Governance / Policy / Regulatory Issues

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.
Project News • 07/20/09 Synthetic Biology on the Radio
Synthetic Biology Project director discusses opportunities and challenges of synthetic biology on The Kojo Nnamdi Show (NPR).
Publication • 11/01/08 Trends in American & European Press Coverage of Synthetic Biology
Tracking the last five years of media coverage
Past Event • 02/20/09 Upcoming Synbio Events around the World
A periodically updated list of synthetic biology events and conferences
Publication • 06/04/10 Trends in Synthetic Biology Research Funding in the United States and Europe
The Synthetic Biology Project found that the U.S. government has spent around $430m on synbio research since 2005.
Past Event • 11/30/09 Patenting Synthetic Biology — A Transatlantic Perspective
As synthetic biology moves forward, it is critical to understand how the USPTO and EPO will react and respond to synthetic biology applications. This is a unique opportunity to discuss factors influencing intellectual property policy pertaining to synthetic biology with experts from the US and Europe.
Project News • 07/21/09 Synthetic Biology Project Director speaks at NAS
David Rejeski discusses “Public Perceptions On The Technological Frontier” at the National Academies.
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 • 09/07/10 Select Agents should be defined by DNA sequence in today’s era of synthetic biology
A new report from the National Research Council says that Select Agents should be defined by DNA sequence in today’s Era of synthetic biology.
Project News • 05/23/11 New LSE BIOS Report Addresses Synbio Challenges
A new working paper from LSE BIOS proposes an “art of governance” to address governance challenges.
Project News • 03/31/11 Eurobarometer Report finds Europeans largely unaware of synthetic biology
Europeans consider genetically modified food to be probably unsafe or even harmful, they are largely unaware of synthetic biology—only 17% of Europeans have heard of the science.
Project News • 04/26/10 Reinventing Technology Assessment for the 21st Century
A new report defines the criteria for a new technology assessment function in the United States, emphasizing the need to incorporate citizen-participation methods to complement expert analysis.
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.
Past Event • 07/28/11 Comprehensive Environmental Assessment and Its Application to Synthetic Biology Applications
A workshop was held to test a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment framework for its ability to identify important research questions to support future ecological risk assessments of synthetic biology applications, using a case study of cyanobacteria engineered to produce industrial products.
Project News • 01/13/12 New EC Publication Marks New Strategy Towards Responsible Innovation
The European Commission’s Science in Society Programme reflects on how to proceed towards Responsible Research and Innovation in the Information and Communication Technologies and Security Technology fields.
Past Event • 09/28/11 Environmental and Social Issues Arising from Synthetic Biology: Redesigning Life
Invited panelists will discuss the science behind synthetic biology, the risks this emerging technology poses to the environment and human health, as well as the socio-economic issues arising from a new “bio-economy” enabled by synthetic biology.
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 • 09/22/09 Synthetic Biology Project Receives Two National Science Foundation Grants
The Synthetic Biology project recently received two grants from the National Science Foundation to support a Transatlantic Exploratory Workshop on the Implications of Cutting-Edge Biotechnologies for Sustainability Science and Policy, and research on the use of on-line prediction markets to explore emerging issues in synthetic biology.
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!
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.
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 • 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.
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 • 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?
Past Event • 06/17/09 Synthetic Biology: Feasibility of the Open Source Movement
Some synthetic biologists are building their own brand of open-source science in an effort to enable synthetic biology’s potential. Will this open source movement succeed? What level of IP protection is needed?
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.
Past Event • 09/30/08 Nanotechnology? Synthetic Biology? Hey, What’s That?
Nanotechnology and synthetic biology are two of the most exciting fields in science. They are the focus of venture capitalists, government and university laboratories, major corporations, and startup companies. But how much have Americans heard about these two fields that promise to change virtually every aspect of their lives?
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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Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Woodrow Wilson Center