What is bioethics? It is the ethical discussion relevant to biological researches. How can we apply this in synthetic biology? This is a question without a definite answer. Therefore, we will present you a quick summary of the milestones in the history of bioethics in Synthetic Biology to get you started on the thoughts.

Public discussion of science policy and its risks started in 1975 during the Asilomar Conference. It was held in response to the creation of recombinant DNA for the first time. The scientists voluntarily stopped the research to organize the conference. Report from the meeting was openly published to the public. Although the conference focused more on safety issues, instead of ethics, its openness initiated the involvement of people who are not scientists in the discussion of what researchers should do and how technology should be used.

In 1999, the first extensive ethical analysis of the field, involving science, ethics and religion, was published. The report raised questions such as “What are the ultimate implications of defining life in terms of DNA?”, “Should we allow the definition of life to be treated as a narrow scientific issue, one that assumes that there is nothing in the world that is not physical?” and “Can or should those in the natural sciences decide the meaning of life without input from theologians, philosophers, social scientists, and the general public?”. The answers to these questions are also bundled with other controversial discussions. For example, changing definition of life may change the conclusion for abortion policy.

In 2010, the first synthetic genome that can self-replicate was created. This breakthrough put spotlights on questions including “are we playing god?”, “to what extend can we manipulate nature?” “who owns the synthetic life and should we allow patenting on it?” The discussion was so essential that a commission was requested by President Obama to study the implication of synthetic biology. Nowadays, an annual Synthetic Biology conference is held to discuss new developments, including ethical issues, in the field.

“What is natural” and “What is artificial”. Those are the most famous ethical questions in synthetic biology. The answer may be easy for the initial modified product, but what about the derivatives? Where do we draw the line? Who has the ownership? Just like a chain reaction, any answers to those questions would not end but start more and more discussion.