September 7 – GS3/Science and Technology: 2025 | UPSC Daily Answer Writing Practice PDF Download

Q:  Explain the concept of synthetic biology. How might it revolutionize medicine, agriculture, and environmental remediation, and what ethical concerns does it raise? 

Introduction

Synthetic biology is a field that brings together various disciplines such as biology, engineering, genetics, chemistry, and computer science. It focuses on redesigning organisms for beneficial purposes by giving them new capabilities through engineering. The fundamental concept is to consider genetic sequences as interchangeable biological components that can be artificially designed and assembled to create new biological systems or modify existing ones.

Body

• Medicine:
  • Engineered Cell Therapies: Custom-designed cells to target specific diseases. For example, CAR-T cell therapy for cancer treatment involves engineering T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.
  • Synthetic Antibiotics: Designing new antibiotics to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An example is MIT researchers using a machine-learning algorithm to identify a drug called halicin that kills various strains of bacteria.
  • Personalized Medicine: Tailoring treatments based on an individual's genetic makeup, such as synthesizing specific proteins or enzymes for patients with genetic disorders.
• Agriculture:
  • Crop Enhancement: Engineering crops for increased yield, nutrient content, or resistance to pests and environmental stresses. For instance, Golden Rice is genetically modified to produce beta-carotene, addressing Vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
  • Sustainable Biofuels: Designing microorganisms to efficiently produce biofuels, such as engineered algae or bacteria that can convert sunlight and CO2 directly into biofuels.
  • Precision Fermentation: Producing animal proteins without using animals. An example is Perfect Day's animal-free dairy proteins produced by engineered yeast.
• Environmental Remediation:
  • Bioremediation: Using engineered organisms to clean up pollutants, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa that can convert mercury into nontoxic forms.
  • Biodegradable Materials: Developing new biodegradable plastics using engineered bacteria, like PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) plastics produced by bacteria, which are fully biodegradable.

Ethical Concerns:

While synthetic biology holds great promise, it also raises important ethical issues:

• Biosafety: There is a risk of engineered organisms escaping into the environment and causing unintended ecological consequences. For instance, there are concerns about gene drive technology potentially altering entire wild populations.
• Biosecurity: There is a potential for the misuse of synthetic biology for bioterrorism or the creation of biological weapons. This includes the possibility of recreating extinct viruses or enhancing the virulence of existing pathogens.
• Playing God: There are philosophical and religious concerns about humans assuming the role of creators. An example of this is the debates surrounding the use of CRISPR technology for human embryo editing.

Conclusion

Synthetic biology offers a powerful set of tools to tackle global challenges in health, agriculture, and the environment. However, its potential for transformation comes with intricate ethical considerations that necessitate careful thought and strong regulatory frameworks.