The coming wave of confluent biosynthetic, bioinformational and bioengineering technologies

Isak S. Pretorius; Thomas A. Dixon; Michael Boers; Ian T. Paulsen; Daniel L. Johnson

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-58030-y

The coming wave of confluent biosynthetic, bioinformational and bioengineering technologies

Isak S. Pretorius^*, Thomas A. Dixon, Michael Boers, Ian T. Paulsen, Daniel L. Johnson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Information and energy flows form the basis of all economic activity, with advanced technologies underpinning both. Profound uncertainties caused by geostrategic forces have accelerated a trillion-dollar race for technological superiority. The result is an onrush of “technovation” at the nexus of synthetic biotechnologies, information technologies, nanotechnologies and engineering technologies. This article explores recent breakthroughs in integrating chip technologies and synthetic bioinformational engineering. It investigates prospects of biomolecules as carriers of stored digital data, synthetic cells-on-a-chip, and hybrid semiconductors and next-generation artificial intelligence processors. Consilience—unity of knowledge—redefines possibilities emerging from the living interface of biologically-inspired engineering and engineering-enabled biology.

Original language	English
Article number	2959
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58030-y
Publication status	Published - 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2025. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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Cite this

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The coming wave of confluent biosynthetic, bioinformational and bioengineering technologies

Abstract

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