As synthetic biology develops into a promising science and engineering field, we need to have clear ideas and priorities regarding its safety, security, ethical and public dialogue implications. Based on an extensive literature search, interviews with scientists, social scientists, a 4 week long public e-forum, and consultation with several stakeholders from science, industry and civil society organisations, we compiled a list of priority topics regarding societal issues of synthetic biology for the years ahead. The points presented here are intended to encourage all stakeholders to engage in the prioritisation of these issues and to participate in a continuous dialogue, with the ultimate goal of providing a basis for a multi-stakeholder governance in synthetic biology. Here we show possible ways to solve the challenges to synthetic biology in the field of safety, security, ethics and the science-public interface.
As part of the SYNBIOSAFE project, we carried out an open electronic conference (e-conference), with the aim to stimulate an open debate on the societal issues of synthetic biology in a proactive way. The e-conference attracted 124 registered participants from 23 different countries and different professional backgrounds, who wrote 182 contributions in six different categories: (I) Ethics; (II) Safety; (III) Security; (IV) IPR; (V) Governance and regulation; (VI) and Public perception. In this paper we discuss the main arguments brought up during the e-conference and provide our conclusions about how the community thinks, and thinks differently on the societal impact of synthetic biology. Finally we conclude that there is a chance for an open discourse on the societal issues of synthetic biology happening, and that the rules to govern such a discourse might be set up much easier and be respected more readily than many would suggest.Aims and scope of the SYNBIOSAFE e-conference Synthetic Biology (SB) 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 are made possible ranging very widely across scientific and engineering disciplines. Some of the potential benefits of SB, such as the development of low-cost drugs or the production of chemicals and energy by engineered bacteria are projected to be enormous. There are, however, also potential and perceived risks related to deliberate or accidental damage. In order to ensure a vital and successful development of this new scientific field and in addition to addressing its potential benefits, it is absolutely necessary to gather information about risks and to devise biosafety strategies to minimize them. Also, the ethical issues of SB are just beginning to be explored, with few ethicists specifically focusing on the area of SB (de Vriend 2006;van Est et al. 2007). While a few undertakings on safety and ethics have recently started in the US, our project SYNBIOSAFE is the first initiative in Europe which focuses particularly on the safety, security, and ethical concerns and which tries to facilitate a socially acceptable development of SB. We have co-organized the safety/security and ethical sessions at the SB 3.0 in Zurich last June, and since then have carried out a survey among leading European SB practitioners regarding their viewpoints on safety, security and ethical issues (e.g., Kelle 2007). We then wanted to discuss the selected issues with a 123Syst Synth Biol (2008) 2:7-17 DOI 10.1007/s11693-008-9019-y wider group of experts and interested stakeholders. Thus we carried out an open online conference-or e-conference-on the internet. The aim of this open e-conference was to further stimulate the debate on these issues in a proactive way, at a relatively early stage. The discussions and consultations during the e-conference were a first contribution to stimulate a wider debate ...
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