synthetic biology

[sin-thet-ik bahy-ol-uh-jee]

noun

1. the development and application of scientific methods to create or redesign biological organisms and systems using lab-made DNA.

synthetic biology

noun

1. the application of computer science techniques to create artificial biological systems

Word History and Origins

Origin of synthetic biology¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Ben Lamm, the 43-year old who co-founded Colossal with synthetic biology pioneer George Church, a 70-year old genetics professor at Harvard and MIT, understands that ultimately, no press is bad press.

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“As one of our founders stated, ‘this is the moon landing of synthetic biology,’ ” Colossal told Slate in a statement.

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Instead, he added, the de-extinction team used new synthetic biology technology - snipping out pieces of DNA and inserting them into the genetic code of a living animal that has its entire biological blueprint in tact, in this case a grey wolf.

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Venter replicated the DNA of a bacterium in 2008 and in 2010 announced the creation of a self-replicating synthetic genome, or DNA, in a bacterium taken from a different species, spurring a bioethics investigation of the developing field of synthetic biology by then-President Obama that identified limited risks.

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This flexibility is crucial for developing nanoscale robotic systems that can perform tasks in synthetic biology, nanomedicine and materials science.

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