Engineering biology applications for environmental solutions: potential and challenges
Abstract
Abstract Engineering biology applies synthetic biology to address global environmental challenges like bioremediation, biosequestration, pollutant monitoring, and resource recovery. This perspective outlines innovations in engineering biology, its integration with other technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, IoT, AI), and commercial ventures leveraging these advancements. We also discuss commercialisation and scaling challenges, biosafety and biosecurity considerations including biocontainment strategies, social and political dimensions, and governance issues that must be addressed for successful real-world implementation. Finally, we highlight future perspectives and propose strategies to overcome existing hurdles, aiming to accelerate the adoption of engineering biology for environmental solutions.
Article Details
Authors (26)
David J. Lea-Smith
Francis Hassard
Frederic Coulon
Natalie Partridge
Louise Horsfall
Kyle D. J. Parker
Robert D. J. Smith
Ronan R. McCarthy
Boyd McKew
Tony Gutierrez
Vinod Kumar
Gabriella Dotro
Zhugen Yang
Cranfield Water Science Institute, Cranfield University
Thomas P. Curtis
Peter Golyshin
Sonia Heaven
Bruce Jefferson
Paul Jeffrey
Davey L. Jones
Kristell Le Corre Pidou
Yongqiang Liu
Key Laboratory of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity (Ministry of Education) and Institute of Evolution & Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China
Tao Lyu
Cindy Smith
Alexander Yakunin
Yue Zhang
Natalio Krasnogor