Humankind faces many challenges to continue social and technological development in a sustainable manner. This Comment elaborates how increasing the synthetic capacity of biocatalytic systems can contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
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Prather, K.L.J. Accelerating and expanding nature to address its greatest challenges. Nat Catal 3, 181–183 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-020-0422-4
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