Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

There has just been a piece in the news about developments in Synthetic Biology. We are moving towards being able to create life forms by splicing in bits of dna into other dna, thereby creating new forms of life, which could have tremendous medical benefits, but is also considered risky. What are your thoughts and opinions? Do you think that genetic manipulation like this will ultimately benefit mankind and the world as a whole or not?

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

I wouldnt want anything from it at all.

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

I look forward to people giving their opinions on this debate Rena and you titled it right big question, it certainly is.
I just don't know what side I lean on
I know very little of this field, to do with synthetic biology and microfluids. I know it is expensive, time consuming and not very reliable at the moment.

I am a great supporter of Great Ormand Street Hospital and there is talk of treatment which aims to correct rare inherited defects and aid immune disease has helped a patient at risk.
But it really is a big, big question, with so many avenues to go down

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

This is a can of worms.
With movies and television, I think we have evolved pretty fast.
Just yesterday Frankie (Frankinstien) really had me hiding under the covers.
The Bionic Man/Woman, had me fantasizing, Dolly's existence gave me great pleasure with more fantasizing about life options.
Then the government tells us we're running out of money because we the people are living longer than had been expected when Social Security was initiated in what was it? 1936? Just 76 years ago.
Like you said, Janela. . . so many avenues to go down. Pros and cons.
My brain gets so mixed up in this area because I want every child to live disease free and to go on to achieve greatness.
Yeah, a can of worms. . . better quit this post now. . . Lol

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

I don't trust Governments and never believe a word they say, to my way of thinking all types of experiments have been going on behind closed doors since the DNA puzzle was unravelled, remember Dolly the sheep?, well how many sheep were not presented to the public like she was, the ones with the wings and flippers. The temptation for scientists to mess around is too strong to resist (It would be for me if I was one, luckily for humanity I'm not). Test tube babies are commonplace, but they caused quite a stir at first and for all anybody really knows there are a few synthetic fellas walking around today, all tuned up and programmed for the next general election. This is a big issue and those in charge of it will do it for profit, any good that comes from it will go to those who can afford it.

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I agree the prospect is worrying but it could have some positive aspects too .

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

It really depends exactly on how it will be used. If it is to benefit mankind then it seems a good thing on the surface, but just how far will they go?

Let's play at what if.

What if some unscrupulous world leader decides to abuse this science for his own benefit? (We've already had Hitler experimenting on unborn babies etc).

What if some mad scientist creates a new lifeform which ultimately threatens mankind? (Remember Jurassic Park)?

What if something goes seriously wrong and is let loose on the world, and there's no way of stopping it?

Okay, these questions may be smiled at, or even laughed at, but monkeying around with DNA (which is still infallible to a certain degree).

I'm not against it per se, but there are pitfalls. Having said that, without science and technology, we'd still be in the Bronze Age.

What sort of lifeforms will they create? Will these new creatures be sentient? Will they be intelligent?

I believe that for every disease and illness there is a cure already on this planet, but it's a matter of finding it. I also believe that the AIDS virus was created in a laboratory and was used on some poor beggars in Africa because it was thought to be a cure for something or other, and that went horribly wrong. Slightly different subject, but could easily be just as catastrophic.

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

The sheep (Dolly) spoken of by some scientists as a breakthrough and success story was in reality far from the truth. She was euthanised in middle age at six years old with chronic lung problems, arthritis and who really knows what. She was only the beginning that we know of, a clone, a clever copy, but a copy nonethless. Like most copies they invariably fail before they ought.

Unless they can build lifeforms that do not use or need any kind of the worlds resources to exist then proceeding down this particular highway is nothing more than to open perhaps the final pandora's box, so be warned.

We currently have a world population of in excess of 7 billion people and this is rising inexorably even though vast areas of different countries can no longer support the population they already have.
It is utter madness to use Synthetic Biology to increase the longevity of the human being and thereby reduce further the ability to feed them.

The animal kingdom generally will not breed in situations where there is not enough food to sustain them and so the natural order prevails however, not all of mankind have the same foresight.

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New discoveries are often viewed with suspicion, electricity was. Most scientific inventions can be used for good or ill, it goes with the territory.

Re: Synthetic Biology - A Big Question

Thank you for putting up the link Meg (I am still rubbish at inserting links and pictures).

Personally, I am frightened of these developments. Maybe I am getting old, but I don't like the idea of intervention and manipulating nature to this degree.

I understand that it is possible to incorporate a sort of "off button" so that the organisms or whatever is created can be destroyed if it goes wrong. However, even if there is a "destruct" mechanism, everyone knows that once the Genie is out of the bottle or Pandora's box has been opened there is no going back and we have to live with what we have designed and created. Once it is done it can be done again by others and who can be trusted to leave well alone. I cannot see that we should just regard manipulating nature this way as being simply scientific "engineering" What is being discovered will have far reaching and irreversible consequences. How will these discoveries be used and what will we do with them. This is so much more complicated than simply "engineering" a building or something mechanical. From how we have behaved and what we are currently destroying, I don't think we humans are to be trusted and I worry for our children and the sort of world they will live in.