Biological wastes and the circular economy: Not yet where we could be

Summary: Sigrid Kusch-Brandt and EBIC’s Sonia Heaven highlight the significant potential of biological wastes for a circular bio-economy, and delve into the gap between research innovations and their real-world application. This paper explores the reasoning behind this slow adoption, as well as the potential for driving innovation and making the field more attractive in order to accelerate the utilisation of these valuable solutions.

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How genetically modified organisms could transform water treatment

Summary: Tailored microbes can efficiently remove pollutants like microplastics, hydrocarbons, metals and oils from water – so what’s stopping the water sector from embracing their potential? EBIC’s Frederic Coulon explores the tools, challenges and how EBIC is working on the safe scaling up of techniques from engineering biology for clean, sustainable, environmental solutions.

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Self-driving laboratories, advanced immunotherapies and five more technologies to watch in 2025

Summary: EBIC’s Ronan McCarthy’s brilliant work leveraging microbes in the bioremediation of plastics is featured amongst the top technologies to watch in 2025, as complied by the journal Nature, in their annual roundup of exciting innovations. Ronan’s work involves coaxing plastic-degrading bacteria to form dense biofilms on the surface of plastic fragments, allowing the bacteria to secrete enzymes onto the target plastics, without being washed away.

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Engineering biology approaches to modulate bacterial biofilms

Summary: This article reviews engineering biology approaches to manipulate bacterial biofilms. It highlights the potential of harnessing biofilms’ natural properties, such as self-repair and resilience, for various biotechnological applications, including bioremediation and biomanufacturing. The authors discuss various engineering targets, such as extracellular matrix components and quorum sensing, and explores tools for biofilm control and modification, including optogenetics. Finally, they showcase examples of engineered biofilms with enhanced functionalities and address the challenges and future prospects of this field.

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Scaling-up Engineering Biology for Enhanced Environmental Solutions

Summary: This viewpoint article advocates for scaling up synthetic biology (SynBio) to address environmental challenges. SynBio techniques, such as genome editing and the engineering of microbial factories, offer promising solutions for bioremediation and sustainable resource management. However, the authors highlight the need to overcome challenges in scaling up laboratory research, ensuring ethical considerations, and understanding the complex interactions within engineered microbial communities. The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration and the role of the UK’s Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC) in fostering responsible SynBio development. Finally, the authors stress the need for standardization and robust tracking methods to improve the efficiency and transparency of the SynBio process.

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