Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is a field of science that applies engineering principles to biological systems. In other words, instead of building machines out of metal or plastic, synthetic biologists design and build new living systems with DNA and biological parts.

Engineered organisms could be used to create all sorts of products, ranging from medical compounds to materials for the chemical industry. A famous example is the bacteria E. coli being engineered to express insulin for people with diabetes.

In general the following engineering cycle can be applied to the development of a synthetic biology product:

Design: determine the desired function, choose an organism to use, and find a pathway to manipulate so that the desired function can be achieved.

Build: synthesise the appropriate parts to alter the pathway.

Test: run experiments to determine if the desired function is present.

Learn: analyse the data to see how the design could be improved.