Could synthetic biology become tomorrow’s richest industry?

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Credit: MIT Synthetic Biology Center

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[E]conomic growth comes down to something quite simple: turning low-value commodities into high-value items[.]

But a fast emerging branch of science, synthetic biology, could bring [Adam Smith’s 18th-century rules] to an end. Want more “stuff”? Just grow it.

At its heart[,] synthetic biology takes micro-organisms, like yeasts or bacteria, modifies their DNA, and uses them as microscopic factories, converting raw materials into finished products.

[I]n much the same way that today’s digital start-ups have been built on the foundation of widely-available free tools and cloud computing…so too with synthetic biology.

According to [Nooman Haque], while the more blue-sky appeals of synthetic biology remain exactly that, it is the more mundane, practical applications, are where it will have its initial biggest impact.

Haque predicts that pharmaceuticals, drug development and related areas will probably account for about a third of all synthetic biology going forward.

“More money is going to be made, and far more gains made, from synthetic biology than from the entire computer industry[,]” [stated businessman Bill Liao.]

Read full, original post: How synthetic biology will make more money than the entire computer industry

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