Opportunities and Challenges for the Emerging Field of Synthetic Biology

美国国家科学院与英国皇家学会和经济合作与发展组织将举行一次国际研讨会，将科学、工程、法律和社会政策界与公众聚集在一起，探讨合成生物学这一新兴领域带来的机遇和挑战。该奖项将部分支持本次研讨会。合成生物学是一种变革性的创新，将工程方法应用于生物系统。这门混合学科结合了科学和工程的元素，成为一个高度跨学科和快速发展的研究领域，为构建生物工程微生物提供了巨大的机会，这些微生物可以产生新药，检测和分解有毒化学物质，并产生新的能源形式。实现合成生物学提供的回报将需要面对一系列社会、经济、伦理和法律问题以及科学和技术挑战。更广泛的影响鉴于合成生物学的巨大前景，在这个阶段，为科学家、工程师和政策制定者建立一个框架来探索这一领域，并让公众参与知情对话，这是至关重要的。合成生物学如何改变目前管理知识产权、创新和使用的法律和监管安排尚未得到充分探讨。工程师和科学家社区的参与规则并没有很好地定义。生物安全和生物安全挑战及相关风险需要进一步研究。这个新领域的潜在伦理维度也需要进一步讨论。本次研讨会将利用三个主办组织的号召力，开始确定政策和公众参与框架的轮廓。美国科学院科学、技术和法律委员会将利用美国国家工程院、生命科学委员会和科学、技术和经济政策委员会的资源，作为本次研讨会的秘书处。

The U.S. National Academies, in cooperation with the Royal Society, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will hold an international symposium to bring together the scientific, engineering, legal, and social policy communities with the public to explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the emerging field of synthetic biology. This award will partially support this symposium. Synthetic biology is a transformative innovation in which engineering methods are applied to biological systems. This hybrid discipline combines elements of both science and engineering into a highly interdisciplinary and rapidly growing area of research that offers great opportunities for the construction of bioengineered microorganisms that can yield new drugs, detect and break-down toxic chemicals, and generate new energy forms. Achieving the rewards offered by synthetic biology will require confronting a range of social, economic, ethical, and legal issues as well as scientific and technical challenges. Broader ImpactsGiven the enormous promise of synthetic biology, it is critical at this stage to develop a framework for the community of scientists, engineers, and policy-makers to explore this field and to engage the public in an informed dialogue. How synthetic biology may change current legal and regulatory arrangements governing intellectual property, innovation, and use has not been fully explored. The rules of engagement for the community of engineers and scientists are not well defined. Biosafety and biosecurity challenges and associated risk needs further study. And the underlying ethical dimensions of this new field also need further discussion. This symposium, drawing on the convening power of the three sponsoring organizations, will begin to identify the outlines of the framework for policy and public engagement. The Academies' Committee on Science, Technology, and Law will serve as the secretariat for the symposium, drawing on the resources of the National Academy of Engineering, the Board on Life Sciences, and the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy.