Readers' Responses
1. Re: Synthetic Biology: Harbinger of an Uncertain Future?
2. Re: Synthetic Biology: Harbinger of an Uncertain Future?
3. Re: Guyana's Post-Colonial Pligh

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1.
Date:  	Mon, 6 Sep 2010 
From:  	Charles
Re: Synthetic Biology: Harbinger of an Uncertain Future?

Here's a dose of reality I humbly offer for
consideration at this juncture.

Although my background is mostly rooted in materials
science, and more recently, what is now referred to as
nanotechnology, the emergence of synthetic biology has
been ongoing for well over a decade in many locations,
including here at UC Berkeley.

In fact, there is a protocol known as BioBrick, a sort
of operating system for the development and
construction of biological machinery and living
organisms.

I personally testified to the FDA several years ago on
this very topic, with a specific orientation toward the
intersection of applied nanotechnology and synthetic
biology as a sort of manufacturing platform for
creating compounds and molecular scale "devices" not
possible via other means, primarily from a medical
application perspective.

Of course, there are many application domains where
this form of what I will term as "nanobiology" can and
will be applied, such as energy conversion and storage,
bioremediation, electronics and optics, and many other
application domains being explored at this very moment,
all over the world.

This is the key point to bear in mind at this juncture.

As I told the FDA when I was giving my testimony, this
horse is already out of the barn.

The days of USA projecting power via policy
directorates influencing the rest of the world are
fading away into irrelevancy.

That's just the way it is.

Can the advent of synthetic biology be utilized for
creating biological weapons with terrible consequences?

Yes, of course it can, as anyone in the bio defense
related community will tell you.

However, the same exact tools and technologies can and
in fact are being applied to treat and cure various
diseases, and to create sustainable manufacturing and
energy related platforms, which will become evermore
relevant and necessary in the future.

Even if one could somehow wave a magic wand and make
synthetic biology "disappear" from public view, it
would make absolutely no difference in the larger
scheme of things.

As in all other arenas of technology development, it's
not the tools which are inherently evil, but rather how
they are applied.

There was a time when the steam engine was seen as the
downfall of humanity, the concept of flying
"impossible", the concept of disease spread by microbes
as blasphemy, and so on.

As stated previously, this horse is already out of the
barn.

That's just the way it is.

best regards, Charles

Berkeley

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2.
Date:  	Mon, 6 Sep 2010 
From:  	Jack Radey 
Re: Synthetic Biology: Harbinger of an Uncertain Future?

I'm sorry, this article hardly goes far enough. 
Critical to understanding its assumptions are the
references to "hostile" uses of synthetic biology. 
There is concern that "hostile" elements could use this
exploding field to create dangerous new life forms
(micro, not synthetic dinosaurs) against which there
might be no available countermeasures.  It overlooks
two possibilities that are, to me at least, far
scarier.  "Friendly elements."  The expression
"hostile" suggests some fiendish Al Quaeda, Iranian, or
North Korean boogyman, cackling to himself as he whips
up some supermicrobe to release on the morally
degenerate West.  What scares me far more is some suit
and tie wearing whizz kid at Ft. Dietrich or some
university or corporate lab cooking up some
supermicrobe that would be just the thing to bring the
evil Iranians or North Koreans to their knees, begging
for the antidote that only we can engineer, since we
know the inner workings of the bug that is decimating
their populations.  Oh, that couldn't happen?  We're
the "good" guys and would NEVER do something like that?
 What never?  No, never.  What NEVER?  Well, hardly
ever...  Yes, the US government has both used
biological warfare, and conducted experiments with it
on its own citizens.  And if you assume that could
NEVER happen AGAIN, don't overlook the possibility that
there are forces within the US government that really
don't give a flying one about whatever treaties are
signed or orders issued from the White House.

Then there is the most scary possibility of all.  With
all agreed upon best practices and safeguards in place,
some new life form is whipped up in the lab that
promises all kinds of benefits, and nearly no risks at
all.  It is tested, checked, analyzed with computers
and reputable scientests in the most well equipped and
modern of laboratories, and certified safe.  And put in
use.  And it turns out, if you can believe it, life
holds little surprises that the cleverist computers and
most brilliant scientists just failed to grasp. 
Couldn't happen, you say?  You read the papers much?
Jack

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3.
Date:  	Mon, 6 Sep 2010 
From:  	Rose Daitsman 
Re: Guyana's Post-Colonial Plight

It seems that all of a sudden there is more ethnic
strife in the world than I can remember happening
during my 84 year life span.  Could it be a deliberate
tactic fomenting by forces who want to exploit peoples
and their resources?  Witness the most recent Muslim
phobia in the U.S.  This is disturbing because that was
exactly what Hitler used to cement his power. Has
anyone made the connection on a world wide basis?

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