Welcome to my blog about synthetic biology which will cover the Royal Society’s activities in the area. We’re co-organising one of the first symposia to focus on the policy aspects of synthetic biology and I’ll report on what happens. But first, some background to the event ...
Technical advance in synthetic biology is rapid, and some of the power and potential of the field is shown in the Interface focus issue on synthetic biology and the report of our synbio discussion meeting held last year. Powerful science and technology is always accompanied by questions of economic potential and prospective applications; safety and governance; national and international cooperation and rivalry; ethics; patents and protection and so on.
The questions asked of synthetic biology by policymakers, the media and the wider public around the world are now multiplying as the frontiers of knowledge and application advance. The scientific ambition of emerging economies will further blur the boundaries of decision-making, creating new sources of competition and collaboration, and posing challenges to existing national frameworks of regulation.
To begin to address the wider issues presented by synthetic biology, the Royal Society in partnership with the US National Academies and the OECD has organised an international symposium Opportunities and challenges in the emerging field of synthetic biology. The symposium will be held in Washington DC, July 9-10 2009 and will bring together science, engineering, legal, finance, civil society and policy communities to explore the opportunities and challenges posed by this emerging field. The symposium will feature invited presentations and discussions on the myriad of legal, policy, and ethical questions that synthetic biology raises.
This is amongst the first symposia dedicated to policy aspects of synthetic biology, and adds a unique mix of speakers bringing a wide variety of perspectives, including Drew Endy (Stanford), Arden Bement (Director, National Science Foundation), Adrian Smith FRS (UK Government Director General for Science & Research), Greg Kisor (Intellectual Ventures), Randy Rettberg (MIT), Adam Bly (SEED Media Group) and Sven Panke (ETHZ Basel).
A transcript and summary report of the symposium will be published, and I’ll post updates from the symposium on this blog.
It promises to be an exciting meeting and please do add your comments.
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