What are the risks associated with synthetic organisms? Do the risks of these technologies overshadow the potential benefits?
As with any new area of science, medicine or technology, synthetic genomics has the potential to be used for great societal benefit (biofuels, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, clean water, bioremediation, etc), but it could also be used for negative purposes. So called dual use technologies need to be carefully discussed and reviewed both at the government level (Federal, state and local) both in the US and globally, as well as in accessible forums for bioethicists, educators, students, media and laypeople to learn about the science and understand these risks and benefits. Dr. Venter and his teams at both the JCVI and at SGI, have, as the leaders of this field been driving these ethical and societal implications since the beginning of the research (for nearly 15 years). The policy team at JCVI has been funded to conduct an already completed study on the options for governance of this field as well as an ongoing study of the societal issues this work raises. Many other countries are review
