Ethics No Federal Activity
Ongoing Evaluation of Objections
Develop an iterative, deliberate process for consideration of moral objections to synthetic biology, particularly if fundamental changes occur in the capabilities of this science and its applications. Reassess concerns regarding the implications of synthetic biology for humans, other species, nature, and the environment as the field develops.
Recommendation
Discussions of moral objections to synthetic biology should be revisited periodically as research in the field advances in novel directions. Reassessment of concerns regarding the implications of synthetic biology for humans, other species, nature, and the environment should track the ongoing development of the field. An iterative, deliberative process, as described in Recommendation 14, allows for the careful consideration of moral objections to synthetic biology, particularly if fundamental changes occur in the capabilities of this science and its applications.
Activities
Federal
- National Institutes of Health – No activities identified.
- Department of Energy – No activities identified.
Non-Federal
- The Hastings Center
- The Hastings Center, a bioethics research institute, has run two projects on the ethics of synthetic biology, both of them funded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The first project, from 2009-2011, brought together synthetic biologists, bioethicists, environmental ethicists, political scientists, theologians, and others to consider whether the synthesis of organisms is intrinsically troubling.
- A second project, launched in June 2011, will bring together an interdisciplinary team to consider a range of ethical questions raised by four case studies: the production of biofuels; synthetic biology as practiced within the so-called “DIY” or “amateur biology” movement; environmental applications requiring field release; and engineering of the human microbiome.
