As an emerging and potentially transformational technology, the synthetic biology sector needs to work within society and be safe. We’re examining the promises, practices and policies surrounding synthetic biology, with a focus on ethical issues and values, legal frameworks and cultural shifts.
We’re asking some of the big questions, such as:
- What problem are humans trying to solve and is synthetic biology the right solution?
- How does the promise translate into practice, policy and benefits for society?
- Are new products from synthetic biology processes necessary or particularly important to invest in compared to the current products available on the market?
Project examples
Nagoya Protocol
Professor Brad Sherman and team at the University of Queensland aim to make the Centre a national exemplar for the Nagoya Protocol, an international protocol that acknowledges custodians of genetic resources and offers a fair share of any derived benefits.
The Values Microbiome
Social scientists in our Centre play in exploring synthetic biology from many angles – ethical, legal, psychological, societal. Normally, they write academic papers. But an enteprising group of academics, led by Professor Wendy Rogers, decided to tell their findings another way. They wrote a script for an animation and managed the whole production.
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