SOME people may shudder at the idea of scientists creating synthetic life but not, it seems, the British. At least that’s the message from a UK government-funded with the public about synthetic biology.
“We expected people to be very wary of claims about creating synthetic life, but they weren’t,” says Brian Johnson, the independent consultant who . “They were quite relaxed about it, and seemed to see it as a natural extension of biological knowledge,” he says.
“Those with disabilities or illness were most keen because of the medical potential, whereas others urged caution till the societal and ethical issues had been considered,” says Johnson, whose was published on Monday on the website.
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Participants were most concerned about who was doing the research, for what reason, and who will benefit. The potential of synthetic biology exploded into the public realm just a month ago, when entrepreneur Craig Venter of the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland, announced that he and his colleagues had made a live bacterium containing a completely synthetic genome.
