Have you ever heard of synthetic biology? Is it really possible to extract dinosaur DNA from dinosaur eggs and bring dinosaur babies back to the world? Takeaway boxes also use synthetic biology technology? Even clothes and sugar substitutes can’t escape synthetic organisms? Even self-healing concrete uses synthetic biotechnology?
A few days ago, "synthetic biology" has been on Weibo's hot searches many times, becoming a hot topic in this year's college entrance examination application form. Many related topics, such as #综合biotic是什么意思#, #综合综合投注的NP的possibilities#, #applicant for synthetic biology grasp the "three highs"#, have become hot topics on Weibo, with hundreds of millions of reads.
A discussion started around "what synthetic biology can do", "the future development of synthetic biology", and "what kind of talents are needed in this field".
The "Era of Creation" of Synthetic Biology
From the origin, the term "synthetic biology" first appeared in the 1970s, and was redefined by Eric Kool in 2000 as genetic engineering based on systems biology, marking the The official emergence of this discipline. In recent years, the research progress of synthetic biology has accelerated. Engineering scientific research concepts and strategies are adopted to carry out targeted design, transformation and even re-synthesis of living systems, which can achieve precise control of cell behavior and targeted production of target products. It starts from the most basic Elements to start building components step by step.
From the perspective of research scope, synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary subject. The research scope includes such areas as anabolic pathways, biosensors, synthetic gene circuits, biomaterials, cell factories, etc.
Synthetic biology will revolutionize production methods. In the future, 60% of products can be manufactured through synthetic biology. Its application value has been verified across circles and is used in fields such as chemical industry, energy, materials, agriculture, medicine, food, consumer goods, environment and health. It shows broad application prospects, will significantly reduce production costs and shorten product cycles. For example, from the production of vitamin C and vitamin E tablets that are common in life to the preparation of insulin, including the treatment of cancer through genetic engineering of lymphocytes, and contributions to the research and development of the new coronavirus vaccine.
In addition, as the core of " green manufacturing ", synthetic biology will also play an important role and significance in low-carbon environmental protection and support the goals of "carbon neutrality and carbon peak ".
Enterprise's "New Infrastructure"
On May 10, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission officially released the "14th Five-Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development", which mentioned "synthetic biology" at least four times, making it clear that it will strive to become bigger and stronger bioeconomy . At present, the world's major economies include the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Japan, and they have all paid attention to and deployed synthetic biology.
As the frontier focus of a new round of international life science and technology research, and a biotech innovation direction encouraged by the country, "synthetic biology" has not only become the preferred direction of choice for many college entrance examination graduates this year, but has also been regarded by domestic biotech companies for a long time. It is a "new infrastructure" and actively deployed.
For example, the well-known biotechnology company and biomaterials company Huaxi Biotechnology has already regarded "synthetic biology" as its underlying core technology and important strategic driver.
According to Bloomage Biotechnology, in December 2021, the "Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology for Bioactive Substances" it built has been recognized by the Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology; "Synthetic Biotechnology International Innovation Industry (44.800,1.32,3.04% ) Base" has been settled in Beijing Daxing Biomedical Base and put into use; the synthetic biology R&D team has been initially established and the technical platform has been established. With the empowerment of synthetic biology technology, the production of hyaluronic acid produced by Bloomage Biotech has been greatly improved. In addition, in the production of collagen, 5-ALA, NMN, human milk oligosaccharides, chondroitin sulfate, heparin and other substances Phased progress has also been made in this regard.
According to statistics from Super Lab, the global synthetic biology market will exceed US$20 billion in 2025, and the market prospects are very promising. In the future, synthetic biology will also have richer imaginable possibilities, from food, clothing, housing and transportation, to health care, energy and environmental protection... Synthetic biology may really change human life and the future.
(Sina Finance)
Editor: Zhao Shanshan
