Synthetic Biology and metabolic engineering were placed at Number 2 in the list of top ten technologies that will have major global impacts in 2012.
Emerging technologies are critical to building a sustainable and resilient future. But without new understanding, tools and capabilities, their safe and successful development is far from guaranteed. At the Summit on the Global Agenda 2011, the World Economic Forum asked some of the world’s leading thinkers which technology trends would have the greatest social, economic and environmental impacts on the state of the world in the near future. They were listed in order of greatest potential:
1. Informatics for adding value to information
2. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering
The natural world is a testament to the vast potential inherent in the genetic code at the core of all living organisms. Rapid advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering are allowing biologists and engineers to tap into this potential in unprecedented ways, enabling the development of new biological processes and organisms that are designed to serve specific purposes – whether converting biomass to chemicals, fuels and materials, producing new therapeutic drugs or protecting the body against harm.
3. Green Revolution 2.0 – technologies for increased food and biomass
4. Nanoscale design of materials
5. Systems biology and computational modelling/simulation of chemical and biological systems
6. Utilization of carbon dioxide as a resource
7. Wireless power
8. High energy density power systems
9. Personalized medicine, nutrition and disease prevention
10. Enhanced education technology
For the full article see: (http://forumblog.org/2012/02/the-2012-top-10-emerging-technologies/)