At the "2024 (Second Edition) Synthetic Biology and Biomedical Health Conference" held on March 29, 2024, at Shanghai Minhang Dalin Bay, the role of synthetic biology was underscored as pivotal, ranging from pioneering innovative drugs for treating major diseases to developing novel vaccines and employing engineered cells and gene editing techniques for precision medicine.
In simple terms, synthetic biology involves redesigning and synthesizing organisms. According to Shi Guoyue, Vice President of East China Normal University, synthetic biology, as an emerging interdisciplinary field resulting from the integration of modern biology with multiple disciplines, marks the third biological technology revolution, following the discoveries of the DNA double helix structure and the Human Genome Project, characterized by the engineering of synthetic genomes.
Explaining further, Ye Haifeng, Vice Dean of the School of Life Sciences at East China Normal University, outlined three main aspects where synthetic biology is revolutionizing the field of healthcare:
Diagnostic Advancements: Synthetic biology constructs precise biosensors capable of detecting disease biomarkers, enabling early diagnosis and real-time monitoring. This technology enhances the timeliness and effectiveness of treatments, thereby improving patient survival rates and quality of life.
Drug Development and Production: Synthetic biology empowers scientists to design and produce novel biomolecules, not only for innovative drugs but also to optimize the production processes of traditional medications. Furthermore, by modifying microorganisms, synthetic biology can transform them into efficient drug production factories, offering new avenues for producing originally expensive or complex drugs.
Genetic and Cellular Therapies: The precise tools provided by synthetic biology allow for the customization of treatment plans based on individual genetic backgrounds, facilitating personalized medicine. This not only improves treatment outcomes but also reduces the risks of side effects, paving new paths for treating genetic diseases and certain types of cancer.
Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the production methods of human society. Ye Haifeng believes that AI brings revolutionary progress to medical synthetic biology, providing powerful data analysis capabilities to handle and analyze complex biological data, including gene sequences and protein structures. It can also predict molecular interactions through techniques such as deep learning, accelerating drug development and innovative disease treatments, while also uncovering unknown biological principles to advance personalized medicine.
However, he also points out challenges in applying AI to medical synthetic biology. Firstly, the effectiveness of AI depends on vast amounts of high-quality data, which can often be problematic in terms of quality and availability. Secondly, the opacity of AI models (the "black box" problem) is particularly concerning in the medical field, as it relates to the transparency of treatment decisions. Additionally, there are ethical and privacy issues in handling personal health information, as well as the complexity of interdisciplinary collaboration required.
In conclusion, Ye Haifeng emphasizes that medical synthetic biology has shown great potential in revealing the essence of life, deciphering disease mysteries, seeking new drug development targets, regulating physiological metabolic processes, and in health monitoring and disease diagnosis and treatment. From developing innovative drugs for treating major diseases to formulating new vaccines and employing engineered cells and gene editing techniques for precision medicine, the role of synthetic biology cannot be underestimated.
The conference was jointly organized by the Synthetic Biology Branch of the Chinese Society of Biotechnology, the Synthetic Biology Special Committee of the Shanghai Society of Biotechnology, the Shanghai Synthetic Biology Industry Association, the Shanghai Synthetic Biology Innovation Strategic Alliance, the Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industry Promotion Center, East China Normal University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Molecular Plant Science Center of Excellence, and East China University of Science and Technology.
