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Synthetic Biology
H-index 14

Synthetic Biology

Published by: Oxford University Press

https://academic.oup.com/synbio

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Biology and Biochemistry 661 16 19 8

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 48
Documents by Best Scientists*: 49
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 1
SCIMAGO H-index: 19
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.762
Impact Factor: 2.5

Overview

Top Research Topics at Synthetic Biology?

Synthetic Biology was organized to reinforce research efforts on Synthetic biology, Computational biology, Escherichia coli, DNA and Gene. The concepts on Synthetic biology presented in Synthetic Biology can also apply to other research fields, including Genome, Software engineering, Engineering ethics and Metabolic engineering. Most of the Software engineering studies addressed also intersect with Automation.

The featured Metabolic engineering research is covered under the field of Enzyme. Some problems in Computational biology that were presented in it overlapped with concepts under RNA, Ribosome, Promoter, Translation (biology) and DNA sequencing. The journal focused on Translation (biology) research but expanded to cover Ribosomal RNA.

Research in the field of Biochemistry was used to conduct the presented Escherichia coli study. The journal emphasizes research on DNA, which includes concerns such as Oligonucleotide. More specifically, the research on Gene in Synthetic Biology is related to CRISPR.

  • Synthetic biology (40.60%)
  • Computational biology (31.58%)
  • Escherichia coli (11.28%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Low-Cost Detection of Norovirus Using Paper-Based Cell-Free Systems And Synbody-Based Viral Enrichment (52 citations)
  • Cell-free biosynthesis of limonene using enzyme-enriched Escherichia coli lysates. (52 citations)
  • Development of a Pseudomonas putida cell-free protein synthesis platform for rapid screening of gene regulatory elements (44 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Synthetic Biology:

Computational biology, Cell free, Gene, Cell-free protein synthesis and Escherichia coli are the main subjects of interest in the journal publications. The most cited papers focus on Computational biology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Paenibacillus polymyxa, Phagemid and DNA. The Escherichia coli research presented in the published articles focuses mostly on Polyhydroxyalkanoates and, on occasion, topics in Enzyme, Synthetic biology and Metabolic engineering.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Gene
  • DNA
  • Enzyme

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The topics of Computational biology, Synthetic biology, Workflow, Electronic circuit and Software engineering are the focal point of discussions in the journal. Synthetic Biology explores issues in Computational biology which can be linked to other research areas like Directed evolution, Transcription factor, Gene and Guide RNA. In addition to Gene research, it aims to explore topics under Emerging technologies, Selection (genetic algorithm) and Resilience (network).

The Synthetic biology works featured in Synthetic Biology incorporate elements from Antibiotics and Cell free. The overlapping concepts between Automation and Gene cluster, Transposon mutagenesis, Mutant and Strain (biology) are the key highlights of Software engineering study. While work presented in it provided substantial information on Distributed computing, it also covered topics in Plasmid, Golden Gate Cloning, Optimization problem and Restriction enzyme.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Building A Biofoundry (4 citations)
  • Joint universal modular plasmids (JUMP): a flexible vector platform for synthetic biology. (3 citations)
  • High-yield ‘one-pot’ biosynthesis of raspberry ketone, a high-value fine chemical (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Synthetic Biology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Sang Yup Lee (6 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Michael C. Jewett (5 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Daniel Bojar (4 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Pablo Carbonell (4 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Sonja Billerbeck (4 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Synthetic Biology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Imperial College London (8 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Northwestern University (7 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Edinburgh (7 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Manchester (6 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (5 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 2.86% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 35.29% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 26.47% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 14.71% of all publications and 23.53% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities and Future Prospects in Synthetic Biology

Career opportunities in Synthetic Biology are broad and diverse, with promising future prospects. Given the expansive nature of the discipline, professionals with a background in Synthetic Biology can find job opportunities in academia, industry, healthcare, and even governmental agencies. Potential roles might include laboratory researchers, instructors, genetic counselors, bioinformatics specialists, and more. A career in Synthetic Biology can also intersect with the healthcare profession. For instance, trained medical assistants with a specialization in Synthetic Biology have unique advantages, particularly those who underwent a comprehensive program with a focus on both administrative and clinical aspects of healthcare. Georgia, in particular, boasts a few high-ranking institutions which offer these specialized programs. You can find a list of these schools and their detailed profiles on this medical assistant training in Georgia page. Graduates of these programs, alongside the regular medical assistant training, have gained a solid foundation in subjects such as DNA sequencing, genome sequencing, biochemistry, enzyme structures, and even computational biology. This blend of knowledge makes them incredibly versatile in various healthcare and research settings. Ultimately, the ability to use technological advancements for the betterment of human health and the environment is the principal goal of Synthetic Biology. With the fast pace at which the field is advancing, there is no better time than now to begin a career in this dynamic and rewarding discipline.

Top Publications

  • Engineering Escherichia coli towards de novo production of gatekeeper (2S)-flavanones: naringenin, pinocembrin, eriodictyol and homoeriodictyol.

    Mark S Dunstan;Christopher J Robinson;Adrian J Jervis;Cunyu Yan

    (2020)
    59 Citations
  • Universal loop assembly: open, efficient and cross-kingdom DNA fabrication

    Bernardo Pollak;Bernardo Pollak;Tamara Matute;Tamara Matute;Isaac Nuñez;Isaac Nuñez;Ariel Cerda;Ariel Cerda

    (2020)
    47 Citations
  • In silico design and automated learning to boost next-generation smart biomanufacturing.

    Pablo Carbonell;Pablo Carbonell;Rosalind Le Feuvre;Eriko Takano;Nigel S Scrutton

    (2020)
    29 Citations
  • Cofactor-independent RNA editing by a synthetic S-type PPR protein

    (2021)
    28 Citations
  • Enhancing control of cell-free metabolism through pH modulation

    Ashty S. Karim;Blake J. Rasor;Michael C. Jewett

    (2020)
    26 Citations
  • Biofoundries are a nucleating hub for industrial translation.

    Tabasum Farzaneh;Paul S Freemont

    (2021)
    17 Citations
  • Modular cell-free expression plasmids to accelerate biological design in cells

    Ashty S Karim;Fungmin Eric Liew;Shivani Garg;Bastian Vögeli

    (2020)
    15 Citations
  • Pathway engineering for high-yield production of lutein in Escherichia coli.

    Miho Takemura;Akiko Kubo;Asuka Watanabe;Hanayo Sakuno

    (2021)
    15 Citations
  • Methods for measuring the evolutionary stability of engineered genomes to improve their longevity.

    Scott L. Nuismer;Nathan C. Layman;Alec J. Redwood;Baca Chan

    (2021)
    8 Citations
  • basicsynbio and the BASIC SEVA collection: software and vectors for an established DNA assembly method

    (2022)
    8 Citations

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