Editorial introduction for the Synthetic Biology thematic issue

Synthetic biology strives to develop organisms, enzymes, and processes that do not occur naturally to solve specific biotechnological problems. Often this requires genetic engineering to change a natural process, or to combine genes from different sources to create new ones. This volume includes examples not only of these traditional approaches, but also illustrates how some problems can be solved chemically or biochemically without genetic manipulation. Topics covered therefore range from exploitation of genomic or gene regulation data gleaned from systems biology to the production of nanoparticles at one extreme of scale to biodiesel to replace our dependence upon fossil fuels at the opposite extreme. This introduction sets current synthetic biology within the context of the European regulatory framework within which we must operate. Attention is also drawn to the emerging language that describes it.