The applications and potential benefits of synthetic biology

Synthetic biology can be regarded as a platform technology that cuts across several key market sectors, such as energy, chemicals, medicine, environment and agriculture. Its formative years have been spent in developing the basic tools for applications in biofuels and other bio-based products, where the earliest products have been seen. It holds out very high expectations and potential for applications to human and animal health, with the potential for greatest benefits in the developing and poor nations. With a growing global population and threats to water and soil quality, agricultural applications are envisaged that could have far-reaching consequences for productivity and efficiency, but in many parts of the world such agricultural applications are controversial.