Coming soon... Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology

This new biotech revolution born in the San Francisco Bay Area was at the heart of the recent controversial deal between UC Berkeley and oil giant BP.

Building artificial life forms may sound like science fiction, but it couldn't be more real for the investment and tech communities in the Bay Area. They tout "synthetic biology" as the next big tech revolution to come out of the Bay Area. Synthetic biologists are already attracting billions of dollars in corporate funding from energy, chemical and grain processing giants - including DuPont, BP, Shell, Chevron, Cargill and ADM - as well as venture capital and government grants. The San Francisco Bay Area, including Silicon Valley, is home to most synbio activity and is considered "ground zero" for global developments.

Synthetic organisms pose new safety risks to health and the environment. If industry succeeds in applying them to biofuel (agrofuel) production, they will have a huge impact on farm and forest economies.