Synthetic biology is the design and engineering of biological systems to create and improve processes and products. It is widely touted as ‘the next frontier’ of innovation—a rapidly expanding multi-billion-dollar industry with the potential to transform not only the way in which almost everything is manufactured but also how economies and societies are organised.
As biotechnology converges with engineering, computing and big data—particularly with generative AI—synthetic biology is poised to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, including disease, food security, and climate change. But the ability to read, write, and edit the code of life also offers significant technical, biological and social risks.
This session explored the potential, and the disruptive power, of synthetic biology: what are the current and future applications? Which countries are leading on synthetic biology and on responsible development? How do states prepare for a new arena of global competition?
Speakers in this session included: Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, New South Wales Chief Scientist and Engineer
and Matthew Chang, Executive Director of the Singapore National Centre for Engineering Biology.
