Where does SYBHEL start?

Ethical debates on SynBio have so far identified and initially explored some of the over-arching moral complexities that will arise from this promising technology. There is now a need for these ethical debates to change and develop to undertake a more specific and detailed analysis of the specific applications of SynBio, in this case for human health. SYBHEL project work will start with five novel areas, which map on to each of the RTD work packages:

Ethical implications of creating life

Existing literature on the concept of ‘life’ from other disciplines will be re-examined in light of SynBio for human health and integrated with the ethical context. This inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural work will include the definitions of life and living organisms as applied to SynBio, to explore the ethical and philosophical distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ life forms. The concepts of nature and naturalness and instrumental and intrinsic value are also relevant and they will be compared to and contrasted with the biological and reductionist definitions of life and the concepts of machines, in particular that of ‘living machines’ as implied by SynBio Normative recommendations will be developed which will reflect existing debates and concepts.

Defining a ‘SynBioEthics’ for Human Health

To determine how to deliberate about the ethics of SynBio for human health and to reach normative conclusions, several ethical frameworks will be synthesised and evaluated from bioethics, medical ethics, engineering ethics, ‘nanoethics’and environmental ethics. This will lead to a conception of how ethical analysis should take place within SynBio. There will also be a discussion of inter-disciplinary methodology, for example the use of empirical research.

Ethics and SynBio for health

SynBio for human health gives rise to several new ethical and philosophical issues, as well as the requirement to re-consider existing issues. The scientific promise of SynBio will first be analysed, followed by an ethical investigation. Concepts to be investigated will include: suffering as a part of the human condition; risk-benefit analysis and the cross-cutting theme of Justice. Existing literature will be synthesised and applied to SynBio.This will then feed in to an analysis of how SynBio may alter our conceptual understandings of the nature of health, well-being, disease and therapy.

Commercialisation and Regulation

Consideration of the regulation of SynBio has focussed on the discipline in its entirely rather than specialised applications in areas like human health. The SYBHEL analysis will commence from a baseline of general issues in regulation, before considering issues such as the need for new laws in Europe to govern the application of SynBio to human health and the acceptability of patenting and other commercial activities in this area.

Public Policy and SynBio for health

SYBHEL will provide the first public policy consideration of SynBio for human health. This will involve taking into account the outcomes of work packages 2-5 as well as identifying which European policy fields will be affected and challenged by existing and future developments in SynBio for human health. This will lead to the identification of various policy options. European policy, political and public debate will also be linked with debates in other countries.

Image: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg Pollution Sensing Lung Tumour
From Synthetic Pathologies