Report – Exploring Environmental Biotechnology as a Field
The EBNet working Environmental Biotechnology and Social Sciences Working Group, set up to ‘examine the histories, contemporary dynamics and potential futures of the field of environmental biotechnology’ has released their in-depth report on Exploring Environmental Biotechnology as a Field.
This in-depth report, explores the diverse field of environmental biotechnology and highlights the lack of a single, universally agreed definition. Interestingly, the report suggests that the environmental problem being addressed, along with the biotechnology involved, pertains to how environmental biotechnology is perceived/defined.
According to the report the term “environmental biotechnology” is used in a surprisingly small proportion*
of the scientific literature within the field (less than 1%) and that as a country China publishes the greatest number of papers*.
*Page 1 of the Executive Summary
The researcher’s bibliometric analysis identified five main research clusters:
The report looks at the past, present and future of environmental biotechnology, we have briefly highlighted some key aspects below.
The report also contains fascinating considerations for the field in the future, including challenges involved, the potential for international collaboration and regulation.
If you work or have an interest in environmental biotechnology, synthetic biology and engineering biology this report is a must-read!
Who are EBNet?
The Environmental Biotechnology Network (EBNet) is one of 6 Phase II Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy funded primarily by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) with additional funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The EBNet community are focused on engineering microbial systems for environmental protection, bioremediation and resource recovery, you can learn more about their work here.
