The next-gen genome writing technology in the platform bio field will play a leading role in the future era of competitive technology dominance, as per the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology.

The South Korean state-run institute stated that the technology, which allows DNA designing to be rapidly combined at a mass scale, can help in overcoming technical limitations in matters of health, space, and environment, while it announced ten promising future biotechnologies for 2022.

The institute further added that the technology can aid in accelerating research on high-efficiency strains, needed to produce pharmaceuticals, energy, and materials, and will have a major role in changing the bio-industry to have a more nature-friendly design.

The KRIBB categorized the 10 biotechnologies into four parts with the help of the data analysis technology from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, which are platform bio, green bio, white bio, and red bio.

The category of platform bio included live cell imaging and epigenome editing along with next-generation genome writing technologies, while the red bio category included mind-altering medicine and drug delivery with extracellular vesicles, along with next-generation vaccines technologies.

Under the category of green bio, the engineering of plant photosynthesis and chimera technology for bio organs were selected, while technologies of xenobiotics-degrading microbiome and nanomaterials' eco-friendly polymer synthesis were included under the category of white bio.

In reference to South Korea’s quick response of developing COVID-19 test kits during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, the institute said that the country can become a biotechnology powerhouse if it would offer more support to ‘high-risk, high-return’ types of research development.

Kim Heoung-yeol, Director, National Biotech Research Center at KRIBB, stated that in order to become a ‘first-mover’ in the race for technological hegemony, acquiring innovative technologies to lead the future is more crucial than ever.

Heoung-yeol added that last year, South Korea had become the first country to have its status changed to ‘developed’ in the history of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Source credit: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220228000748