In Isaac Asimov’s Forward the Foundation, the great mathematician Hari Seldon attempts to get his granddaughter’s genome sequenced. He meets a biophysicist, who informs him that it is technically possible – but it will be exorbitantly expensive and the data will take weeks to analyze, in part due to the lack of high-quality human reference genomes.

But the Foundation novels are not near-term explorations of how real technologies might develop over the coming years or decades. They are set more than twenty thousand years in the future and are filled with fantastical notions of instantaneous interstellar communication, domed city-worlds accommodating tens of billions of people, and human-appearing robots based on positronic rather than electronic circuitry. These developments are no more realistic today than they were when Asimov was writing.

First, a series of Spotlight articles examines the most influential biotechnology research articles of the past decade, on topics ranging from microbial production of artemisinin to delivery of RNA therapeutics and the genesis of the organ-on-a-chip field. Each of these Spotlights summarizes the research in a way that is accessible to non-experts, just like a standard Spotlight – and then uses the benefit of hindsight to comment on the influence that research has had on the field since it was published. And each was primarily written by an early-career researcher who we consider to be a ‘rising star’ in the field (although at least two have in the meantime become tenured professors).

Second, a series of longer articles by members of our advisory board and other more established leaders explores some of the most important topics in the field, and to our readers, over the past decade. These include biosensors, agricultural biotechnology, cell therapeutics, metabolic engineering, and more, and many of them incorporate a discussion of sustainability that has become an increasingly sharp focus for our community. We selected these topics based on quantitative metrics like article citations and downloads, observed interest in social and traditional media, and qualitative feedback like discussions with authors and readers, and I hope you will agree that they create a timely and representative cross-section of the biotechnology field.

While the relative importance of these topics might change over the next decade – and I have no doubt that new ones will add to the mix – I am optimistic that the same set of principles will continue to establish Trends in Biotechnology as one of the very best academic journals on its topic:

First, to be intentionally purpose-driven and focused on applications, without dismissing the importance of fundamental scientific understanding. Second, to emphasize that biotechnology is not solely therapeutics or pharmaceuticals and has a role to play in many sectors of sustainable human development, including health but also materials, energy, bulk and fine chemicals, and agriculture, to name just a few. Third, to have candid and unbiased conversations about non-scientific but important, and sometimes controversial, topics related to the implementation of biotechnologies, such as regulation, policy, ethics, intellectual property, and public perception. And fourth, to think beyond a purely academic audience and also engage authors, readers, and reviewers from government, industry, and NGOs.

I hope you will join me in celebrating this milestone for the journal. I can’t wait to learn about the exciting new uses for biology in the next ten years, the next forty years, and forward.

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• Source: https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/fulltext/S0167-7799(23)00031-8?rss=yes