Synthetic biology could boost the effectiveness of artemisinin

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More than 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for greater international oversight of the emerging science of synthetic biology including a moratorium on the release and commercial use of synthetic organisms and their products until the potential risks are fully understood.

Synthetic biology is a broad term covering new approaches to the development of biological functions and systems that are not normally found in nature, including the design and modification of living organisms at the genetic level.

There are high hopes that the field might generate cheaper, more effective drugs, including a synthetic version of the malaria drug artemisinin, biological computers, and innovative ways of disposing of hazardous waste.

But critics are concerned about the potential risks for human health and the environment.

At a meeting in Washington D.C. hosted by Friends of the Earth (12 March) a global coalition of environmental, social, scientific and indigenous and human rights groups including several from Africa, Asia, and Latin American jointly endorsed a framework they said should guide the research and commercialisation of synthetic biology technologies.

The Principles for the Oversight of Synthetic Biology is the "first document from civil society that outlines how synthetic biology should be regulated", according to Eric Hoffman, genetic technology policy campaigner at Friends of the Earth in the United States.

Applying the precautionary principle would mean a moratorium on the release or commercial use of synthetic organisms, cells and genomes, until regulatory bodies have considered the risks and a total ban on any attempt to change the human genome, the document said.

"Any alterations to the human genome through synthetic biology particularly inheritable genetic changes are too risky and fraught with ethical concerns," it stated.

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NGOs call for international regulation of synthetic biology