Artificial Biology
Safety and security in biomedicine Synthetic biology make biology easier to engineer. It involves redesigning biological systems that already exist.
What are the connections between biosafety and biosecurity? Let's look at it!
We'll look at using tools and experimental methods to
create artificial biological systems in synthetic biology.
Alternately, synthetic biology is the scientific discipline
in which organisms are engineered to acquire new abilities for valuable purposes.
In essence, synthetic biology researchers and businesses worldwide are
utilizing nature's power to address issues in agriculture, manufacturing, and
medicine.
Work in synthetic biology The common objective of synthetic
biology products is to modify organisms so that they can produce a substance
like fuel or medicine, and gain the ability to sense something in the
environment, or something else.
Also read: Nitrogen cycle
Using synthetic biology, scientists are creating examples
like:
Microorganisms are used for bioremediation to remove
pollutants from the air, soil, and water.
- Rice is altered to produce beta-carotene, a nutrient
associated with carrots, to prevent vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A deficiency
causes blindness in 250,000 to 500,000 children annually, and the risk of
infectious disease death increases in some children.
- Yeast is designed to make rose oil, which is good for the
environment and can be used by perfumers to make high-end scents.
Note: Genome editing and synthetic biology are not the same
things. Since both involve altering an organism's genetic code, it is safe to
assume that synthetic biology and genome editing are similar in some way.
However, according to some scientists, the approaches to altering the
organism are distinct in both processes.
In synthetic biology, long stretches of DNA are joined together and inserted into an organism's genome. In contrast, genome editing involves the use of tools to make more subtle changes to an organism's DNA.
DNA fragments in the genome can be added or removed using tools for genome editing.
Synthetic biology aims to standardize biological components
and construct novel biological systems.
- To expand the set of natural protein functions for new
processes and redesign existing biological components through applied protein
design.
- Natural product synthesis or engineering microbes to
produce necessary enzymes
- To design a synthetic genome and a straightforward genome
for a natural bacterium.
Concerns about biosafety According to the American
Biological Safety Association, biosafety concerns include containment
principles, facility design, practices, and procedures to prevent the release
of organisms into the environment or occupational infections in the biomedical
domain. In addition, it is said that the biosafety risk classification system
is based on microorganisms' inherent capacity to cause disease in humans of
greater or lesser severity in plants.
The concern about biosafety in synthetic biology stems from
the possibility of synthetic organisms being accidentally or intentionally
released into the environment during research and application. Additionally, it
has been argued that because of the homeostasis of biological ecosystems and
the susceptibility of synthetic organisms to being displaced by a native organism,
there is no risk. The development of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and
horizontal gene transfer pose additional biosafety concerns.
Concerns for biosecurity The misuse of synthetic biologies,
such as bioterrorism, biowarfare, or attacks, that could result from the
genetic engineering of organisms, poses a security risk. because synthetic
biology provides technical support for the creation and rebirth of harmful
viruses and bacteria.
What ethical questions does synthetic biology raise?
When the human-made cell Synthia was created in 2010, a global debate about the ethics of synthetic biology began. The argument that people's fundamental beliefs will be destroyed by the introduction of artificial organisms into nature, which may result in disasters for the environment and public health, serves as the basis for opposition and criticism.
Even President Barack Obama expressed concern regarding this research and requested that the Presidential Commission to Study Bioethical Issues examine the synthetic biology field and establish appropriate ethical boundaries so that Americans can take advantage of synthetic biology technology and minimize the risks that have been identified.
"The Ethics of Synthetic
Biology and Emerging Technologies," a report, was published in 2010. The
report's experts concluded that the stage will not create life solely from
inorganic chemicals but will instead rely on the existing natural host.