THE SCIENTIFIC community is well used to being the bogeyman, whenever a new development in human knowledge creates the possibility in somebody’s imagination that something could go terribly wrong. Now there is a new area of scientific research to defend, and it won’t be long before the scare stories start.
In recent years we’ve seen the amazing potential of nanotechnology reduced to worries about the world being turned into ‘grey goo’ (here in the UK we have a certain member of the Royal family to thank for that), the possibilities of eliminating many diseases through stem cell research be hampered by misguided religious interference, and the chance to feed to world through genetic modification stymied by a bunch of Earth-hugging hippies. We’ve even had court action to attempt to close the Large Hadron Collider, just in case it makes a bigger black hole than expected.
It seems that every new avenue of research is barred by a hostile mob brandishing pitchforks and flaming torches.
Now the mobs are gathering for their latest fight, against the area of research known as ‘synthetic biology’ or ‘artificial life’.
In some ways, you can hardly blame them. This does sound, to the uneducated ear, like the latest plot device from a science fiction disaster novel.
But the clarion call for a halt to research in this area comes this week not from the uneducated, but from researchers at the University of Lancaster, UK. No less a body than the United Nations is about to debate the topic, with calls for a “moratorium on the field release of artificially engineered organisms or components because of the potential risks to biodiversity”.
Dr Paul Oldham and Dr Stephen Hall of the Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (Cesagen) said: “Guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments”. They further called for “independent and transparent monitoring” of developments in synthetic biology.
Storm in a teacup? Only time will tell. But I’ll wager that synthetic biology is about to supplant particle physics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and stem cell research as the scientific ogre of the next few years.
I hope you find the LabHomepage website, and this weekly newsletter, useful. Comments and feedback are always welcome: thesecretlabproject@gmail.com. Please help us build our circulation base by forwarding this to any friends that might like it, and suggest they subscribe at http://eepurl.com/itOV2
best wishes
Russ Swan
editor, LabHomepage.com
THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES
1. London Olympics dope lab given all-clear
THE ISSUE of sports doping gains importance with each new major international event, as athletes strive to gain the maximum performance from their bodies while remaining…
http://labhomepage.com/1598/science-news/london-olympics-dope-lab-given-all-clear/
2. Beetle video wins prize
PROFESSOR Javier Alba Tercedor, of the department of zoology at the University of Granada, Spain, has been awarded the Best Film of the Year at the SkyScan Micro CT Meeting…
http://labhomepage.com/1668/imaging/beetle-video-wins-prize/
3. Scientists stifled by Canadian government
ENACTING a policy that might seem more at home in North Korea, or in the darkest days of Soviet oppression, the Canadian government agency Environment Canada has issued instructions…
http://labhomepage.com/1605/research/scientists-stifled-by-canadian-government/
4. Analysing Analytica: show weathers tough conditions
ANALYTICA 2012, the 23rd trade fair for the laboratory sector, closed today in Munich, Germany, having attracted 30,000 visitors. While the organiser is determined to put a positive…
http://labhomepage.com/1568/conference/analysing-analytica-show-weathers-tough-conditions/
5. Image analysis system delivers ‘perfect’ chemi blots
SYNGENE says its new PXi multi-application image analysis system is currently the best in its class for scientists imaging chemiluminescent and fluorescent blots, as well as 1D fluorescent…
http://labhomepage.com/1680/imaging/image-analysis-system-delivers-perfect-chemi-blots/
6. Colony counter proves its worth at piemaker’s lab
THE ABSENCE of background glare proved a decisive factor when pie manufacturer Pukka Pies sought an improved colony counter for use at its microbiological laboratory in…
http://labhomepage.com/1664/colony-counter/colony-counter-proves-its-worth-at-piemakers-lab/
7. Machine engineering at the genetic level
WE THINK of engineering as the creation of machines, while genetic engineering is the manipulation of genomes. These two disciplines come together in the International Genetically…
http://labhomepage.com/1630/competition/machine-engineering-at-the-genetic-level/
8. Forensic imaging in both visible and UV
ANYBODY who has watched the various ‘crime scene’ television serials will have probably have seen the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to disclose trace evidence. Will the dramatic….
http://labhomepage.com/1590/imaging/forensic-imaging-in-both-visible-and-uv/
9. C8 column offers lower hydrophobic retention
THE NEWEST member of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Accucore range of HPLC columns, the C8, has a shorter alkyl length bonded phase than the equivalent C18 phase. This gives lower hydrophobic…
http://labhomepage.com/1579/hplc/c8-column-offers-lower-hydrophobic-retention/
10. Electrochemistry meter handles four channels at once
THE NEW Versa Star meter, made by Thermo Scientific and available from Cole-Parmer, offers versatility for multiple uses in advanced electrochemistry metering. Fully modular to be…
http://labhomepage.com/1573/ph/electrochemistry-meter-handles-four-channels-at-once/
THE SCIENTIFIC community is well used to being the bogeyman, whenever a new development in human knowledge creates the possibility in somebody’s imagination that something could go terribly wrong. Now there is a new area of scientific research to defend, and it won’t be long before the scare stories start.
In recent years we’ve seen the amazing potential of nanotechnology reduced to worries about the world being turned into ‘grey goo’ (here in the UK we have a certain member of the Royal family to thank for that), the possibilities of eliminating many diseases through stem cell research be hampered by misguided religious interference, and the chance to feed to world through genetic modification stymied by a bunch of Earth-hugging hippies. We’ve even had court action to attempt to close the Large Hadron Collider, just in case it makes a bigger black hole than expected.
It seems that every new avenue of research is barred by a hostile mob brandishing pitchforks and flaming torches.
Now the mobs are gathering for their latest fight, against the area of research known as ‘synthetic biology’ or ‘artificial life’.
In some ways, you can hardly blame them. This does sound, to the uneducated ear, like the latest plot device from a science fiction disaster novel.
But the clarion call for a halt to research in this area comes this week not from the uneducated, but from researchers at the University of Lancaster, UK. No less a body than the United Nations is about to debate the topic, with calls for a “moratorium on the field release of artificially engineered organisms or components because of the potential risks to biodiversity”.
Dr Paul Oldham and Dr Stephen Hall of the Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (Cesagen) said: “Guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments”. They further called for “independent and transparent monitoring” of developments in synthetic biology.
Storm in a teacup? Only time will tell. But I’ll wager that synthetic biology is about to supplant particle physics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and stem cell research as the scientific ogre of the next few years.
I hope you find the LabHomepage website, and this weekly newsletter, useful. Comments and feedback are always welcome: thesecretlabproject@gmail.com. Please help us build our circulation base by forwarding this to any friends that might like it, and suggest they subscribe at http://eepurl.com/itOV2
best wishes
Russ Swan
editor, LabHomepage.com
1. London Olympics dope lab given all-clear
THE ISSUE of sports doping gains importance with each new major international event, as athletes strive to gain the maximum performance from their bodies while remaining…
http://labhomepage.com/1598/science-news/london-olympics-dope-lab-given-all-clear/
2. Beetle video wins prize
PROFESSOR Javier Alba Tercedor, of the department of zoology at the University of Granada, Spain, has been awarded the Best Film of the Year at the SkyScan Micro CT Meeting…
http://labhomepage.com/1668/imaging/beetle-video-wins-prize/
3. Scientists stifled by Canadian government
ENACTING a policy that might seem more at home in North Korea, or in the darkest days of Soviet oppression, the Canadian government agency Environment Canada has issued instructions…
http://labhomepage.com/1605/research/scientists-stifled-by-canadian-government/
4. Analysing Analytica: show weathers tough conditions
ANALYTICA 2012, the 23rd trade fair for the laboratory sector, closed today in Munich, Germany, having attracted 30,000 visitors. While the organiser is determined to put a positive…
http://labhomepage.com/1568/conference/analysing-analytica-show-weathers-tough-conditions/
5. Image analysis system delivers ‘perfect’ chemi blots
SYNGENE says its new PXi multi-application image analysis system is currently the best in its class for scientists imaging chemiluminescent and fluorescent blots, as well as 1D fluorescent…
http://labhomepage.com/1680/imaging/image-analysis-system-delivers-perfect-chemi-blots/
6. Colony counter proves its worth at piemaker’s lab
THE ABSENCE of background glare proved a decisive factor when pie manufacturer Pukka Pies sought an improved colony counter for use at its microbiological laboratory in…
http://labhomepage.com/1664/colony-counter/colony-counter-proves-its-worth-at-piemakers-lab/
7. Machine engineering at the genetic level
WE THINK of engineering as the creation of machines, while genetic engineering is the manipulation of genomes. These two disciplines come together in the International Genetically…
http://labhomepage.com/1630/competition/machine-engineering-at-the-genetic-level/
8. Forensic imaging in both visible and UV
ANYBODY who has watched the various ‘crime scene’ television serials will have probably have seen the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to disclose trace evidence. Will the dramatic….
http://labhomepage.com/1590/imaging/forensic-imaging-in-both-visible-and-uv/
9. C8 column offers lower hydrophobic retention
THE NEWEST member of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Accucore range of HPLC columns, the C8, has a shorter alkyl length bonded phase than the equivalent C18 phase. This gives lower hydrophobic…
http://labhomepage.com/1579/hplc/c8-column-offers-lower-hydrophobic-retention/
10. Electrochemistry meter handles four channels at once
THE NEW Versa Star meter, made by Thermo Scientific and available from Cole-Parmer, offers versatility for multiple uses in advanced electrochemistry metering. Fully modular to be…
http://labhomepage.com/1573/ph/electrochemistry-meter-handles-four-channels-at-once/