News / December 29, 2022
Synonym's Favorite Biomanufacturing Content from 2022
We asked our team for top titles and here’s what we read and listened to in 2022.
As 2022 comes to an end, we’re revisiting the events that had the biggest positive impact on the biomanufacturing community.
We had the White House’s Executive Order on Biomanufacturing and the recent PCAST report supporting a future bioeconomy. The FDA approved Upside Food’s cell cultured chicken. Synonym launched Capacitor, the first free database of global fermentation capacity. And let’s not forget the estimated $1.75 billion invested into alternative protein companies in the first half of this year. And so much more.
In the midst of all this, we still made time to find books, reports and podcasts for inspiration. We asked the Synonym team for the titles that stood out for them and pulled together the following list of our favorites for 2022. We’re into all things biology around here so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re all reading and listening to the same stuff.
Do you agree with our choices, or did we miss a noteworthy piece? Feel free to drop us a note at contact@synonym.bio and let us know about your favorite biomanufacturing content from 2022!
Books
The Genesis Machine by Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel
Why we love it: A must-read for anyone who is interested in learning about the endless applications, opportunities and risks of synthetic biology that will transform our future.
The Wizard And The Prophet by Charles Mann
Why we love it: It’s almost unbelievable that climate change and scientific innovation were at odds for much of the 20th century. This book tells the story of different takes on the most pressing challenges of the next several decades and the people who led two separate revolutionary movements, inspiring several generations of environmentalists and agricultural scientists.
Raw Deal by Chloe Sorvino
Why we love it: Provides a candid depiction of the current state of the meat industry and details how climate change will upend food production and make supply chains more vulnerable.
The Age of Living Machines by Susan Hockfield
Why we love it: A great perspective on how bioengineering innovations have the potential to help us overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges currently facing the world.
Podcasts
Materially Better by Tsung Xu
Why we love it: Tsung initially caught our eye with his piece, Biomanufactured materials are coming. Since then, he’s added more content, including a podcast featuring discussions on new performance materials and their applications with founders, scientists and leaders and we highly recommend taking a look.
Red to Green by Marina Schmidt
Why we love it: An amazing podcast to learn about all things related to food tech. The first episode of season 6 is a great listen for anyone needing a quick overview of the various types of fermentation used in biotech for food.
Bio Eats World by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Why we love it: This is a great series of conversations with leading scientists and company builders to learn the ways in which biology will revolutionize our world. The recent episode featuring SCiFi Foods that discussed the challenges, opportunities, and future of cultivated meat is our recommendation for those interested in learning more about the sector.
Reports
The U.S. Bioeconomy: Charting a Course for a Resilient and Competitive Future from Schmidt Futures
Why we love it: One of, if not, the best and most comprehensive reports that outlines what the US and others need to do to harness the full potential of the bioeconomy. The report specifically calls out the need to build more national infrastructure, a recommendation that aligns nicely with the Synonym mission.
Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy from President Biden
Why we love it: Public policy will play an increasingly important role in accelerating the bioeconomy and Biden’s EO lays out several ways for the nation to do so. The EO emphasizes the need to build resilient supply chains and domestic biomanufacturing capacity and Synonym looks forward to helping on both of these fronts.
REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT Biomanufacturing to Advance the Bioeconomy from President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
Why we love it: The report underscores how critical biomanufacturing is to the United States’ future economy and outlines several concrete ways the federal government can accelerate the growth of the sector, including bolstering domestic manufacturing capacity. For Synonym, the report addresses many of the gaps we were born to fill.
The Bioeconomy: A primer by the Congressional Research Service
Why we love it: The Congressional Research Service is the policy research arm of the US Congress and its reports are always a great place to start if you want to see what policy makers are reading to get up to speed on any given subject.
About Synonym
Synonym enables the commercialization and manufacture of bioproducts—accelerating the world’s transition to better, more sustainable materials and products. It believes that products created using biology will represent the next manufacturing revolution, transforming crucial elements of supply chains across multiple sectors and helping to catalyze a decarbonized future. Synonym works as the strategic biomanufacturing partner for companies building these next-generation bioproducts, helping them to expand and scale seamlessly. It has launched two online tools to help companies on their paths toward commercialization as the first step in their scaling journey:
