Addressing semantic ambiguity in biotechnology: Proposals from the European research infrastructure IBISBA

Driven by numerous scientific discoveries in biology in the second half of the last century, biotechnology is now set to play an important role as a driver for advanced manufacturing, leveraging the power of living organisms to produce a range of goods and services. Considering this prospect, it is vital that terminology surrounding biotechnology is sufficiently clear to provide a basis for efficient regulation and public buy-in. Despite the apparent clarity of the term biotechnology, its definition is the subject of a longstanding debate and liberal interpretations. Likewise, other more recent terms such as biomanufacturing, synthetic biology and engineering biology also lack consensual definitions despite their use in both scientific and secular circles. Additionally, new terms such as precision fermentation and cellular agriculture, recently introduced in the framework of business-to-business exchanges, appear to call upon imaginaries rather than scientific facts. Herein, we examine the lexical complexity of the biotechnology field and argue that, for the sake of efficient policymaking, it is vital to harmonise the definitions of some core terms, including biotechnology, biomanufacturing, engineering biology and synthetic biology. With this aim in mind, this discussion paper is intended to be useful to policymakers and science communicators, whether in the media or in professional settings.