Schmidt / Kelle / Ganguli-Mitra Synthetic Biology

the technoscience and its societal consequences
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-90-481-2678-1
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 186 Seiten

Synthetic biology is becoming one of the most dynamic new fields of biology, with the potential to revolutionize the way we do biotechnology today. By applying the toolbox of engineering disciplines to biology, a whole set of potential applications become possible ranging very widely across scientific and engineering disciplines. Some of the potential benefits of synthetic biology, such as the development of low-cost drugs or the production of chemicals and energy by engineered bacteria are enormous. There are, however, also potential and perceived risks due to deliberate or accidental damage. Also, ethical issues of synthetic biology just start being explored, with hardly any ethicists specifically focusing on the area of synthetic biology. This book will be the first of its kind focusing particularly on the safety, security and ethical concerns and other relevant societal aspects of this new emerging field. The foreseen impact of this book will be to stimulate a debate on these societal issues at an early stage. Past experiences, especially in the field of GM-crops and stem cells, have shown the importance of an early societal debate. The community and informed stakeholders recognize this need, but up to now discussions are fragmentary. This book will be the first comprehensive overview on relevant societal issues of synthetic biology, setting the scene for further important discussions within the scientific community and with civil society.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schmidt, Markus

Kelle, Alexander

Ganguli-Mitra, Agomoni

de Vriend, Huib

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents;4
2;Contributors;6
3;1 Introduction;8
4;2 That Was the Synthetic Biology That Was;12
4.1;2.1 Introduction;12
4.2;2.2 Coining Synthetic Biology;14
4.3;2.3 Creating Life in the Test Tube;15
4.4;2.4 A Technology of the Living Substance;17
4.5;2.5 The Engineering of Experimental Evolution;19
4.6;2.6 Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering;20
4.7;2.7 Contemporary Synthetic Biology;22
5;References;27
6;3 An Introduction to Synthetic Biology;29
6.1;3.1 Introduction;29
6.2;3.2 What Is Synthetic Biology?;30
6.2.1;3.2.1 DNA Circuits;32
6.2.2;3.2.2 Synthetic Metabolic Pathways;35
6.2.3;3.2.3 Protocell;38
6.2.4;3.2.4 Genome Minimization;39
6.2.5;3.2.5 Unnatural Components;40
6.2.6;3.2.6 Synthetic Microbial Consortia;42
6.3;3.3 Further Developments;43
6.4;3.4 Conclusions;44
7;References;45
8;4 Computational Design in Synthetic Biology;55
9;References;67
10;5 The Ethics of Synthetic Biology: Outlining the Agenda;70
10.1;5.1 Introduction;71
10.2;5.2 Three Types of Ethical Issues Associated with Synthetic Biology;71
10.2.1;5.2.1 Method-related Questions: Artificial Life or Living Machines;72
10.2.1.1;5.2.1.1 Artificial Organisms;72
10.2.1.2;5.2.1.2 Living Machines;73
10.2.2;5.2.2 Application-related Questions;73
10.2.2.1;5.2.2.1 Release of Synthetic Organisms into the Environment for Bioremediation;74
10.2.2.2;5.2.2.2 Synthesis of Pathogenic Viruses or Microorganisms;74
10.2.2.3;5.2.2.3 Synthetic Biology in Mammalian Cells;75
10.2.3;5.2.3 Distribution-related Questions;75
10.2.3.1;5.2.3.1 Regulation of Intellectual Property;75
10.2.3.2;5.2.3.2 Global Divide;76
10.3;5.3 Addressing the Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology;76
10.3.1;5.3.1 These Ethical Issues Have Been Discussed Before;77
10.3.2;5.3.2 The Role of Society in the Ethical Discussion;78
10.3.3;5.3.3 The Role of Synthetic Biologists in the Ethical Discussion;79
10.4;5.4 The Opinion of Synthetic Biologists on Ethical Issues Concerning Their Discipline;79
10.4.1;5.4.1 No Specific Ethical Issues Exist at the Moment;79
10.4.2;5.4.2 Ethical Issues Are Related to Safety and Security;80
10.4.3;5.4.3 Ethical Issues Are Related to the Application and Distribution of Synthetic Biology;80
10.4.4;5.4.4 Ethical Issues Are Created by the Public;80
10.4.5;5.4.5 The Debate in Synthetic Biology Can Be Compared to the GMO Debate;81
10.4.6;5.4.6 An Ethical Assessment Concomitant with the Development of Synthetic Biology Might Be Advisable;81
10.4.7;5.4.7 Summary of the Interviews;82
10.5;5.5 Conclusions;82
11;References;83
12;6 Do I Understand What I Can Create?;85
12.1;6.1 Introduction;86
12.1.1;6.1.1 Biosafety vs Biosecurity;86
12.1.2;6.1.2 The Different Flavors of Synthetic Biology;87
12.2;6.2 Biosafety Issues;89
12.2.1;6.2.1 Risk Assessment;90
12.2.1.1;6.2.1.1 DNA-based Biocircuits;90
12.2.1.2;6.2.1.2 Minimal Genome;93
12.2.1.3;6.2.1.3 Protocells;93
12.2.1.4;6.2.1.4 Chemical Synthetic Biology;94
12.2.2;6.2.2 Biosafety Engineering;95
12.2.2.1;6.2.2.1 DNA-based Biocircuits;96
12.2.2.2;6.2.2.2 Minimal Genome;97
12.2.2.3;6.2.2.3 Protocells;98
12.2.2.4;6.2.2.4 Chemical Synthetic Biology;98
12.2.3;6.2.3 Diffusion to Amateur Biologists;99
12.2.3.1;6.2.3.1 DNA-based Biocircuits;99
12.3;6.3 Conclusions;100
13;References;101
14;7 Security Issues Related to Synthetic Biology;105
14.1;7.1 Introduction;106
14.2;7.2 Risks, Safety and Security: Coming to Terms with Terminology ;107
14.3;7.3 Biosecurity Awareness of Synthetic Biology Practitioners in Europe ;109
14.3.1;7.3.1 The Fink Committee and Its Recommendations;109
14.3.2;7.3.2 The Lemon Relman Committee Report;110
14.3.3;7.3.3 Draft Declaration of the Second International Meeting on Synthetic Biology ;111
14.3.4;7.3.4 CSIS-MIT-Venter Report on the Governance of Synthetic Genomics ;112
14.3.5;7.3.5 The Work of the NSABB and Its Synthetic Biology Working Group ;112
14.3.6;7.3.6 The Controlling Dangerous Pathogens Project at the University of Maryland ;113
14.3.7;7.3.7 Summary of Interview Results;114
14.4;7.4 Biosecurity Governance Options for Synthetic Biology;114
14.4.1;7.4.1 Proposals for Biosecurity Governance;115
14.4.2;7.4.2 The 5P-strategy for Synthetic Biology Biosecurity Governance ;118
14.5;7.5 Summary and Conclusions;120
15;References;121
16;8 The Intellectual Commons and Property in Synthetic Biology;124
16.1;8.1 Introduction: Owning and Sharing Synthetic Biology;124
16.2;8.2 Framework: Sharing, Ownership and the Anticommons;126
16.2.1;8.2.1 The Anticommons: Ambiguity in Sharing and Ownership;127
16.2.2;8.2.2 Public Sharing vs Private Ownership;130
16.2.2.1;8.2.2.1 Standard Advanced Industrial Country Position Exempting Research on;131
16.2.2.2;8.2.2.2 Standard Developing Country Position Exempting Research on and with;132
16.2.2.3;8.2.2.3 Belgium As Permissive Outlier Exempting Research on and with;132
16.2.2.4;8.2.2.4 United States As Restrictive Outlier with No Exemption;134
16.3;8.3 Outlook: Perspectives from Synthetic Biologists;137
16.4;8.4 Conclusions: The Future of Ownership and Sharing;140
17;References;142
18;9 Governing Synthetic Biology: Processes and Outcomes;144
18.1;9.1 Engineering New Life Science Disciplines;145
18.2;9.2 The Role of Regulation in Promoting and Inhibiting Innovation;146
18.3;9.3 Public and Stakeholder Pressures;147
18.3.1;9.3.1 Self-replicating Life Forms -- Bio-safety;148
18.3.2;9.3.2 Bio-security Risks;149
18.3.3;9.3.3 Intellectual Property, Trade and Global Justice;149
18.3.4;9.3.4 Ethical Issues Related to the Morality of Creating Novel Life Forms;151
18.4;9.4 Governance Issues: Comparing Synthetic Biology with Other Areas of Innovation;151
18.4.1;9.4.1 Nanotechnology;151
18.4.2;9.4.2 Genetically Modified Crops in Europe;153
18.4.3;9.4.3 Potential Challenges for the Effective Governance of Synthetic Biology;154
18.5;9.5 Enabling Innovative Developments in Synthetic Biology;154
19;References;156
20;10 Synthetic Biology and the Role of Civil Society Organizations;158
20.1;10.1 Introduction;159
20.2;10.2 Early Involvement of CSOs in the Synbio Debate;160
20.3;10.3 Shaping the Agenda of the Synbio Debate;163
20.4;10.4 Lessons from the Bio- and Nanotechnology Debates;165
20.5;10.5 Responses from CSOs to the Emerging Synbio Debate: A Survey;167
20.5.1;10.5.1 Awareness;167
20.5.1.1;10.5.1.1 Leaders and Followers;167
20.5.2;10.5.2 Diverging Views on Synthetic Biology;169
20.5.3;10.5.3 Framing the Issues;170
20.5.3.1;10.5.3.1 Growing Commercial Interest and Social Justice;171
20.5.3.2;10.5.3.2 New Risks;171
20.5.3.3;10.5.3.3 Technology Fix;172
20.5.3.4;10.5.3.4 Ethical Issues Not Well-defined Yet;172
20.5.4;10.5.4 The Role of CSOs and Other Parties;172
20.6;10.6 Conclusions;173
20.7;10.7 Appendix: List of organizations signing the open letter of May 2006;175
21;References;178
22;11 Summary and Conclusions;180
22.1;11.1 Introduction;180
22.2;11.2 Biosafety;181
22.3;11.3 Biosecurity;182
22.4;11.4 Ethics;184
22.5;11.5 Science-public Interface;185
23;References;186
24;Index;188