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24-02-2016 | Critical Discussion Notes

Synthetic Biology: From Having Fun to Jumping the Gun

Author: Manuel Porcar

Published in: NanoEthics | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Synthetic biology (SynBio) aims at making life easier to an engineer by applying biotechnology engineering principles such as standardization and modularity. I argue that living organisms are inherently non-machine, non-standardized entities and that the current state-of-the-art in SynBio combines pre- and post-standardization efforts, in a scenario without evidence that full standardization in biology is even possible. I finally propose a new view on SynBio based on purpose rather than on technicalities.

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Title: Synthetic Biology: From Having Fun to Jumping the Gun
Author: Manuel Porcar
Publication date: 24-02-2016
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: NanoEthics / Issue 1/2016
Print ISSN: 1871-4757
Electronic ISSN: 1871-4765
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-016-0251-8

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