CPI unpacks what engineering biology is and how we can use it to build a healthier, better future.
From disease to climate change, engineering biology is helping tackle global challenges while revolutionising industries. It’s been highlighted as a key technology where the UK has scientific strength and, when deployed, can have both economic and planetary impact.
Have you ever stopped and looked at a bridge spanning a wide river and considered all the factors that go into building it? Think of the science behind the choice of materials, the design, how the structure can bear the weight of the traffic crossing as well as the weather or shocks such as earthquakes it might experience.
That’s engineering, the process of using multidisciplinary activities, such as science, mathematics, and design, to solve technical problems, increase productivity, and improve systems. Now, think of DNA as a building block in a biological ‘bridge’. Engineering biology applies those same principles to biological systems to make products and processes more efficient, effective, and greener.