Is It Ethical to Synthesize an Entire Human Genome? Yes!
Genomes are not “sacred” entities needing some kind of special moral consideration.
Stanford bioetech researcher Drew Endy and Northwestern University bioethicist Laurie Zoloth ask this week, “Should We Synthesize a Human Genome?” They say go slow.
Their question was provoked by their alarm over the fact that a group of 150 biotech researchers from academia and entrepreneurs from industry met behind closed doors in an invitation-only conference earlier this week to discuss, among other things, the possibility of creating a complete human genome from scratch. Back in 2010, a team led by biotech pioneer and provocateur Craig Venter created the first lifeform whose genome was entirely synthesized. Basically the genome of the bacterium Mycoplasma mycoides was constructed from off-the-shelf chemicals.
Full article on Reason.com