Vivek Verma
a 6 mins read.
Threats from Niche Technology
The 2024 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) of the US Intelligence Community Report, published by the US Department of Defence (DoD) in February 2024, categorically lists Synthetic Biology as the field set to control new military and commercial applications. According to the report, it will not only drive industry growth but will exert significant ‘influence on the global economy for generations’. Even NATO Science and Technology Trends 2023-2043 recognise that managing the growing threat from synthetic biology and human enhancement technologies will be very challenging.
Steve Jobs, while undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, remarked that the biggest innovations of the 21st Century lie at the intersection of biology and technology. The advent of Synthetic biology as a multidisciplinary field at the dawn of the 21st Century combines principles from biology, engineering, and computer sciences to design and manufacture new biological systems or redesign existing ones for specific purposes or with new abilities. The fourth industrial revolution has redefined the physical-to-digital-to-physical (PDP) loop technologies. High-performance computing, natural language processing, and analytics, besides emergent technologies like additive manufacturing, cognitive technologies, advanced materials, and augmented reality, are great enablers in the simulated testing of predictive models and have metamorphosed the biotechnology field.
Biology is all about knowing about the living organisms. Biology uses observation techniques to study the behaviour of organisms, including microorganisms. Critical tools are used to understand how organisms mutate or the changes that happen through the alterations in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is an organic chemical containing genetic information and instructions for protein synthesis. It also plays a key role in reproduction. Learning is also through anatomic or genomic dissection to trace the sequence of DNA. A sequence of just a bacterial genome can run into 3000 pages, with each page having 2000 characters split into a code of ‘A’, ‘C’, ‘G’, and ‘T’, which is quite like the code of 0s and 1s used in computer coding. It is a huge amount of data, and only supercomputers can process them. Biology, in this case, therefore, tries to analyse the meaning of these genome sequences. It is here that biology finishes, and synthetic biology starts.
Synthetic biology researchers and companies worldwide are harnessing the power of nature to solve problems across various fields, including pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, chemicals, biofuels, bioplastics, agriculture, energy, and environmental remediation.
Key Techniques
Some of the key techniques and challenges surrounding synthetic biology development include the following: –
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- DNA Synthesis. Here, the new DNA molecules are created either naturally inside cells (in vivo) or artificially in a lab (in vitro) by replicating original genetic instructions stored in DNA or creating clones. Targeted genome editing is another powerful technique that allows scientists to rewrite the genetic code of living things by making precise incisions. It allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism’s DNA by inserting, deleting, or modifying specific sections of DNA. Engineered enzymes like CRISPR-Cas9 act like molecular scissors and hold the potential to treat or cure diseases and create new materials, but its unforeseen consequences across future generations are still a matter of debate.
- Metabolic Engineering. Cellular metabolic engineering is a rapidly advancing field that can revolutionise various industries. It works through a highly interconnected network. Altering one pathway might have cascading effects on others, making it difficult to predict all the outcomes. Transferring successful lab-scale engineering feats to large-scale industrial production can be challenging and expensive.
- DNA Printing. It allows long pieces of DNA to be written from scratch. However, the challenges remain in creating a web of registries of different bio-labs, standardised rules, and models to understand the root structure. The software standards are also different. The complex nature of data interpretation needs a different type of software code rather than following the simple data table design. More importantly, it requires better visualisation tools and the ability to debug and redesign. The ecosystem requirement to support this niche bio-technological field is humungous and needs large capital investment and governmental support.
Uses of Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology researchers and companies worldwide are harnessing the power of nature to solve problems across various fields, including pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, chemicals, biofuels, bioplastics, agriculture, energy, and environmental remediation. By developing innovative biological solutions, synthetic biology holds the potential to address pressing challenges such as disease treatment, food security, and sustainability. While there is still a long way to go to make many of these products and processes commercially available, an entire ecosystem of companies in the leading nations, including India, are working to revolutionise the biomaterial world.
The US and China are the leaders of a trillion-dollar Synthetic Biology industry, which will disrupt pharmaceuticals, beauty, pesticides, energy, metals, and the meat industry. The transformation is set to impact the production and supply chain, too, thus impacting the entire economy. BCG Henderson Institute analysis estimates that Synthetic Biology could affect almost 30 per cent of the global GDP, amounting to USD 28 trillion by 2030. The reported market value of this industry is more than USD17 billion, and the industry is likely to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent.
Threats of accidental or deliberate release of engineered organisms, environmental consequences, unethical use, or lack of knowledge about their potential risks are likely to put humanity at risk.
Pandemic Unleashed
The new distribution of security responsibility between individuals, companies, and institutions of governance has been defining the new approach to international security. Countries like the US, China, and Russia are trying to increase the strategic space of the contest. Non-nuclear deterrence capabilities in biomaterials are seen as the new strategic high ground by these countries as it has the potential to plunge society and governance into chaos.
Technological innovations, through the participation of state and non-state groups, are scripting a new product mix that has the prospect of altering the balance of power. The waning strategic capabilities of the state or loss of revenue by the non-state group could incentivise risk-taking by state or non-state groups. Without strategic communication and trust between adversaries, it may be difficult to achieve strategic stability, especially when grey zone contests are being orchestrated by countries like China, where the Armed Forces are fused into a state structure.
Threats of accidental or deliberate release of engineered organisms, environmental consequences, unethical use, or lack of knowledge about their potential risks are likely to put humanity at risk. The lack of a global bio-security framework in regulating bio-material industrial production needs a collective approach. The laboratories and corporations leading the research in synthetic biology must be made accountable to prevent its proliferation.
Power politics still dominates the world. Synthetic Biology should not add to another technological arms race. The pandemic unleashed by COVID-19 has shown that these microorganisms do not respect borders and ethnicity. This promising technology can provide solutions to the world’s major problems. Hence, It is important to regulate the research areas in biotechnology if the world dreams of making it safe. A cooperative international framework is essential to manage the transnational threats to humanity posed by Synthetic Biology.
(Vivek Verma is the author of the book, Non-Contact Warfare: An Appraisal of Chinese Military Capabilities. The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The News Analytics Journal)
