Building a sustainable future using high-tech engineering of living organisms

Description

Microorganisms can be used to produce food, chemicals, materials, and energy in a sustainable manner. We will discuss how a future bio-based economy may be achieved using synthetic biology.

Before the industrial revolution, nearly all materials and tools used by humans were produced from natural resources. Today, most of our food, energy, chemicals, and materials are produced in a non-sustainable fashion contributing to immense greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

In synthetic biology, microorganisms are engineered using tools from disciplines such as genetics, biology, chemistry, engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence with the purpose of sustainable bio-manufacturing. This has the potential to become a paradigm shift of the economic system in which biological resources are at the center of the manufacturing and energy industries.

We will discuss a potential future in which living organisms are the basis for a renewable and sustainable economy. In this way, we can replace fossil resources, utilize the energy coming from the sun, create highly efficient production systems, and reduce emissions and waste. Large-scale implementation of synthetic biology is challenged by issues related to societal acceptance and requirement for an updated legal framework. An open debate among scientists, society, and authorities is needed.

Period	2022 Oct 26
Event title	Framtidsdagarna 2022: Framtidens mat
Event type	Other
Location	Lund, SwedenShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National