could achieve this. This program attracts a substantial amount of funding from various sources, including the Joint BioEnergy Institute, the U.S. National Laboratories team, expecting $125 million over the next five years, and from the U.S. Department of Energy. With significant amounts of money being invested in research groups involved in synthetic biology, it becomes evident that there are high expectations for significant commercial returns.
Bioethical, Biosecurity, Social, and Philosophical Issues of Synthetic Biology
For philosophy in the aspect of synthetic biology, two types of questions are highly relevant – ontological and ethical. That is, an attempt to understand the essence of the being of a synthetic organism and its safety for society. Can artificially created organisms be considered truly alive? Where is the boundary of the safe use of synthetically created objects? Do such organisms adhere to the rules of general existence and order in the system of being? Does humanity have the right to influence the development of organisms, accelerating the course of natural evolution by millions of times? Is the synthesis of consciousness possible?
The construction of synthetic biology as a discipline is a highly complex process. This discipline indicates the coexistence of two competing models of synthetic biology that work in parallel: the engineering approach and the chemical approach. The predominant epistemic pluralism, combined with different programs, visions, and values, makes the future of synthetic biology unpredictable as a disciplinary entity. Gelfert argues that objects in synthetic biology are not representative but effectively provide insight into how nature works.
Synthetic biology challenges the division between pure and applied research, between science and technology, as well as between scientific circles and non-experts. It blurs the clear distinctions between disciplines based on epistemic conditions (epistemology is a philosophical and methodological discipline that studies knowledge as such, its structure, functioning, and development).
Synthetic biology integrates knowledge from a wide range of disciplines, including molecular biology, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. There are numerous research programs collectively referred to as "synthetic biology," such as BioBricks, synthetic DNA, xenobiology, minimal genomes, and protocells. These can be seen as examples of the modern convergence of technologies driven by the wave of nanotechnologies. Nevertheless, they all belong to a distinct field of biology often associated with systems biology. Systems biology, a related science, aims to understand the collective behavior of biological interactions through computation and modeling, while synthetic biology deals with the synthesis of biological objects.
Synthetic Biology and Futurology
Futurology (from Latin futurum — future and Greek λόγος — study) is a branch of various studies that focus on exploring future states of society and social processes in general, the prospects of historical development of humanity, and predicting its future. In a broad sense, it is a general concept of the future of Earth and humanity, a comprehensive discipline based on data from social and natural sciences to investigate and predict the future.
� Optimists and dreamers rightly believe that synthetic biology will open up a fantastic world of abundance for us. Optimists dream of long and healthy lives, supported by intelligent systems that diagnose our illnesses before symptoms appear. They desire the development of personalized medicine and anticipate treatments for genetic disorders, cancer, and more, thanks to the advancement of CRISPR technology. Optimists view synthetic biology as a future technology with unparalleled potential for human well-being. Together with artificial intelligence, it will shape the future society.
Pessimists express cautious views about the prospects of synthetic biology. They worry about how synthetic biology will impact our jobs, our sense of humanity, and our ecosystems. They fear that bioterrorists might imagine a day when they learn to create synthetic pathogenic microorganisms capable of reproducing and causing harm. They are concerned about unforeseen consequences. Pessimists believe that the potential for misuse and abuse of technology is so significant that the risks of synthetic biology outweigh its benefits.
Realists, evidently, find themselves somewhere between optimists and pessimists. They see the potential of synthetic biology to change the world but are also aware of the obstacles that need to be overcome before the miracle happens. They lean more towards an optimistic view of the future but remind us that we first need to simplify and understand biology, especially from the perspective of engineering and programming. Developing standards for "improving" our lives and more efficient ways to share information about experimental research are necessary. Making genetic intervention processes more open, so that reliable results from laboratory experiments can be replicated worldwide, is crucial.
Predicting the trajectory of technology development is challenging but possible when looking at several interconnected directions in synthetic biology. Specifically:
To ensure the development of synthetic biology and its becoming one of the leading directions for the future society:
End of part 5