Synthetic Biology R&amp;D Risks: Social–Institutional Contexts Matter!

Wolfe, Amy K.; Campa, Maria Fernanda; Bergmann, Rachael A.; Stelling, Savannah C.; Bjornstad, D.J.; Shumpert, B.L.

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2016.01.008

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Genetic engineering techniques are used to synthetize and combine DNA to build synthetic gene networks or “circuits” ( Cameron et al, 2014 ) that control drug resistance genes. Common methods used to engineer synthetic gene networks include recombinant molecular cloning, Gibson assembly ( Gibson et al, 2009 ; Santos-Moreno and Schaerli, 2019 ), and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing ( Nissim et al, 2014 ; Jusiak et al, 2016 ). Cell-to-cell heterogeneity may cause unexpected deviations from intended synthetic gene circuit behavior ( Beach et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Synthetic Drug Resistance Gene Network and Antimicrobial Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Antimicrobial Resistance Research Through Quantitative Modeling and Synthetic Biology

Farquhar

Flohr

Charlebois

2020

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging global health crisis that is undermining advances in modern medicine and, if unmitigated, threatens to kill 10 million people per year worldwide by 2050. Research over the last decade has demonstrated that the differences between genetically identical cells in the same environment can lead to drug resistance. Fluctuations in gene expression, modulated by gene regulatory networks, can lead to non-genetic heterogeneity that results in the fractional killing of microbial populations causing drug therapies to fail; this non-genetic drug resistance can enhance the probability of acquiring genetic drug resistance mutations. Mathematical models of gene networks can elucidate general principles underlying drug resistance, predict the evolution of resistance, and guide drug resistance experiments in the laboratory. Cells genetically engineered to carry synthetic gene networks regulating drug resistance genes allow for controlled, quantitative experiments on the role of nongenetic heterogeneity in the development of drug resistance. In this perspective article, we emphasize the contributions that mathematical, computational, and synthetic gene network models play in advancing our understanding of AMR to discover effective therapies against drug-resistant infections.

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Section: Synthetic Drug Resistance Gene Network and Antimicrobial Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing Antimicrobial Resistance Research Through Quantitative Modeling and Synthetic Biology

Farquhar

Flohr

Charlebois

2020

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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“…From the inception of synthetic biology, social scientists have taken different, and fundamental, roles within the field [65]. It is widely acknowledged that, because of the breadth of the potential applications of synthetic biology, how research is carried out, and the context in which it is performed, must be considered as closely as its biological and technological aspects [66]. Synthetic biology education should place ethical concerns, as well as responsible research, at its core.…”

Section: Responsible Research and Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future‐proofing synthetic biology: educating the next generation

Hallinan¹,

Wipat

Kitney

et al. 2019

Eng. biol.

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Synthetic biology is a relatively young field, although it builds upon disciplines whose roots go back centuries. Recently, its practitioners have tended to move into the field out of interest or by chance, and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. It is also a very fast‐moving field; new protocols, laboratory equipment, computational facilities and algorithms are being developed at a rapid pace. Students who start studying synthetic biology at an undergraduate or postgraduate level will, in the course of their careers, work with technologies as yet undreamt of, and will do so mostly in the context of highly interdisciplinary teams. In this study, the authors identify some of the key areas required for the education of new synthetic biologists to equip them with both adequate background and sufficient flexibility to tackle these challenges and therefore to future‐proof synthetic biology.

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“…A second origin of life will thus affect how we define life, but also our attitudes to life, and perhaps even how we live our lives [36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. This in turn will have many practical implications that need legislation and policy decisions [43][44][45][46][47]. In a nutshell, it might be one of the most revolutionary events in the history of our species, and it may well happen within our lifetimes.…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Will the Emerging Plurality of Lives Change How We Conceive of and Relate to Life?

et al. 2019

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The project “A Plurality of Lives” was funded and hosted by the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University, Sweden. The aim of the project was to better understand how a second origin of life, either in the form of a discovery of extraterrestrial life, life developed in a laboratory, or machines equipped with abilities previously only ascribed to living beings, will change how we understand and relate to life. Because of the inherently interdisciplinary nature of the project aim, the project took an interdisciplinary approach with a research group made up of 12 senior researchers representing 12 different disciplines. The project resulted in a joint volume, an international symposium, several new projects, and a network of researchers in the field, all continuing to communicate about and advance the aim of the project.

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Synthetic Biology R&D Risks: Social–Institutional Contexts Matter!

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 publications

Advancing Antimicrobial Resistance Research Through Quantitative Modeling and Synthetic Biology

Advancing Antimicrobial Resistance Research Through Quantitative Modeling and Synthetic Biology

Future‐proofing synthetic biology: educating the next generation

How Will the Emerging Plurality of Lives Change How We Conceive of and Relate to Life?

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