In a guest post at Scientific American's Lab Rat blog, iGEM-UANL team member Miguel Angel Loera Snchez discusses what he calls the "mainstream fronts of synthetic biology." These five fronts DNA synthesis, biological parts standardization, genetic code expansion, synthetic genetic circuits, and metabolic engineering have helped synthetic biology become "a fast growing and productive field," Snchez says. While much work remains to be done, the field "is attracting many smart and active young minds from different disciplines," he adds, leading him to believe that "the growth and innovation rate will likely increase in the years to come."

Meanwhile, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars's Synthetic Biology Project seeks to assess the societal impacts of advances in the field through a new public survey. The survey asks participants a variety of questions to investigate the ethical, legal, and social implications of synthetic biology research. "The results of this anonymous survey will be analyzed and compiled into a report, which will be released in mid- to late-May 2012," the Synthetic Biology Project group notes.

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Spotlight on Synthetic Biology