Synthetic Biology

The emerging field of synthetic biology employs biotechnological approaches to recreate and enhance basic biological structures, intracellular processes and whole organisms. This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the opportunities and challenges of this complex field of biotechnology, which combines various scientific disciplines. It addresses a broad range of topics, including redesigning complex metabolic pathways, DNA/RNA and protein engineering, as well as novel synthetic biomaterials. It discusses both "bottom up" and "top down" approaches and presents the latest genome engineering tools with predictions about how these could change our way of thinking and working. Since the use of synthetic biology raises a number of ethical questions, a chapter is devoted to public awareness and risk management. The book is of interest to scientists from both academia and industry, as well as PhD students and postdocs working in the field.