Synthetic Biology: Applications, Benefits, and Risks
- renewable energy: biofuels are derived from biomass from plants, animals, and organic waste
- methods of harvesting energy: burning, chemical treatment, biodegradation
- ethanol is the most common (corn or sugar cane); biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease
- ethanol includes inefficiencies and energy costs for production, concern about volume of plant sources and possible collateral impact on food prices
- biodiesel involves significant energy costs
- potential benefits of biofuels produced through synthetic biology: possible reduction in global depends on fossil fuel, cuts in emissions, minimization of economic and political volatility surrounding fossil fuel reserves
- synthetic biology aims to improve the speed and efficiency of converting biomass into advanced biofuels that are cleaner and more energy-efficient
- synthetic biology also offers new biomass sources, or feedstocks, that are more efficient, reliable, low-cost, and scalable
- large global reserves of hydrocarbons might be leveraged
- butanol: a bioalcohol made by synthetic biology that is more promising that ethanol
- photosynthetic algae engineered to secrete bio-oil continuously
- biodegradable and harmless if spilled
- less polluting and more efficient
- consumes carbon dioxide
- hydrogen fuel
- health applications
- research and development on this is still early
- medicines
- metabolic engineering: an organism’s metabolic pathways are redesigned to produce novel products or augment the production of current products (ie drugs)
- can engineer molecules and cells that express proteins or pathways responsible for human disease
- arteminsinin: antimalarial drug produced from genetically engineered e.coli that produces a high volume precursor that can be chemically converted to semi-synthetic artemisinin
- vaccines
- synthetic biology tools (ie DNA sequencing and computer modeling) may streamline production time of the flu vaccine
- advancing biology and personalized medicine
- cloning genes can be done in minutes
- expansion of the DNA alphabet
- makes individually tailored approaches to disease prevention and health care possible
- custom protein and biological circuit design may enable delivery of smart proteins or programmed cells that self-assemble at disease sites
- risks
- release of engineered organisms to the wild
- infectious diseases may be transmitted to lab workers or their family
- novel organisms used to treat illness may trigger unanticipated adverse effects in patients
- agricultural applications
- potential benefits:
- high-yield and disease-resistant plant feedstocks that can be supplemented with efficient and environmentally-friendly microorganisms to minimize water use and replace chemical fertilizers
- nutritional benefits (ie boosting protein levels)
- environmental biosensors that detect nutrient quality of soil or environmental degradation
- biosurfactants could minimize pollution damage
- potential risks:
- uncontrolled environmental escape and disruption of ecosystems
- new or stronger pests that are difficult to control
- increased pesticide resistance and growth of invasic species
- potential benefits:
This is such a great synthesis of the readings and subject matter Jenna! You really extracted the important nodes and synthesized the information in a very straight forward and accessible way.
Wonderful work. Do you mind if I use this in the future – giving you full attribution of course.
Of course! No need for attribution 🙂