Creating the Organisms that Evolution Forgot: an 'any questions?' debate on synthetic biology

Speaker: Dr Phillip Campbell; Professor Paul Freemont; Professor Richard Kitney; Professor Nikolas Rose; Hugh Whittall; Dr James Wilsdon
This event was recorded on 26 November 2009 in Old Theatre, Old Building
Bioengineers are trying to create synthetic organisms that do not occur naturally. Is this an amazing scientific feat or something we should be worried about? Phillip Campbell is editor in chief of Nature. Paul Freemont and Richard Kitney are co-directors of the EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College. Nikolas Rose is director of the BIOS Centre at LSE. Hugh Whittall is director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. James Wilsdon is director of the Science Policy Centre at the Royal Society.

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  Education

[rKos]

I think the what is life question is crucial and its core also lies the reason for the unarticulated anxieties people have over synthetic biology. The reason we can't seem to find an answer for the question is because we're not looking for life, the biologist currently looks for chemistry and reduces the whole of life into chemistry. This means that in our current view there really aren't living beings, only chemical systems. The anxiety comes from reducing our personal existence to this state.

[talibanchristian]

sound sucks