A transatlantic perspective on 20 emerging issues in biological engineering

Wintle, Bonnie; Boehm, Christian R.; Rhodes, Catherine; Molloy, Jenny; Millett, Piers; Adam, Laura; Breitling, Rainer; Carlson, Robert H.; Casagrande, Rocco; Dando, Malcolm; Doubleday, Robert; Drexler, Eric; Edwards, Brett; Ellis, Tom; Evans, Nicholas G.; Hammond, Richard; Haseloff, Jim; Kahl, Linda J.; Kuiken, Todd A.; Lichman, Benjamin R.; Matthewman, Colette; Napier, Johnathan A.; ÓhÉigeartaigh, Seán S.; Patron, Nicola J.; Perello, Edward; Shapira, Philip; Tait, Joyce; Takano, Eriko; Sutherland, William J.

doi:10.7554/elife.30247

Cited by 48 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…As synthetic biology's public face grows, including public debates on de-extinction (Sumner and Carey 2013), it seems inevitable that synthetic biology will find its place in conservation and ecology. Although a lack of bidirectional communication between conservation practitioners and synthetic biologists has been identified as an emerging issue in the field of synthetic biology (Wintle et al 2017), this issue is beginning to be redressed. Initiatives such as Revive and Restore (www.reviveandrestore.org) bring together scientists, zoos, and synthetic biology companies for the purposes of bio-banking, sequencing, reproductive technology, de-extinction, cloning, and development of synthetic alternatives to wildlife-derived products.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹

Coleman

Goold

2019

Journal of Phycology

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Environmental and climatic change is outpacing the ability of organisms to adapt, at an unprecedented level, resulting in range contractions and global ecosystem shifts to novel states. At the same time, scientific advances continue to accelerate, providing never‐before imagined solutions to current and emerging environmental problems. Synthetic biology, the creation of novel and engineered genetic variation, is perhaps the fastest developing and transformative scientific field. Its application to solve extant and emerging environmental problems is vast, at times controversial, and technological advances have outpaced the social, ethical, and practical considerations of its use. Here, we discuss the potential direct and indirect applications of synthetic biology to kelp forest conservation. Rather than advocate or oppose its use, we identify where and when it may play a role in halting or reversing global kelp loss and discuss challenges and identify pathways of research needed to bridge the gap between technological advances and organismal biology and ecology. There is a pressing need for prompt collaboration and dialogue among synthetic biologists, ecologists, and conservationists to identify opportunities for use and ensure that extant research directions are set on trajectories to allow these currently disparate fields to converge toward practical environmental solutions.

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confidence: 99%

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹

Coleman

Goold

2019

Journal of Phycology

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“…Such knowledge is needed in an era where synthetic biology may introduce new risks for biological error and biological terror. Detecting and understanding SLiM variants can help to reduce such risks and identify newly emerging threats to global health and security because watch lists for harmful organisms to ensure public safety by preventing access to select known risks may be inadequate [21][22][23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It may be necessary to evaluate risks of new functions by other means than taxonomy or even protein functional evaluations. Instead, new methods are needed that assess functions at a finer resolution than the gene, whether by computational analysis or functional phenotypic assessments [21][22][23]. SLiM analysis might help with such assessments.…”

Section: How Viruses Do More With Lessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resources to Discover and Use Short Linear Motifs in Viral Proteins

Hraber

O’Maille

Silberfarb

et al. 2020

Trends in Biotechnology

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Viral proteins evade host immune function by molecular mimicry, often achieved by short linear motifs (SLiMs) of three to ten consecutive amino acids (AAs). Motif mimicry tolerates mutations, evolves quickly to modify interactions with the host, and enables modular interactions with protein complexes. Host cells cannot easily coordinate changes to conserved motif recognition and binding interfaces under selective pressure to maintain critical signaling pathways. SLiMs offer potential for use in synthetic biology, such as better immunogens and therapies, but may also present biosecurity challenges. We survey viral uses of SLiMs to mimic host proteins, and information resources available for motif discovery. As the number of examples continues to grow, knowledge management tools are essential to help organize and compare new findings.

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“…In particular, both Brand () and Lynas (2011) envision an important role for biotechnology and synthetic biology, which they claim will enable the production of more resilient crops with higher yields, clean and renewable biofuels, and microbes engineered to cleanse polluted environments and sequester carbon. Recent breakthroughs in gene editing and DNA synthesis have enabled new techniques for restoring damaged ecosystems, conserving endangered species, improving biological fixation of carbon, developing bio‐based materials, and boosting crop yields by enhancing the efficiency of photosynthesis (Maxmen, ; Wintle et al, ), thereby raising hopes among environmentalists and governments that the emerging ‘bioeconomy’ can help solve sustainability challenges (Synthetic Biology Leadership Council, ).…”

Section: The Fourth Industrial Revolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dangers of Decoupling: Earth System Crisis and the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

Albert

2020

Global Policy

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The question of whether global capitalism can resolve the earth system crisis rests on the (im)possibility of 'absolute decoupling': whether or not economic growth can continue indefinitely as total environmental impacts shrink. Ecomodernists and other techno-optimists argue for the feasibility of absolute decoupling, whereas degrowth advocates show that it is likely to be neither feasible in principle nor in the timeframe needed to ward off ecological tipping points. While primarily supporting the degrowth perspective, I will suggest that the ecomodernists have a wildcard in their pocket that hasn't been systematically addressed by degrowth advocates. This is the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution', which refers to convergent innovations in biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and other developments. However, I will argue that while these innovations may enable some degree of absolute decoupling, they will also intensify emerging risks in the domains of biosecurity, cybersecurity, and state securitization. Overall, these technologies will not only place unprecedented destructive power in the hands of non-state actors but will also empower and incentivize states to create a global security regime with unprecedented surveillance and force mobilization capacities. This reinforces the conclusion that mainstream environmental policies based on decoupling should be reconsidered and supplanted by alternative policy trajectories based on material-energetic degrowth, redistribution, and technological deceleration. Policy Implications• Policy makers should explore the evidence challenging mainstream assumptions about 'green growth' and consider the possibilities for a 'post-growth' transition.• Policy makers should recognize the potentially catastrophic risks posed by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, which will increase in severity if they are relied upon to decouple economic growth from growing resource consumption.• To manage the risks posed by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, citizens assemblies should be empowered to shape the pace and direction of innovation and deployment, rather than relying solely on traditional arms control and private sector initiatives.

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A transatlantic perspective on 20 emerging issues in biological engineering

Cited by 48 publications

References 87 publications

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹

Resources to Discover and Use Short Linear Motifs in Viral Proteins

The Dangers of Decoupling: Earth System Crisis and the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

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A transatlantic perspective on 20 emerging issues in biological engineering

Cited by 48 publications

References 87 publications

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation1

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation1

Resources to Discover and Use Short Linear Motifs in Viral Proteins

The Dangers of Decoupling: Earth System Crisis and the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹

Harnessing synthetic biology for kelp forest conservation¹