What is synthetic biology? The last two decades of biotechnology have witnessed the development of the first synthetic cell, a million- fold drop in the cost of sequencing DNA, a thousand-fold drop in the cost of synthesising DNA, and the development of CRISPR genome editing. [...] Potential applications Synthetic biology is a field that may provide benefits in different areas of the current and future global challenges, including treating or eradicating infectious and genetic diseases, preventing food shortages, enabling sustainable manufacturing, and mitigating the impacts of climate change, among many others. [...] Community DIYbio labs offer a suite of tools and techniques along with courses and training to enable any citizen to engage in biology research and development. [...] Critics say that the current regulatory frameworks are insufficient to cope with the complexities of engineering biology innovations and also do not take into consideration building and maintaining trust in the regulation of engineered organisms. [...] Questions for discussion ʼ Which directions of development are the most The Global Forum on Technology promising and how fast are they emerging? inaugural event will take place on ʼ What are the greatest barriers for realising 6 June 2023 under the theme the potential of synthetic biology in terms of “Shaping our future at the tech maximising benefits whilst mitigating risks? frontier”.
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