top of page
Balanced Objects

SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE

How can we bio-engineer medicine?

Researchers are using synthetic biology and bio-engineering to address a variety of medical issues.

Here are 5 different current or developing ways synthetic biology is being used in medicine [1,2]!

Synthetic Biology In Medicine

... that help fight cancer

CAR-T cells

car t cells3.png

... that can detect diseases

Biosensors

biosenseor.png

... made from genetically modified cells

Therapeutics

therapeutics.png

... improved by
synthetic biology

Vaccines

mrna vaccines.png

... made from our own cells

Bio-printed organs

bioprinting2.png
bioprinting2.png

Click on each box to find out more!

Which medical application did you find most interesting? Comment below!

References:

1. Tan X, Letendre JH, Collins JJ, Wong WW. Synthetic Biology in the Clinic: Engineering Vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Cell. 2021;184(4):881–98. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.017

2. CSIRO. Australia’s Synthetic Biology Roadmap [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://csiro.au/en/work-with-us/services/consultancy-strategic-advice-services/csiro-futures/future-industries/synthetic-biology-roadmap

3.Denlinger N, Bond D, Jaglowski S. Car T-cell therapy for B-cell lymphoma. Current Problems in Cancer. 2022;46(1):100826. doi:10.1016/j.currproblcancer.2021.100826

4. Hibbert A [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Aug 23]. Available from: https://www.petermac.org/patients-and-carers/treatments/haematological-treatments/cellular-therapies-program/car-t-cell-therapy

5. Epworth HealthCare. Car T-cell therapy [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2023 Aug 23]. Available from: https://www.epworth.org.au/our-services/immunotherapies/treatment/car-t-cell-therapy

6. Slomovic S, Pardee K, Collins JJ. Synthetic biology devices for in vitro and in vivo diagnostics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2015;112(47):14429–35. doi:10.1073/pnas.1508521112

7. Hicks M, Bachmann TT, Wang B. Synthetic Biology enables programmable cell‐based biosensors. ChemPhysChem. 2019;21(2):132–44. doi:10.1002/cphc.201900739 

8. Department of Health & Human Services. Diabetes and insulin [Internet]. Department of Health & Human Services; 2004 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/diabetes-and-insulin

9. Falcetta P, Aragona M, Bertolotto A, Bianchi C, Campi F, Garofolo M, et al. Insulin discovery: A pivotal point in medical history. Metabolism. 2022;127:154941. doi:10.1016/j.metabol.2021.154941 
10. Temming M. Artificial insulin-releasing cells may make it easier to manage diabetes [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-insulin-releasing-cells-may-make-it-easier-manage-diabetes 

11. Tan X, Letendre JH, Collins JJ, Wong WW. Synthetic Biology in the Clinic: Engineering Vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Cell. 2021;184(4):881–98. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.017

12. Komaroff AL. Why are mRNA vaccines so exciting? [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-are-mrna-vaccines-so-exciting-2020121021599

13. Fox A, Bond C. You don’t need to worry about Covid vaccines being “unnatural” or “synthetic” [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://theconversation.com/you-dont-need-to-worry-about-covid-vaccines-being-unnatural-or-synthetic-166268

14. Reddy VS, Ramasubramanian B, Telrandhe VM, Ramakrishna S. Contemporary standpoint and future of 3D bioprinting in tissue/organs printing. Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering. 2023;27:100461. doi:10.1016/j.cobme.2023.100461

15. Mendis D, Rutschman AS. 3D printing of body parts is coming fast – but regulations are not ready [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://theconversation.com/3d-printing-of-body-parts-is-coming-fast-but-regulations-are-not-ready-128691

16. Woman’s ear rebuilt with 3D-printed living tissue implant [Internet]. Guardian News and Media; 2022 [cited 2023 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/jun/02/womans-ear-rebuilt-with-3d-printed-living-tissue-implant

GET UPDATED FOR NEW SNIPPETS!

Thanks for submitting!

YOU CAN ALSO FIND US ON...

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
Comments

Share Your ThoughtsBe the first to write a comment.

The Synthetic Biology Project (2023). Website powered by Wix.

bottom of page