While many of the fundamental laboratory techniques of biology and biotechnology are also applicable to synthetic biology, the major departure from the biological sciences tradition is in the development of technologies for the synthesis of large DNA sequences (of the gene and operon scale and above). Currently the cost of DNA synthesis lags a considerable way behind the spectacular advances in lowering the cost of DNA sequencing, although progress is being steadily made. In line with the aspirations to bring engineering standardisation to synthetic biology, there is a pressing need for new software developments, especially in design and manufacture. Chassis organisms, usually microorganisms engineered to be “minimal” life forms, are being developed as hosts for synthetic biology applications to reduce the noise and interference that is typical in biology. The bottleneck in synthetic biology is now shifting from DNA synthesis to dealing with the massive amounts of genetic and digital data being produced. If there is any role for co-ordinated international research infrastructure, it is to deal with this issue.