The Synthetic Nature of Biology

Acevedo-Rocha, Carlos G.

For centuries, biology was centred on the analysis of the microscopic and macroscopic worlds, but since the end of the 19th century it progressively adopted synthesis as a means to understand biological systems, strengthened recently by the dawn of synthetic biology. Contemporary synthetic biology is essentially composed of various “research tribes” with different methods, languages, metaphors and agendas willing to understand biological systems and—in particular—to engineer them for solving health, food, energy and environmental problems. Synthetic biology is not only an extension of traditional genetic engineering where Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are produced, but it is also endowed of various elements that allow the emergence of new artificial life forms. In this chapter, a brief history of synthetic biology is presented, followed by a description of its most prominent “tribes” and a proposition for categorising the various engineering approaches currently practiced in the field. An overview of existing and nascent GMOs is also given, including some of their applications as well as biosafety and biosecurity risks. Finally, some challenges, dilemmas and paradoxes in synthetic biology beyond the bench are very briefly examined, particularly with regard to global social justice, democratization of molecular biology, environmental concerns, policy regulation, the GMO debate, media hype, public acceptance, and the issue of resurrecting extinct life.