Synthetic biology is a field of scientific research that applies engineering principles to living organisms and living systems. It is a field that is increasing in scope with respect to organisms engineered, practical outcomes, and systems integration. There is a commercial dimension as well, where living organisms are engineered as green technologies that could offer alternatives to industrial standards in the pharmaceutical and petroleum-based chemical industries. This review attempts to provide an introduction to this field as well as a consideration of important contributions that exemplify how synthetic biology may be commensurate or even disproportionate with the complexity of living systems. The engineerability of living systems remains a difficult task, yet advancements are reported at an ever-increasing pace.

中文翻译：

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工程生命：合成生物学综述

合成生物学是一个将工程原理应用于生物体和生命系统的科学研究领域。这是一个在生物工程、实际成果和系统集成方面范围不断扩大的领域。还有一个商业层面，其中活生物体被设计为绿色技术，可以为制药和石油化工行业的工业标准提供替代方案。本综述试图对该领域进行介绍，并考虑一些重要贡献，这些贡献举例说明合成生物学如何与生命系统的复杂性相称甚至不相称。生命系统的可工程性仍然是一项艰巨的任务，但据报道，进展速度不断加快。