june 2020 Synthetic biology seeks to apply the principles of engineering to the practice of biology and make possible the development of biological systems, including entire organisms, that have never been found in nature and serve precisely specified human purposes. Ethical questions include worries about risks and benefits, as well as concerns about whether the very idea of the technology is intrinsically problematic. The very idea of creating synthetic organisms taps into our inner instincts about what is natural and what is our relationship to the natural world https://www.thehastingscenter.org/who-we-are/our-research/selected-past-projects/ethical-issues-in-synthetic-biology-2/
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A study published last week expands the redesign of the 4-billion-year-old genetic code from a four-nucleotide base-pair alphabet to an eight-base-pair alphabet by incorporating artificial nucleotides. The scientists, led by Steven Benner of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and Firebird Biomolecular Sciences in Florida, have also identified a bacteriophage RNA polymerase variant that transcribes the synthetic DNA into synthetic RNA.
Previously, a scientific team led by Floyd Romesberg at The Scripps Research Institute used its own synthetic base pairs to create bacteria that replicate the artificial DNA, translate the DNA into mRNA, and create new types of amino acids.
These are technologically impressive accomplishments and the translational applications of these discoveries could be revolutionary. https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/opinion--ethical-boundaries-needed-on-the-uses-of-synthetic-dna-65549
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2013. A transgenic animal is one that has integrated a gene or DNA sequence (a 'transgene'), which has been transferred by human intervention, into the genome of a cell. https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/transgenic-animals-in-agriculture-105646080/
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-Mark and Elizabeth Prophet
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