Genomics is the study of an organism’s complete set of DNA. Engineering biology, and fields within it like synthetic genomics, create new biological systems or redesign existing ones.
Engineering biology is an emerging and interdisciplinary field, and when applied to the engineering of genes, has the potential to drive innovation in exciting new ways.
Advances in this field could help respond to climate change, allowing us to engineer crops that can survive in high temperatures or make microbes that degrade plastic. Developments in engineering biology can also have harmful applications or be used with malicious intent.
Governments around the world are already taking steps towards ensuring engineering biology is well regulated to avoid misuse, but the current regulatory landscape is fragmented. That means researchers working in this field often navigate a complex labyrinth of different, sometimes conflicting, rules and laws.
The UK Government has taken an experimental approach to exploring how to regulate this field without imposing restrictive sanctions and preventing exciting innovations. It is taking a ‘sandbox’ approach, bringing together regulatory and scientific experts to test ideas for agile regulation in a controlled environment before rolling it out nationally.
To tackle this challenge, the reports recommend developing comprehensive ‘oversight maps’ to help establish networks of interconnected oversight mechanisms. This would support those in the field more effectively navigate the labyrinth of relevant regulations.
