Synthetic Biology is 'Extreme Genetic Engineering' &Far More Dangerous

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Alert: Synthetic Biology is 'Extreme Genetic Engineering' and Far More Dangerous

 

 

 

Extreme Genetic Engineering: ETC Group Releases Report on Synthetic Biology

Findings to be presented at World Social Forum in Nairobi - 20-25 January

ETC Group, Jan 16, 2007

Straight to the Source

 

A new report by the ETC Group concludes that the social,environmental and bio-weapons threats of synthetic biology surpassthe possible dangers and abuses of biotech. The full text of the 70-page report, Extreme Genetic Engineering: An Introduction toSynthetic Biology, is available for downloading free-of-charge on theETC Group website: www.etcgroup.org

 

"Genetic engineering is passe," said Pat Mooney, Executive Directorof ETC Group. "Today, scientists aren't just mapping genomes andmanipulating genes, they're building life from scratch - and they'redoing it in the absence of societal debate and regulatory oversight,"said Mooney.

 

 

Synbio - dubbed "genetic engineering on steroids" - is inspired bythe convergence of nano-scale biology, computing and engineering.Using a laptop computer, published gene sequence information and mail-order synthetic DNA, just about anyone has the potential to constructgenes or entire genomes from scratch (including those of lethalpathogens). Scientists predict that within 2-5 years it will bepossible to synthesise any virus;

 

the first de novo bacterium will likely make its debut in 2007; in 5-10 years simple bacterial genomes will be synthesised routinely and it will become no big deal to cobble together a designer genome, insert it into an empty bacterial cell and -

 

voila - give birth to a living, self-replicating organism.Other synthetic biologists hope to reconfigure the genetic pathwaysof existing organisms to perform new functions - such asmanufacturing high-value drugs or chemicals.

 

A clutch of entrepreneurial scientists, including the gene maverickJ. Craig Venter, is setting up synthetic biology companies backed bygovernment funding and venture capital. They aim to commercialise newbiological parts, devices and systems that don't exist in the naturalworld - some of which are designed for environmental release.

 

Advocates insist that synthetic biology is the key to cheap biofuels,a cure for malaria, and climate change remediation -

 

media-friendly goals that aim to mollify public concerns about a dangerous and controversial technology. Ultimately synthetic biology means cheaperand widely accessible tools to build bioweapons, virulent pathogensand artificial organisms that could pose grave threats to people andthe planet. The danger is not just bio-terror, but "bio-error," warnsETC Group.

 

Despite calls for open source biology, corporate and academicscientists are winning exclusive monopoly patents on the products andprocesses of synthetic genetics. Like biotech, the power to makesynthetic life could be concentrated in the hands of majormultinational firms. As gene synthesis becomes cheaper and faster, itwill become easier to synthesise a microbe than to find it in natureor retrieve it from a gene bank. Biological samples, sequenced andstored in digital form, will move instantaneously across the globeand be resurrected in corporate labs thousands of miles away - apractice that could erode future support for genetic conservation andcreate new challenges for international negotiations on biodiversity.

 

"Last year, 38 civil society organizations rejected proposals forself-regulation of synthetic biology put forth by a small group ofsynthetic biologists," said Kathy Jo Wetter of ETC Group. "Widespreaddebate on the social, economic and ethical implications of synbiomust come first -

 

and it must not be limited to biosecurity andbiosafety issues," said Wetter.

 

The tools for synthesising genes and genomes are widely accessibleand advancing at break-neck pace. ETC Group's new report concludesthat it is not enough to regulate synthetic biology on the nationallevel. Decisions must be considered in a global context, with broadparticipation from civil society and social movements. In keepingwith the Precautionary Principle, ETC Group asserts that - at aminimum - there must be an immediate ban on environmental release ofde novo synthetic organisms until wide societal debate and stronggovernance are in place.

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Synthetic Biology Report Goes to World Social Forum

ETC Group will host three workshops and participate in several otherevents at the upcoming World Social Forum in Nairobi, 20-25 January.

 

All events will take place at the Moi International Sports Center(Kasarani suburb). ETC Group's workshops and other events in whichwe'll participate appear below. Watch our web site for updates:

www.etcgroup.org">

 

January 21:"What Next?" Hosted by the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation

January 22:"Ban Terminator! The Global Campaign to Ban Terminator: from Brazil(2006) to Bonn (2008)" ETC Group workshop

"Regaining control of our natural resources" Hosted by Friends of theEarth International"New technologies - implications for health, environment & democracy"Hosted by the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation

January 23:"From Biotech to Nanotech and back again - Synthetic Biology and NanoFoods: New technologies that will challenge human society and FoodSovereignty" ETC Group workshop

"The New Politics of Food in Africa: Gates Foundation, the SecondGreen Revolution and the role of international institutions" ETCGroup workshop

 

ETC contact information:Pat Mooney and Kathy Jo Wetter of ETC Group are attending the WorldSocial Forum. We have a booth at the WSF venue and / or can bereached by email and the following mobile phone number:

Pat Mooney: etc Mobile: +1 613 261 0688Kathy Jo Wetter: kjo

For further information about the report on Synthetic Biology, pleasecontact:Hope Shand or Kathy Jo Wetter, ETC Grouphope +1 919 960-5767kjo +1 919 960-5223Silvia Ribeirosilvia + 52 5555 6326 64