According to the National Human Genome Research Institute synthetic biology is:
"... a field of science that involves redesigning organisms for useful purposes by engineering them to have new abilities. Synthetic biology researchers and companies around the world are harnessing the power of nature to solve problems in medicine, manufacturing and agriculture."
Synthetic biology is not a new trend. About a decade ago it was hailed as the next big thing. But like so many technologies, it's taken a while for the reality to catch up to the early hype.
But a number of new bioengineering technologies and advances, and especially CRISPR, are enabling a wave of new synthetic biology products and companies.
Tech Crunch's Synthetic biology startups are giving investors an appetite reports on this trend. Key quote:
"There’s a growing wave of commercial activity from companies that are creating products using new biological engineering technologies."
The best known synthetic biology company is probably Impossible Foods.
They use plants and bioengineered additives to create plant-based food that looks and tastes like meat.
But the TechCrunch article mentions several other examples, with our favorite being Pivot Bio.
They are creating self-fertilizing cereal crops like corn, wheat and rice. This would eliminate the need for nitrogen fertilizers, which are major global pollutants.
Another interesting example is Bolt Threads. Among other things, they are creating a synthetic alternative to silk using the same proteins as spiders use.
And, not surprisingly, there are synthetic biology platform companies helping to build the industry. Another quote from the TechCrunch article:
"Platform companies like Ginkgo Bioworks and Zymergen have large libraries of metagenomic data that can be applied to products like industrial chemicals, coatings and films, pesticides and new ways to deliver nutrients to consumers."
Both of these firms already have multi-billion dollar valuations.
There's little doubt that, at some point, synthetic biology will fundamentally change the world. And it's starting to happen.
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