A Roadmap and Wish List for Synthetic Genomics

November 7, 2019

(GEN) – We are already living in a synthetic biology world. Within that huge world is an enormous variety of ideas and approaches, like custom-made proteins, CAR-T medicines, genetically engineered crops, and more. One sector still in its infancy is synthetic genomics, where instead of one protein or gene, entire genomes are designed, synthesized, and implemented. To make synthetic genomics bloom, it needs new innovations and support, concludes a new report by a consortium of scientists from academia and industry, published recently in Science. Nili Ostrov, PhD, (Harvard Medical School, HMS) and colleagues advocate for advances in four areas they believe are critical for making synthetic genomics as much a part of science as gene sequencing is today.