The Importance of Biosecurity in Emerging Biotechnologies and Synthetic Biology

The age of synthetic biology is ushering in new technologies for the advancement of society, human health, and agriculture. It appears that synthetic biology has integrated engineering paradigms into biological contexts. The combined use of new biotechnology and synthetic biology raises concerns about biosafety, biosecurity, and even cyberbiosecurity. For example, synthetic biology increases the possibility of designing, developing, and deploying pathogenic bioweapons in new and different ways than natural pathogens, as well as manipulating the genome. Evaluation of new technologies and platforms that enable creative or destructive manipulation of biological materials, systems, and organisms is important to identify potential security opportunities and vulnerabilities. This issue poses challenges to the medical community and civilian populations worldwide, creating a growing need to implement and enforce standardized biosafety and biosecurity regulations to protect humans, animals, plants, and the environment. It is critical to establish rules and management guidelines, provide strong leadership at the individual and institutional levels, and utilize established biosafety and biosecurity tools to mitigate the risks associated with synthetic biology. This review addresses the current state of synthetic biology, focusing on the concepts of biosafety, biosecurity, and cyberbiosecurity, as well as enhancing the standardization, regulation, and management of biosecurity in synthetic biology. In this review, the current situation in the Middle East region has been discussed and the challenges and opportunities encountered by synthetic biology researchers in this area is explored. The Middle East region is vulnerable to bioterrorism due to various factors. However, some countries in this strategically important region face challenges as they lack the necessary resources to effectively combat this significant global threat. These attacks are not limited to a specific border or area; they can affect multiple countries or have a global impact.