Overview
Synthetic Biology provides a framework to examine key enabling components in synthetic biology. Chapters contributed by experts address tools and methodologies developed to engineer biological systems at the molecular, pathway, network, whole cell, and multi-cell level. The book highlights practical applications of synthetic biology such as microbial production of biofuels and drugs, artificial cells, synthetic viruses, and artificial photosynthesis. The roles of computers and computational design are discussed, as well as future prospects in the field. Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological entities, such as enzymes and genetic circuits, or the redesign of existing systems. It builds on advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology and seeks to transform biology in the same way that synthesis transformed chemistry. What distinguishes synthetic biology from traditional molecular and cellular biology is its focus on designing and building core components that can be modeled and tuned to meet specific performance criteria and the assembly of these components into larger systems that solve specific problems.
