The Rise of Synthetic DNA

Will we soon be buying silk, wood, and more fabricated out of genetic code and scientific brilliance? Or will the nascent industry suffer the same fate that befell the companies that wanted to make biofuel out of algae?

- Jennifer Alsever

UNTIL RECENTLY, creating silk has been the exclusive domain of silkworms and some spiders, as well as the occasional superhero. Today, though, inside the laboratories of Bolt Threads in Emeryville, California, fermentation tanks use yeast, sugar—and some DNA code borrowed from spiders—to form a material that is then spun into fibres the way traditional silk, rayon, and polyester is made. The result, the company says, is fabric that is stronger than steel, stretchier than spandex, and softer than silk.

“This is a new era of materials,” says Dan Widmaier, Bolt’s CEO. Most textiles today are made from petroleum-based polyester, which is harmful to the environment when disposed of. By contrast, Bolt’s fabric will be biodegradable, the company says. As Widmaier puts it, the new material “has massive potential to change the world for the better”.

This month Bolt will undertake a make-or-break challenge: expanding its lab-size process into a commercial-scale operation for three customers, including the apparel company Patagonia. (Eventually, Bolt hopes to produce its own branded clothing.) If the company succeeds, the development will be a key marker for the emerging field called synthetic biology.

Bolt is only one startup using such technologies, which let scientists reengineer the genetics of living organisms to make products ranging from food sweeteners to “leather” to wood like composites. Investors have taken note. Last year synthetic biology companies nabbed $1 billion (Rs 6,317 crore) from investors, including tech names like Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen, Max Levchin, and Jerry Yang. That’s double the amount from 2014, according to SynBioBeta, a consulting firm that tracks the industry.