Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Synthetic biology is a field of scientific inquiry that merges different fields within
biology, biotechnology and engineering to re-design natural systems and create new biological
parts or organisms. Most people who are a part of this rapidly evolving field, including
politicians, artists, ethicists and scholars, are constantly debating the merits and perils
of engineering the natural world. This debate increases as the scientific community investigates
the complex relationship between DNA, environment and cellular function. Probing how genes and
DNA function in genomes of different species using the toolkits of bioengineering means
we are be able to mix and match genetic information in new and helpful ways in existing species
of bacteria, plants and animals. The toolkit of synthetic biology includes the modularization
and standardization of DNA, the sequencing of DNA from existing genomes, and the ability
to model and synthesize new genetic sequences. There are a huge variety of other tools that
will make biological engineering more efficient and effective, like the CRISPR/CAS9 gene editing
technique. Combining tools has allowed scientists to create entirely novel organisms, like the
minimal bacterial genome designed by a team led by pioneering geneticist Craig Venter.
Synthetic biology is more prevalent and helpful to people than many give it credit for, and
affects your life in more ways that you probably realize.
So do we have a responsibility to interact rationally with the living world?
The bioethics of our engagement with the natural world will increasingly
become a point of discussion as we move forward.