Life sciences and their convergence with digital technologies for prospecting, understanding and sustainably using biological resources

Engineering biology applications have grown beyond chemical production to include the generation of biosensor organisms for the lab, animal, and field, modification of agricultural organisms for nutrition and pest/environmental resilience, production of organisms for bioremediation, and live cell and gene/viral therapies. The rapid expansion of the field has resulted in new tools and new approaches. However, we are still challenged by the need for novel and more robust and interoperable computational tools and models for engineering biology. For example, improved models of synthetic systems (synthetic biology) and of their interaction with their host organisms could help enable more successful engineering.

This information infrastructure for biological design is at an early stage compared to engineering disciplines such as mechanical and electrical engineering, as the biomanufacturing field has emerged only recently. A critical bottleneck is a lack of established “design rules,