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| The world’s largest oil, agricultural, and pharmaceutical companies are already pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into synthetic biology research. |
In May 2010 J. Craig Venter’s company Synthetic Genomics announced that it had made the world’s first organism with a completely synthetic genome. According to Venter, this organism is the first self-replicating species on the planet whose entire biological makeup was created by a computer.
While the field of synthetic biology has been growing at a tremendous rate, few in the public or policy spheres have ever heard of synthetic biology or considered the field’s risks and benefits.
Synthetic biology is a form of extreme genetic engineering. Instead of inserting genes from one species into another, which is considered genetic engineering, synthetic biology aims to create life from scratch with synthetic DNA or without the use of DNA entirely. DNA is synthesized on a computer and “printed” out, after which it can be inserted into organisms. While the range of practices referred to as “synthetic biology” varies, it is commonly defined as “the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems that do not exist in the natural world and also the redesign of existing biological systems to perform specific tasks.”
Proponents envision this emerging technology playing a lead role in producing the next generation of fuels, medicines, and industrial chemicals. The U.S. government and the oil industry are already major funders of synthetic biology research, providing hundreds of millions of dollars to start-up synthetic biology companies.
Friends of the Earth published a new report, Synthetic Solutions to the Climate Crisis: The Dangers of Synthetic Biology for Biofuels Production, highlighting our concerns with using synthetic biology to develop next-generation fuels. The biotechnology industry is trying to convince the public and policymakers that synthetic biology is a new “clean” and “green” technology but in fact synthetic biology is a dangerous, untested, unregulated technology that threatens the environment and public health. Furthermore if it’s allowed to develop unregulated, this “bioeconomy” will be controlled by a handful of corporations at the expense of people around the world.
Read the report here.
Synthetic Biology 101 - One-page backgrounder from Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth’s press release regarding Venter’s announcement