The Ethical Implications of Synthetic Life Symposium
Mycoplasma mycoides created at the Venter Institute by swapping a new genome into Mycoplasma capricolum
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County will be holding symposium on April 2 to explore the social, political and moral questions prompted by synthetic biology. Panelists will include:
+ Jaydee Hanson, policy director for the International Center for Technology Assessment
+ Jef Boeke, professor of molecular biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins
+ Gautam Mukunda, a political scientist from MIT
+ Glenn McGee, director of AMBI
UMBC's Stephen Freedland will moderate, with introductions from UMBC's Andrea Kalfoglou.
photo: J. Craig Venter Institute
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If a "positive" can be realized, other than the simple, "We did it" then we should press forward in this area....It is already being done, to some degree, to aid in the manufacturing certain drugs as well as in other areas...The only concern is that we would produce an organism that might have an adverse effect, or potentially harmful effect...unknown to the maker..
- by Larry Horton on Mar 16, 2008 at 11:21 PM | link