London began producing DNA for biotechnology

Scientists at a London lab are preparing plans to produce industrial DNA for biotechnology.

According to Sky News, in a basement in South Kensington, London, a very different factory has been built. A group of robots working with mechanical noises screamed but here did not produce iron and steel, did not assemble cars but made materials of life - DNA.

That is what is happening at the Foundry , a center worth £ 2 million, which was unveiled at Imperial College London. They plan to industrialize the DNA production process to serve in the field of synthetic biology.

This automated laboratory can run thousands of experiments simultaneously, saving a lot of time for biological researchers. DNA will turn into essential fuel in the production of antibiotics, vaccines .

DNA will turn into essential fuel in the production of antibiotics, vaccines .

Professor Paul Freemont, head of molecular biology at Imperial College, said: " We want and almost achieve a very standard open source model, so that people can access the data. from Foundry as part of the synthetic biological process.

Synthetic biology is an extension of biotechnology. That's a way to exploit biology more effectively, making it their tool in producing everything . ".

The British government has identified synthetic biology as one of the eight "great technologies" that the country has strength. Professor Freemont continued: "We have been operating and using biological resources for more than 5,000 years. The only thing we are doing now is more detailed. We started designing systems. I think this is a natural evolution and in a good way The future will start here when we produce really complex molecules like drugs, pharmaceuticals, even both chemicals ".

Synthetic biology has really exploded since decoding the human genome in 2000, especially this industry has made great leaps in the past 3 years thanks to a gene refining technique called CRISPR . New synthetic biology companies are growing more and more in the UK.

Chloe Gui, co-founder and CEO of Aranex used CRISPR technology to create hypoallergenic peanuts for humans when eating. In fact, one in every 100 Britons will be allergic to regular peanuts.

She confided in Sky News: "The great thing is that CRISPR is easier to use than older methods."

At this time, when many traditional industries in the UK are in crisis, synthetic biology can be considered one of the new strengths of the country. Many scientists agree with the idea that this is an industry of a "very close" future .