Abstract
Over the past decade synthetic biology has emerged as one of the most dynamic sub-fields of the post-genomic life sciences. This chapter first outline the scope of synthetic biology as a new subfield in the life sciences in which different science and engineering disciplines converge. This is followed by a brief discussion of synthetic biology’s potential for malign misuse as well as some of the proposals for governance of this new technoscience. Thus far, the mostly technical character of these proposals has resulted in a rather limited appreciation of the wider governance issues related to the full breadth of approaches usually subsumed under the synthetic biology label. The final section will discuss both academic and institutional contributions to a bio-ethically informed discourse on the misuse potential of synthetic biology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | On the Dual Uses of Science and Ethics |
| Subtitle of host publication | Principles, Practices and Prospects |
| Editors | Brian Rappert, Michael Selgelid |
| Place of Publication | Canberra, Australia |
| Publisher | Australian National University Press |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781925021332 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2013 |