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Wang G, Kong Q, Wang D, Asmi F. Ethical and social insights into synthetic biology: predicting research fronts in the post-COVID-19 era. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1085797. [PMID: 37274167 PMCID: PMC10235617 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1085797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
As a revolutionary biological science and technology, synthetic biology has already spread its influence from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences by introducing biosafety, biosecurity, and ethical issues to society. The current study aims to elaborate the intellectual bases and research front of the synthetic biology field in the sphere of philosophy, ethics, and social sciences, with knowledge mapping and bibliometric methods. The literature records from the Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index in the Web of Science Core Collection from 1982 to 2021 were collected and analyzed to illustrate the intellectual structure of philosophical, ethical, and social research of synthetic biology. This study profiled the hotspots of research focus on its governance, philosophical and ethical concerns, and relevant technologies. This study offers clues and enlightenment for the stakeholders and researchers to follow the progress of this emerging discipline and technology and to understand the cutting-edge ideas and future form of this field, which takes on greater significance in the post-COVID-19 era.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Dong Wang
- *Correspondence: Dong Wang, ; Fahad Asmi,
| | - Fahad Asmi
- *Correspondence: Dong Wang, ; Fahad Asmi,
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The socio-economic factors affecting the emergence and impacts of new genomic techniques in agriculture: A scoping review. Trends Food Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2022.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Trump BD, Cegan J, Wells E, Poinsatte-Jones K, Rycroft T, Warner C, Martin D, Perkins E, Wood MD, Linkov I. Co-evolution of physical and social sciences in synthetic biology. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2019; 39:351-365. [PMID: 30727764 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2019.1566203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Emerging technologies research often covers various perspectives in disciplines and research areas ranging from hard sciences, engineering, policymaking, and sociology. However, the interrelationship between these different disciplinary domains, particularly the physical and social sciences, often occurs many years after a technology has matured and moved towards commercialization. Synthetic biology may serve an exception to this idea, where, since 2000, the physical and the social sciences communities have increasingly framed their research in response to various perspectives in biological engineering, risk assessment needs, governance challenges, and the social implications that the technology may incur. This paper reviews a broad collection of synthetic biology literature from 2000-2016, and demonstrates how the co-development of physical and social science communities has grown throughout synthetic biology's earliest stages of development. Further, this paper indicates that future co-development of synthetic biology scholarship will assist with significant challenges of the technology's risk assessment, governance, and public engagement needs, where an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to foster sustainable, risk-informed, and societally beneficial technological advances moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin D Trump
- a Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education , US Army Corps of Engineers, Oak Ridge , TN , USA.,b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Jeffrey Cegan
- c SOL Engineering Services, LLC , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Emily Wells
- c SOL Engineering Services, LLC , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | | | - Taylor Rycroft
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Christopher Warner
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - David Martin
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Edward Perkins
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Matthew D Wood
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
| | - Igor Linkov
- b US Army Engineer Research and Development Center , Vicksburg , MS , USA
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Abstract
Synthetic biology is an emerging domain that combines biological and engineering concepts and which has seen rapid growth in research, innovation, and policy interest in recent years. This paper contributes to efforts to delineate this emerging domain by presenting a newly constructed bibliometric definition of synthetic biology. Our approach is dimensioned from a core set of papers in synthetic biology, using procedures to obtain benchmark synthetic biology publication records, extract keywords from these benchmark records, and refine the keywords, supplemented with articles published in dedicated synthetic biology journals. We compare our search strategy with other recent bibliometric approaches to define synthetic biology, using a common source of publication data for the period from 2000 to 2015. The paper details the rapid growth and international spread of research in synthetic biology in recent years, demonstrates that diverse research disciplines are contributing to the multidisciplinary development of synthetic biology research, and visualizes this by profiling synthetic biology research on the map of science. We further show the roles of a relatively concentrated set of research sponsors in funding the growth and trajectories of synthetic biology. In addition to discussing these analyses, the paper notes limitations and suggests lines for further work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Shapira
- Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL UK
- School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0345 USA
- Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Seokbeom Kwon
- School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0345 USA
- Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30308 USA
| | - Jan Youtie
- Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30308 USA
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Wolt JD, Wang K, Yang B. The Regulatory Status of Genome-edited Crops. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2016; 14:510-8. [PMID: 26251102 PMCID: PMC5042095 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2015] [Revised: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Genome editing with engineered nucleases (GEEN) represents a highly specific and efficient tool for crop improvement with the potential to rapidly generate useful novel phenotypes/traits. Genome editing techniques initiate specifically targeted double strand breaks facilitating DNA-repair pathways that lead to base additions or deletions by non-homologous end joining as well as targeted gene replacements or transgene insertions involving homology-directed repair mechanisms. Many of these techniques and the ancillary processes they employ generate phenotypic variation that is indistinguishable from that obtained through natural means or conventional mutagenesis; and therefore, they do not readily fit current definitions of genetically engineered or genetically modified used within most regulatory regimes. Addressing ambiguities regarding the regulatory status of genome editing techniques is critical to their application for development of economically useful crop traits. Continued regulatory focus on the process used, rather than the nature of the novel phenotype developed, results in confusion on the part of regulators, product developers, and the public alike and creates uncertainty as of the use of genome engineering tools for crop improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey D Wolt
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Crop Bioengineering Consortium, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Kan Wang
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Crop Bioengineering Consortium, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Bing Yang
- Crop Bioengineering Consortium, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
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