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Dual use of synthetic biology, the perils and promises
Because emerging synthetic biology is dual-use, governance must weigh the risk of misuse with the potential for beneficial use in innovation and development.
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Safety first: A laboratory technician analyzes samples with PCR method to detect COVID-19 in the biosafety level 2 laboratory Biomnis in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris, on Oct. 28, 2020. (AFP/Ludovic Marin)
R
ecently the convergence of advances in computer science, engineering, biological science and chemistry have made it possible to engineer living systems to optimize growth and increase pathogenicity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a watershed moment for synthetic biology. The discipline was put to a real-world pressure test to deliver innovative solutions to develop vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics. The economic impact of synthetic biology is also growing, with the global market share soaring from US$9.5 billion in 2021 to estimated $33.2 billion by 2026.
Most people are aware of the new technologies, which produced millions of life-saving COVID vaccines using mRNA and the critical importance of the gene editing tool known as CRISPR. The COVID story is only the tip of synthetic biology that can incredibly change our lives in the future.
One of the reasons synthetic biology is so powerful is that it is going to have impacts across many industries. Around 20 percent of industrial chemicals are currently using biological processes, which allows us to make these chemicals much more cheaply and consistently.
Food is getting to be, or already is, a huge target for synthetic biology. We have to figure out how to feed billions of people on less and less arable land under conditions of climate change and scarce water.
Public health problems, too, can be addressed through synthetic biology. Gene mutations in heritable diseases can be corrected, and the edited cells can be brought back to health. There are possibilities to provide customized immunotherapies for different forms of cancer.
Synthetic biology is going to be fundamental to the coming world economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that we cannot rely on stockpiles. We need to be able to make what we need and when we need it. Science holds out the promise of making this come true.
