Synthetic biology transforms our methods for growing food, what we eat, and where source materials and medicines are sourced.
Numerous scientists doubt that synthetic biology is not going to reveal advanced knowledge on the lifespan, along with the development of new biotechnological applications. The two primary applications include pharmaceuticals and biofuels.
For instance, researchers are working on antimalarial drug artemisinin synthetic manufacturing. It is produced naturally in the sweet wormwood plant. Scientists have teased apart the DNA of the plant sequences and protein pathways that produces artemisinin with contents of yeast and bacteria, by utilizing synthetic biology techniques. It boosts synthetic artemisinin production by several 10 million times with the possible output.
Moreover, considering biofuels, scientists are focusing on developing microbes that can break down the dense feedstocks for biofuel production, including growing, processing, and burning feedstock in a more efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly way.
Synthetic biology can be defined as the redesigning of organisms by engineering them for essential purposes to integrate new abilities. Researchers and companies are working on improving nature’s power to resolve potential problems in various sectors, such as manufacturing, agriculture, and medicine.
Redesigning organisms is done to produce a specific substance which includes medicine, fuel, or developing new abilities, including sensing something in the environment, which are some of the major synthetic biology project goals.
For instance,
Modification of rice for beta-carotene production is a nutrient associated with carrots which prevents the deficiency of vitamin A. Deficiency of vitamin A causes blindness in 25000 to 500,000 each year, and increases the death risk in children from infectious diseases.
The engineering of yeast for producing rose oil, as is considered an eco-friendly and sustainable substitute for real roses so perfumers can use it to make luxury scents.
In several ways, synthetic biology is similar to genome editing, as they both include transforming an organism’s genetic code. However, several people can identify the differences between these two approaches on the basis of how change emerged.
The synthesized DNA pieces could also be genes found in other organisms, as they are wholly novel.
Synthetic biology often involves scientists stitching together the long DNA stretches and inserting them into the genome of an organism. The genome editing tools can also be used for adding or deleting small DNA stretches in the genome.
The major companies operating in the industry are Merck KGaA, Novozymes A/S, Codexis Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies, Royal DSM N.V., New England Biolabs, Illumina, GenScript Biotech Corporation, and Eurofins Scientific.
Therefore, the rising application of synthetic biology in the healthcare sector to treat deficiency of various nutrients, and prevent diseases caused by them, leads to their increasing prominence.