Should we pursue

synthetic biology
A case study on public influence of scientific work
 What is synthetic biology
• Developing new living parts/systems

• Redesigning existing biology

• Designing biological processes not seen in nature

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 Current applications
• Synthetic organs

• Drug delivery

• Cellular agriculture – e.g. Quorn, synthetic meat

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 Promises
• Biology-based computers overtaking silicon hardware

• Accurate disease diagnosis

• Producing rare plant products

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 Barriers to progress
(pre 2014)
• Disinterest among research groups and the wider scientific
community:
• Yielded few significant applications

• Simply a rebrand of molecular biology

• Deals with systems too complex for realistic engineering

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2014 Inter-
Academy Panel
Statement
 How did synthetic biology change in
2014
• Network of world science academies (international equivalents
of the Royal Society) issued a statement on synthetic biology

• Acknowledged potential of synthetic biology

• Identified public concern
• Offered advice on good governance

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 Barriers to progress
(post 2014)
• Public and political opinion contributes to regulation through
the “democratisation of risk” model

• Social concerns influence international oversight

• Ethical investigation is stifled by religious discourse

surrounding the creation of life

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 Divergence of perspectives
• Following IP’s 2014 statement, the discourse surrounding the
regulation of synthetic biology has split into two debates

• This may not be the IP’s fault but their “time to settle the
controversy” stance does not encourage healthy discussion
between experts and the general public

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 1.
Scientific-political discourse
• Communication between researchers and governing bodies has
resulted in sensible regulation
• EU
• SYNBIOSAFE project regulated scientific work whilst COSY
program includes synthetic biology in their public perception and
communication projects
• US
• Three institutes manage synthetic biology research whilst Obama’s
bioethical studies commission examines public perception

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 2.
Mass media-public discourse
• Many people do not have the skills to access advanced scientific fields
first-hand and are therefore vulnerable to misinformation

• Tabloid publications (amongst others) misuse scientific language and

end up reversing claims later on; this makes the public distrust science
• Misconceptions become rife (e.g. organic food contains no DNA,
hence “What food doesn’t contain any DNA” chat board)

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 Consequences
• Civil society group manifesto claims "the public at large lacks the
ability to enforce any meaningful realization of [prohibiting
synthetic biology research]“

• Governments must listen to public opinion to remain in power

• Potential to mitigate global problems is thwarted

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 To conclude
• If scientific authorities are not careful, attempting to settle
disagreements can make the public (perhaps unrealistically) feel
like they are not part of the debate
• When public opinion inevitably affects regulation, their distrust
of scientific authorities leads to blindly slowing progress, for
better or for worse
• Only public education can enable people to access scientific
information and form opinions of their own to avoid dead-end
questioning of the scientific process (e.g. But is it natural? Is
one playing God?)
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