scholarly journals Sustainability and Anticipatory Governance in Synthetic Biology

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnim Wiek ◽  
David Guston ◽  
Emma Frow ◽  
Jane Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Anticipatory Governance ◽  
Presidential Commission ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Bioethical Issues ◽  
Transformational Sustainability Science ◽  
The U.S

A prominent imaginary of synthetic biology is the sustainability of bio-based technologies. In this paper, the authors discuss various reports, papers, and activities in synthetic biology in relation to a core set of principles of sustainability, paying particular attention to the concept of “prudent vigilance” as introduced by the report by the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. The authors introduce two additional concepts – anticipatory governance and transformational sustainability science – and outline an approach for systematically incorporating sustainability considerations into the development of synthetic biology that addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the field in a more robust way than prudent vigilance. The authors conclude that an opportunity exists to shape synthetic biology toward sustainable outcomes and make recommendations for how research funders might seize this opportunity.

scholarly journals The first 10 years of the international coordination network for standards in systems and synthetic biology (COMBINE)

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Waltemath ◽  
Martin Golebiewski ◽  
Michael L Blinov ◽  
Padraig Gleeson ◽  
Henning Hermjakob ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Data Model ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
The Past ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Stakeholder Workshop ◽  
Software Engineers ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Modeling In Biology

AbstractThis paper presents a report on outcomes of the 10th Computational Modeling in Biology Network (COMBINE) meeting that was held in Heidelberg, Germany, in July of 2019. The annual event brings together researchers, biocurators and software engineers to present recent results and discuss future work in the area of standards for systems and synthetic biology. The COMBINE initiative coordinates the development of various community standards and formats for computational models in the life sciences. Over the past 10 years, COMBINE has brought together standard communities that have further developed and harmonized their standards for better interoperability of models and data. COMBINE 2019 was co-located with a stakeholder workshop of the European EU-STANDS4PM initiative that aims at harmonized data and model standardization for in silico models in the field of personalized medicine, as well as with the FAIRDOM PALs meeting to discuss findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data sharing. This report briefly describes the work discussed in invited and contributed talks as well as during breakout sessions. It also highlights recent advancements in data, model, and annotation standardization efforts. Finally, this report concludes with some challenges and opportunities that this community will face during the next 10 years.

scholarly journals Societal impact of synthetic biology: responsible research and innovation (RRI)

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gregorowius ◽  
Anna Deplazes-Zemp
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Responsible Research And Innovation ◽  
Societal Impact ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Responsible Research

Synthetic biology is an emerging field at the interface between biology and engineering, which has generated many expectations for beneficial biomedical and biotechnological applications. At the same time, however, it has also raised concerns about risks or the aim of producing new forms of living organisms. Researchers from different disciplines as well as policymakers and the general public have expressed the need for a form of technology assessment that not only deals with technical aspects, but also includes societal and ethical issues. A recent and very influential model of technology assessment that tries to implement these aims is known as RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation). In this paper, we introduce this model and its historical precursor strategies. Based on the societal and ethical issues which are presented in the current literature, we discuss challenges and opportunities of applying the RRI model for the assessment of synthetic biology.

scholarly journals Eukaryotic systems broaden the scope of synthetic biology

2009 ◽  
Vol 187 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karmella A. Haynes ◽  
Pamela A. Silver
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Cell Behavior ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Complex Cells ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
Biology Research

Synthetic biology aims to engineer novel cellular functions by assembling well-characterized molecular parts (i.e., nucleic acids and proteins) into biological “devices” that exhibit predictable behavior. Recently, efforts in eukaryotic synthetic biology have sprung from foundational work in bacteria. Designing synthetic circuits to operate reliably in the context of differentiating and morphologically complex cells presents unique challenges and opportunities for progress in the field. This review surveys recent advances in eukaryotic synthetic biology and describes how synthetic systems can be linked to natural cellular processes in order to manipulate cell behavior and to foster new discoveries in cell biology research.

Going South: How Southern Organizing Will Determine the Future of the Labor Movement

2020 ◽  
pp. 191-205
Author(s):  
MaryBe McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Labor Movement ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The South ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Right To Work ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Voter Suppression ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The U.S

This chapter reflects on the challenges and opportunities of building workers' power in North Carolina. To change the political balance of the nation, this chapter argues, we must change the South, which is gaining in jobs, population, and political influence. Home to more than a third of the U.S. population, the region is larger than the Northeast and Midwest combined. Political representatives from the South disproportionately contribute to right-wing agendas, including right-to-work, low wages, and voter suppression. The chapter outlines essential strategies for organizing in the South, or in any right-to-work states with hostile political climates. First, start small and dream big; second, issues of race and gender equality must be addressed; third, unions must build strong locals and unite with community allies. Finally, the labor movement, including central labor councils and state federations, must build political power.

scholarly journals Challenges and opportunities in synthetic biology for chemical engineers

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunzi Luo ◽  
Jung-Kul Lee ◽  
Huimin Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

scholarly journals Synthetic biology as it relates to CAM photosynthesis: challenges and opportunities

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (13) ◽  
pp. 3381-3393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrique C. DePaoli ◽  
Anne M. Borland ◽  
Gerald A. Tuskan ◽  
John C. Cushman ◽  
Xiaohan Yang
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Cam Photosynthesis
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