Manufactured life: The scientific and social challenges of synthetic biology

Authors

  • Manuel Porcar University of Valencia (Spain).
  • Juli Peretó University of Valencia (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.13229

Keywords:

biotechnology, metaphor, artificial life, synthetic life, scientific communication

Abstract

Since biology became secularised and the molecular scrutiny of life began, the possibility of artificially synthesising living cells in a laboratory became a tangible possibility. Contemporary synthetic biology aspires to design and manufacture new forms of life to obtain social and economic benefits. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the creation of synthetic life forms may also bring scientific rewards in terms of a greater understanding of biological complexity, which we would not be able to access through analytical means. It is clear, therefore, that the term synthetic biology raises expectations, but it is no less true that it also causes concern. This article starts with a critique of the identification of cells as machines and discusses the current scope of synthetic biology and efforts to standardise it. We also outline some of the social implications of attempts to manufacture life.

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Author Biographies

Manuel Porcar, University of Valencia (Spain).

Researcher at the University of Valencia (Spain) in the Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology lab of the Institute of Integrative System Biology I 2 SysBio (University of Valencia - CSIC) and president of Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence SL (University of Valencia Scientific Park). Among his fields of research are bioprospecting in environments hostile to the search of microorganisms of industrial interest, as well as various aspects of the development of synthetic biology as an emerging discipline. He is currently the coordinator of the European H2020 project BioRobooST, which brings together 27 public and private institutions from Europe and six partners from Asia and America with the aim of promoting an international standardisation process in synthetic biology.

Juli Peretó, University of Valencia (Spain).

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Valencia (Spain), and co-director of the Institute of Integrative System Biology I 2 SysBio (University of Valencia - CSIC). He is a member of the Institute for Catalan Studies and the founding partner of Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence SL (University of Valencia Scientific Park). He explains metabolism to biotechnology students and, as a member of the Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology lab, his research interests include bioprospecting, metabolic modelling, and the history of ideas about the natural origin and artificial synthesis of life.

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Published

2020-01-08

How to Cite

Porcar, M., & Peretó, J. (2020). Manufactured life: The scientific and social challenges of synthetic biology. Metode Science Studies Journal, (10), 65–72. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.13229
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Issue

Shades of science (2020)

Section

The challenges of science

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