SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
DARPA’s new $30 million project in “engineering biology” seeks to use synbio to revolutionize American manufacturing and exemplifies how defense research can be leveraged for broader economic benefits.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Experts discuss the ethics of synthetic biology and emerging technology at the Center for American Progress
LIFE SCIENCES
Public policy makers need to manage the risks and rewards of this promising new life sciences industry, particularly with an eye on the global context.
GENOMICS
The emerging technology is cause for celebration but risks overreaction that could inhibit innovation.
More Americans know about synthetic biology, according to a survey from the Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Some 22 percent of adults indicate they have heard a lot or some about synthetic biology—that’s up from only 9 percent last [...]
So who is speaking here, an ethicist, a scientist, or a policymaker? It’s very hard for me to have a conversation about these issues, because people adopt incredibly defensive postures…The scientists on one side and civil-society organizations on the other. [...]
WEISS’S NOTEBOOK
A thumbnail of advances in science that will have long-lasting impacts on science policy—or advances in science policy that we predict will have long-lasting impacts on science.
LIFE SCIENCES
Synthetic biology is on the brink of two noteworthy accomplishments: to be able to “streamline” and redesign the genetic material of living organisms to make them operate more efficiently; and to design and assemble entirely new, artificial life forms from scratch. But a lengthy list of potential risks, as well as broad scientific and social concerns, are largely unaddressed.
LIFE SCIENCES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Americans know that the future fortunes of the country rest on scientific and technological advances, so Mr. President, let’s take biomedical science policy seriously.
A quick look at some of the policy-related posts in the science and technology blogosphere: synthetic biology, the lack of science coverage on cable news networks, drug-resistant antibiotics, and rethinking the drug development process.
LIFE SCIENCES
Recently, researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced the creation of the first synthetic genome. Deamer, a chemist at UC Santa Cruz, downplays concerns about the dangers of the research and explains that synthetic biology can teach us about the origins of life.
Press coverage of last week’s announcement from the J. Craig Venter Institute that researchers have built the first synthetic genome focused on synthetic cells as potential fuel factories, carbon dioxide sinks, biological weapons, ecosystem ravagers, and ego boosters.
Synthetic biology, which involves producing artificial life forms from genomes built on lab benches, promises to unleash a variety of chemical wonders, pose a slate of dual-use dangers, and ignite intellectual property battles over patents for the “software of life.”
LIFE SCIENCES
Creating life in the laboratory is an inevitable scientific milestone, which means we need to discuss safety issues and other repercussions now.
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.