Dr Alexander Kelle addresses 13th Medical Biodefense Conference in Munich, Germany
01 November 2011
On 26 October 2011 Dr Alexander Kelle has addressed the 13th Medical Military Biodefense Conference in Munich, Germany. Sharing the opening panel of the conference that was attended by over 450 civilian and military biodefense experts with Prof. Eckart Wimmer (State University New York, Stony Brook, USA), who was the first scientist to produce an artificial Polio virus, Dr. Kelle analysed in his presentation the misuse potential of synthetic biology.
Summary of paper
Over the past decade synthetic biology has emerged as one of the most dynamic sub-fields of the post-genomic life sciences. According to a European high-level expert group, synthetic biology comprises ‘the synthesis of complex, biologically based (or inspired) systems which display functions that do not exist in nature … [and] is a field with enormous scope and potential.’ If the emerging discipline of synthetic biology can deliver on the promises of some of its leaders we might very well be witnessing a similarly fundamental shift as the one that happened to chemistry with the introduction of the periodic table. If synthetic biologists live up to some of the more far-reaching expectations, biology ultimately may become a mechanistic science.
On the one hand synthetic biology developments show promise to leading to beneficial applications in a number of areas, such as drug development, biodegradation and biofuels. At the same time the dual-use character of this new technoscience carries with it the possibility of synthesized biological parts, modules and systems being malignly misused. This dual use potential has – at a rather abstract level and with a focus on one particular subfield of synthetic biology, i.e. DNA synthesis – been recognized by practitioners in the field as well as analysts. However, while this is a positive development, these mostly technical governance measures that are addressing DNA synthesis capabilities need to be broadened so as to cover all aspects of synthetic biology and to allow for a comprehensive analysis of the field’s dual-use implications.
Further information
Conference website: www.biodefense2011.org
