Synthetic Biology and the United Nations

Hung-En Lai; Caoimhe Canavan; Loren Cameron; Simon Moore; Monika Danchenko; Todd Kuiken; Zuzana Sekeyová; Paul S Freemont

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.05.011

Synthetic Biology and the United Nations

Trends Biotechnol. 2019 Nov;37(11):1146-1151. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.05.011. Epub 2019 Jun 27.

Authors

Hung-En Lai¹, Caoimhe Canavan¹, Loren Cameron¹, Simon Moore¹, Monika Danchenko², Todd Kuiken³, Zuzana Sekeyová⁴, Paul S Freemont⁵

Affiliations

¹ Section of Structural Biology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
² Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 84505 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
³ Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7565, USA. Electronic address: tkuiken@ncsu.edu.
⁴ Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 84505 Bratislava, Slovak Republic. Electronic address: Zuzana.Sekeyova@savba.sk.
⁵ Section of Structural Biology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Electronic address: pfreemont@imperial.ac.uk.

PMID: 31257057
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.05.011

Abstract

Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging interdisciplinary field of science and engineering that aims to redesign living systems through reprogramming genetic information. The field has catalysed global debate among policymakers and publics. Here we describe how synthetic biology relates to these international deliberations, particularly the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Keywords: United Nations; biodiversity; conservation; international treaty; regulatory policy; synthetic biology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources / legislation & jurisprudence
Genetics / legislation & jurisprudence
Synthetic Biology / legislation & jurisprudence*
United Nations / legislation & jurisprudence*