Researchers now have the capacity to engineer a synthetic human genome, but the prospect is drawing waves of controversy. Two schools of thought have splintered on the subject. Some scientists see the potential in such research while critics insist on discussing the moral implications a little further before embarking.
The stigma comes after an exclusive conference held at Harvard University among scientists earlier in May. Investigators maintained that the meeting’s secrecy was because they didn’t want public discourse yet on a sensitive scientific paper, Tech Times reports.
“I think it’s a brilliant project. If you want to do this, it’s going to be on the same scale as the Human Genome Project, it’s going to need some big funding agencies and hundreds and hundreds of researchers around the world,” Paul Fremont, a synthetic biologist at Imperial College London and participant at the meeting iterated.
Yet the current technology is still too premature to move forward with the venture. Investigators are brainstorming solutions, and one of them is to develop segments of code to execute certain functions, which would save significant costs.
Creating a human genome from scratch is an enterprise that would take over a decade to complete costing billions of dollars. Scientists are aiming to raise $100 million from a lineup of supportive institutions.
Some researchers worry that the concentrated effort on creating a human genome would limit other areas of research. Proponents, however, of HGP-write content that the work will significantly advance the study of genetics.
George Church of Harvard Medical School said, “Exponential improvements in genome engineering technologies and functional testing provide an opportunity to deepen the understanding of our genetic blueprint and use this knowledge to address many of the global problems facing humanity.”
HGP-write supports assert that their research will enlighten the processes of genes in influencing biological functions. New research could spawn effective drug treatments for a slew of conditions. Scientists are focused on synthesizing a segment of roughly 1 percent of the human genome to determine if such a project is possible.
The information and knowledge acquired from the advancements of HGP-write will be made transparent to the public at no cost. The segments of genes selected for investigation are those that will probably yield solutions to medical research.
But dissenters are concerned about the possible slippery slope of having such knowledge leading to designer babies or even eugenics programs. At this point in time, scientists don’t even have the aptitude to insert a working synthetic genome into a viable cell of any select mammal.