At the frontier of biotech innovation, synthetic biology promises revolutionary advancements in agriculture, health and medicine, energy, and more. The ability to better understand and encode life’s building blocks, has the potential to improve the environment, raise life expectancy, and advance the human condition. This emerging field, however, does raise significant ethical, economic, and security concerns, including human enhancement, DNA patenting, and international competition. To harness the synthetic biology’s benefits while addressing its challenges, strategic public-private partnerships are crucial for responsible development, societal benefits, and sustained competitiveness.
At the very frontier of emerging biotechnologies is Synthetic Biology – putting living systems together at all scales to solve problems, bring to market new products, and better understand life in the process.
Anything we can learn to encode in DNA – the molecule inside all life – could be grown when and where needed. Biology itself has already learned and provides for the precision growth of foods, materials, medicines, fuels, and more.
For example, synthetic biology is being used to create more climate-resilient and nutritious crops by learning to reprogram how roots branch out or dive deep into the soil in search of water.
Turning to medicine, synthetic biology promises skin cremes that provide protection like vaccines but without any needles; and new approaches to disease diagnostics that work with the human body so that anyone can know if they are sick or healthy.
Yet with all of synthetic biology's promises and upsides, there is no shortage of cultural, economic, and security challenges.
Modifying human cells and abilities, patenting DNA sequences, and the notion of creating "new life" represent very real and ongoing ethical concerns.
We must also learn to navigate a world in which other nations, including China, have long made emerging biotechnologies a national priority.
By developing and advancing comprehensive strategies for biotechnology, complimented by sustained and strategic investment, the US has an opportunity to foster and lead responsible change toward societal and economic advancement.
Strategic partnerships among private and public sector actors is more necessary than ever to sustain research and development, develop technical standards, make real our nation’s positive biosecurity vision, and wisely apply synthetic biology to the betterment of our lives and environment, all without losing our competitive edge.
To learn more about emerging technologies and the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) click here: https://setr.stanford.edu/
To read the SETR Chapter on Bio Tech and Synthetic Biology, click here: https://setr.stanford.edu/technology/biotechnology-synthetic-biology/2023
To learn more about our contributing scholar, Drew Endy, click here: https://setr.stanford.edu/profiles/drew-endy
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The opinions expressed in this video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University. © 2024 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
