Ethics

Project News • 02/12/09 A Framework for Exploring the Ethical and Social Issues of Emerging Technologies
Recent action in Congress to reauthorize the U.S. federal nanotechnology research program offers the chance to address the social and ethical issues concerning the emerging scientific field, experts say. A newly released report emphasizes ways in which these topics intersect with governmental functions and responsibilities.
Publication • 11/01/08 Trends in American & European Press Coverage of Synthetic Biology
Tracking the last five years of media coverage
Past Event • 02/16/11 Socio-Technical Integration Research Project Workshop 4
Join the Synthetic Biology Project on February 16 and 17 for the Socio-Technical Integration Research (STIR) Project Workshop 4.
Project News • 05/20/09 Synthetic Biology in High Places
Project scholar presented recent research findings on the public perception of synthetic biology before the European Group on Ethics.
Past Event • 02/20/09 Upcoming Synbio Events around the World
A periodically updated list of synthetic biology events and conferences
Publication • 06/24/09 Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology
A new report presents a framework for addressing the social and ethical issues surrounding the emerging field of synthetic biology.
Project News • 11/09/10 Fictional Super Cell Market Imagines Synbio Products
Super Cell is a fictional supermarket offering speculative products, which are all based on synthetic biology.
Past Event • 07/20/11 Issues arising from Synthetic Biology: What Lies Ahead?
Join us to discuss the findings from a Synthetic Biology Project workshop on “over the horizon” synbio issues.
Project News • 12/16/10 Presidential Commission on Bioethics Releases Synthetic Biology Report
A new report from the Presidential Commission on Bioethics calls for “prudent vigilance” and enhanced federal oversight of synthetic biology. The Commission calls for high level engagement and places responsibility on the Executive Office.
Publication • 03/25/09 New Life, Old Bottles
Examines the benefits and drawbacks of using the existing U.S. regulatory framework for biotechnology to cover the new products and processes enabled by synthetic biology.
Project News • 07/06/10 Project Director Rejeski Testifies before Bioethics Commission
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues held its first meeting on July 8-9. David Rejeski testified on the ethical issues of synthetic biology.
Past Event • 06/24/09 Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology
A new report from the Hastings Center and Synthetic Biology Project calls for a comprehensive approach to addressing ethical and social issues of emerging technologies as a whole so that scarce intellectual resources can be used optimally.
Past Event • 03/11/10 BioSecurity: How synthetic biology is changing the way we look at biology and biological threats
The rapidly growing network of do-it-yourself biologists has attracted the attention of both innovators, looking to mobilize a network of creative minds, and security experts, worrying about the proliferation of new capacities to create biological organisms.
Project News • 11/07/08 Synthetic Biology on the Nanofrontier?
Mechanical engineers use off the shelf tools and components to create their products, and in Jay Keasling’s vision, genetic engineers will one day soon have similar resources at their disposal.
Project News • 09/02/10 Public Policy Scholar Pauwels Testifies before Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Meeting of Experts at the United Nations
The August 25 Seminar on the margins of the 2010 meetings of the BWC marked the culmination of 3 years of engagement on synthetic biology. The Seminar briefed the BWC community on non-security challenges raised by synthetic biology and illustrated how they are being dealt with.
Project News • 12/17/08 Importance of Synthetic Biology in the 21st Century
The Synthetic Biology Project is being launched to identify gaps in our knowledge of the potential risks of the field, explore public perceptions towards it, and examine governance options that will both ensure public safety and facilitate innovation. Take the quiz! Winners Announced!
Past Event • 03/25/09 Popping the Cork on Synthetic Biology
“Laws like the Toxic Substances Control Act and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act simply were not designed to handle 21st century advances.,” contends Michael Rodemeyer in his new report, New Life, Old Bottles…
Past Event • 09/09/10 Synthetic Biology: What does the public think?
Researchers at the J.C. Venter Institute announced the creation of a bacterial cell controlled by a synthesized genome, a significant milestone in the emerging field of synthetic biology. But did anyone in the public listen?
Project News • 06/24/09 Does Synthetic Biology Need Synthesized Ethics?
A comprehensive ethical approach is needed to more readily identify and address ethical challenges and foster a productive public dialogue about social implications, according to a new report.
Past Event • 03/25/11 President’s Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues - The Ethics of Synthetic Biology
Join us to discuss the Presidential Commission on Bioethics report calling for enhanced oversight of synthetic biology.
Past Event • 01/08/09 Synthetic Biology: Is Ethics a Showstopper?
Synthetic biology promises to enable cheap, lifesaving new drugs to treat the 350-500 million people who suffer from malaria, and to create innovative biofuels that can help solve the world’s energy problems. But are synthetic biologists playing God? Will synthetic biology’s expected products and profits be stymied by policymakers and the public?
Past Event • 11/14/08 Synthetic Biology: Coming up Fast!
Synthetic biology is being touted by scientists and venture capitalists as “the next big thing.” Researchers claim to be on the brink of creating artificial life in a laboratory and making the world’s first synthetic microbes. But will the promises and pitfalls of synthetic biology catch governments, ethicists, experts, and the public by surprise?
Project News • 09/30/08 Americans Don’t Know What’s Coming
A groundbreaking poll has found that nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about the emerging field of synthetic biology. This new insight into limited public awareness of emerging technologies comes on the cusp of a major leadership change in the nation’s capital.
Project News • 03/25/09 Synthetic Biology: The Next Biotech Revolution Is Brewing
The safety of early applications of synthetic biology may be adequately addressed by the existing regulatory framework for biotechnology, but further advances in this emerging field are likely to create significant challenges for U.S. government oversight, according to a new report.
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