Synthetic biology: From the first synthetic cell to see its current situation and future development

Zhang, LiuYan; Chang, SuHua; Wang, Jing

Synthetic biology also attracts big attention and enthusiasm from scientists in China. The theme "Artificial Life" was listed in the 50-year scientific development roadmap by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). In February 2008, the Xiangshan Conference on synthetic biology was held by professor ZHANG ChunTing from Tianjin University, professor WEI JiangChun from Institute of Microbiology, CAS, and Professor SUN ZhiRong from Tsinghua University. This is the first academic conference about synthetic biology in China. In July 2009, the Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of CAS organized a forum on the design of drug and energy products based on synthetic biology techniques. Beijing Institute of Life Science, CAS organized two forums on synthetic biology in Aug. and Nov. 2009, respectively. A group of academicians, experts and scholars were invited to discuss the current status and development strategies of synthetic biology aiming to promote its development in China. In Dec. 2009, the Eastern Technology Forum named "Basic and Frontier Issues of Synthetic Biology" was held and co-organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS. In July 2010, supported by China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), the academic seminar on "Ethics and Bio-security Issues of Synthetic Biology" was held in Suzhou. Meanwhile, some research centers about synthetic biology were established, including the Systems and Synthetic Biology Research Center in Tianjin University, Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology of CAS and the Synthetic Biology and Bioinformatics Center in the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.