Silicatein is an enzyme that mineralizes environmental precursors to patterned nanomaterials and is found naturally orchestrating the complex and beautiful exoskeletons of marine sponges. To harness this activity for nanomaterial...

Synthetic biology tools have become increasingly prevalent as we look to nature for biological approaches to complex problems. With an ever-growing global population, issues of food safety and security, as well as addressing pollution and striving for sustainability are of the utmost importance. In this review, we first highlight synthetic biology techniques such as directed evolution as a toolset for protein engineering and show direct applications for food safety and security. Moreover, we offer an introduction to creative approaches for biosensor design and development and spotlight a few innovative examples. Finally, we address biomanufacturing with direct applications, as well as biomanufacturing to improve natural processes.