- Opinion -

Volume 6

Full article

Engineering life through Synthetic Biology

Paras Chopra* and Akhil Kamma

Delhi College of Engineering, Bawana Road, New Delhi-110042, India


* Corresponding author
  Email: paras.chopra@bt.dce.edu


Edited by E. Wingender; received April 08, 2006; revised July 14, 2006; accepted July 15, 2006; published August 25, 2006

Abstract

Synthetic Biology is a field involving synthesis of novel biological systems which are not generally found in nature. It has brought a new paradigm in science as it has enabled scientists to create life from the scratch, hence helping better understand the principles of biology. The viability of living organisms that use unnatural molecules is also being explored. Unconventional projects such as DNA playing tic-tac-toe, bacterial photographic film, etc. are taking biology to its extremes. The field holds a promise for mass production of cheap drugs and programming bacteria to seek-and-destroy tumors in the body. However, the complexity of biological systems make the field a challenging one. In addition to this, there are other major technical and ethical challenges which need to be addressed before the field realizes its true potential.

Keywords: Synthetic Biology, Life Engineering, Bioengineering