Oversight But No Strict Rules for Synthetic Biology

摘要

A presidential bioethics commission concluded this week that the U.S. government should not clamp down too hard on research on synthetic biology, a young field that it says doesn't yet pose serious risks. Instead, the commission will recommend better coordination of research and ongoing reviews to see if rules should be updated. Formed in April, the 13-member Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues' first assignment was prompted by a report in Science: the insertion of a synthetic genome into a bacterium by a team led by biologist J. Craig Venter (Science, 21 May, p. 958). In July and September, the panel heard from various experts about the concerns and potential benefits of that development and other types of synthetic biology (Science, 16 July, p. 264).