Biological Solutions to Security Threats

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Synthetic biology could offer solutions to security threats. A new effort is aimed at creating organic capabilities and infrastructure for the use of synthetic biology in the US DoD as a key enabler for future defense technology.

Synthetic biology, though well established in industry, is still a relatively new field of application for the DoD. This interdisciplinary field combines the understanding of how genes operate and are organized in cells with engineering principles, to modify organisms for beneficial applications in areas such as performance augmentation, sensor development and materials synthesis, to name a few.

A collaborative, $45 million tri-service effort is changing the way the DoD exploits biological systems to meet the unique needs and challenges of defense environments. The move is based on the DoD research laboratory expertise in chemistry, biology, computer science and material science and engineering.

According to dvidshub.net, the Applied Research for the Advancement of Science and Technology Priorities (ARAP) Program on Synthetic Biology for Military Environments (SBME), funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, unites subject matter experts from the Air Force, Army and Navy.

“There are consumer products on the market that depend on this technology. We’re trying to grow its use in the DoD,” said Dr. Claretta Sullivan, a research scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, who is also the Tri-Service Program Manager for the program. “Our team is looking at ways we can reprogram cells that already exist in the environment to create environmentally friendly platforms for generating molecules and materials beneficial for defense needs.”

The program seeks to establish a multi-functional, joint capability in synthetic biology, ultimately creating an ecosystem that ensures the U.S. military remains at the forefront in the field as it applies to defense objectives.

The three SBME task teams combine the expertise, capabilities and tools from each of the service labs into a single, focused effort to meet the aim of a task effort. For example, the Navy Laboratory is leading a tri-service task team focused on developing systems biology tools in an open systems architecture, with the goal of creating a set of collaborative tools to enable SBME applications. Another task, led by the Air Force, is working to develop and prototype a cell-based system that is optimized for use in military environments. The Army labs are leading the effort to develop cell-free platforms for testing and delivering the genetic components.

Though this collaborative effort is less than one year old, the members are already seeing the upshots of their efforts. In addition to standardizing protocols and enterprise sharing environments, several scientific publications have resulted from collaborative efforts within the group, and a working demonstration of a complicated, responsive gene network which operates in a simulated environment is expected to be delivered by the end of the effort.