The technology to recreate or redesign organisms for useful purposes, and give them new abilities for better production rate, growth, and quality is called Synthetic Biology.
Many industries are now using Synthetic Biology to achieve more from most of their raw products. Medicine, food production, and the agriculture industry are some of the examples that use synthetic biology to get good quality products and better production rates.
Even though this technology has rapidly increased the production rate of many items the research on Synthetic Biology is still in progress. Many believe once the research is completed the production rates will be 10 times more than today also the quality would increase.
Synthetic Biology Vs Gene/Genome Editing
You may think that there is no difference between Gene Editing and Synthetic Biology and if you think so you are wrong. The result of both processes may be the same but the procedure and the technique are completely different.
Gene editing is done by targeting a specific DNA strand and either removing it or replacing it with another DNA strand. Whereas Synthetic Biology is not focused on the DNA but the whole biological parts like cells, genetics, and enzymes.
Also, Gene editing is not done just to get better production rates many scientists believe that Gene editing could cure Genetic diseases.
Now let’s focus on the main goal/reasons to perform Synthetic Biology.
Drug discovery
Finding new drugs to cure diseases is a major part of Synthetic Biology, many medicines have been made with the help of Synthetic biology to date. Insulin is an example of the many drugs produced through Synthetic biology.
The medicine Penicillin that we use today for bacterial infections was created through gene modifications as it had some complications while used in its natural state. These are just some of the many things that are made or modified through Synthetic Biology.
Agriculture
Various companies use Synthetic biology to make better fertilizer, and pesticides to get more production and better health of plants against pests. Also now new Biosynthesis process makes it possible to convert agricultural waste to useful green chemicals.
All these small innovations help in the growth of the agricultural industry, also many believe that if Synthetic biology was not invented then the agriculture industry won’t look like what it is today.
Renewable energy
Yes, many types of renewable energy are made today with the help of bacteria and these bacteria were changed with the help of Synthetic biology to get the results.
Biofuels from sugarcane, corn, and wheat are obtained through the fermentation of these natural products but by the addition of the Synthesised bacteria, the production rates would be changed completely.
Hence affecting the total production rates of Biofuels and therefore making it a profitable industry.
Replacement for rubber.
Isopreneis is a very useful chemical used for the production of synthetic rubber. Now with the help of bacterias the enzymes isoprene synthase, we can produce a material similar to rubber but would eventually decay after it has served its expiry date.
This innovation can be very useful to reduce plastic from the environment, hence can be also a profitable business without harming the environment much.
Food industry
Synthetic biology is very useful in the food sector, from the better production of yogurt to the making of bakery products, Synthetic biology is everywhere.
Like the yield of better probiotics through enzymes for the better making of dairy products like chees and yogurt. Also, this synthesized yeast is used for the good fermentation of bread, bagels, and croissants.
Not only for yeast but this Synthetic biology process is also used on livestock to get a better production rate without harming human health.
Like cows are taken through this process where there are modified for a better quality of milk and also increasing the quantity. Similarly, chickens also go through the same process for producing eggs.
All these synthetic changes are then approved by FDA for the consumption of humans before letting this stock enter the market.
Possible risks in Synthetic Biology.
Even though nothing serious has taken place to date but still there lies some threats in the field of Synthetic biology.
If an experiment goes wrong while working on an animal a new disease can be made through this, for example, if a new type of pathogen is being tested and the mouse manages to escape with the pathogen, and then this pathogen is transferred to all other mice in that region therefore almost erasing the population of the mice.
But this will not only affect the mouse population but also the food chain and the predators who eat mice could also be a target of this pathogen.
This concept might seem frictional but can be possible and very lethal if happens in the future.
Concluding
The future of Synthetic Biology is very bright almost in every industry and also can be a revolutionary change in the field of medical science this innovation has proved its worth in the industry
But let’s not end this topic here let’s continue with this topic and let us know in the comments what you think about this topic, and what growth it could achieve in the future.