Synthetic Biology Ethics at iGEM: iGEMer Perspectives

Christopher M Whitford; Nils-Christian Lübke; Christian Rückert

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.06.004

Synthetic Biology Ethics at iGEM: iGEMer Perspectives

Trends Biotechnol. 2018 Oct;36(10):985-987. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.06.004. Epub 2018 Jul 7.

Authors

Christopher M Whitford¹, Nils-Christian Lübke², Christian Rückert³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany. Electronic address: whitford@cebitec.uni-bielefeld.de.
² Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Teutolab-Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.
³ Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

PMID: 30244697
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.06.004

Abstract

The Human Practice (HP) work of the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition can serve as a great example of integrating ethical considerations into synthetic biology research. By highlighting three independent perspectives from those involved in various aspects of iGEM, here we aim to provide an informative picture of how ethical issues are approached within the iGEM competition.

Keywords: ethics; human practice; iGEM; synthetic biology.

MeSH terms

Genetic Engineering / ethics*
Humans
Synthetic Biology / ethics*