On July 26, 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security of the US and theTianjin University Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy of China co-hosted a meeting called “Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Era of Synthetic Biology: Perspectives from the United States and China.” Academicians, thought leaders, and scientific experts from China and the US convened in Washington, DC to consider advances in synthetic biology and discuss new ideas for policy and science tools that could help mitigate risks inherent in these new technologies while also ensuring that they reach their potential.
Synthetic biology brings challenges to biosafety.
Synthetic biology is an emerging subject in the 21st century, which mainly explores ways to create new lives or to transform existing lives through new technologies such as gene synthesis, editing, and regulatory network.In 2014, the US Department of Defense listed it as one of the six disruptive technologies which should be developed with priority in the 21st century.
So far, there have been remarkable applications of synthetic biology in the fields of bioenergy, biomaterials and the nature of life. However, the negative side also manifests to more and more experts the underlying security challenges prompted by misuse and abuse of biotechnologies.
“To begin with, there are security challenges resulting from researchers’ misuse of synthetic biotechnologies.” Professor Weiwen Zhang, the director of Tianjin University Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy suggested. He said that there were three causes for such misuse: firstly, in the early development of a new technology, researchers tend to go astray in their blind pursuit of the expected results; second, at present, researchers are unable to precisely predict the potential risks and consequences of synthetic biotechnology; thirdly, as an emerging technology, its innovation always outpaces theregulatory measures.
“Another concern is that synthetic biotechnologies become more likely to be abused for territorial purposes.” Professor Zhang mentioned that as one technology matures, its technical and economic threshold will be lower and lower. In 2017, a team led by Canadian virologist David Evans successfully synthesized an extinct cousin of smallpox called horsepox with an expenditure of only $100,000. “This means in the era of synthetic biology, it’s entirely possible to synthesize fatal viruses based on the accessible information on the Internet. It’ll be difficult to cope with the technological changes by simply locking virus strains in safes, which is the traditional control measure.” Professor Zhang said.
In June of 2018, the National Science Foundation of the US (NSF) conducted a special appraisal of potential biosafety threats related to synthetic biology and released the reportBiodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology. The report indicated that an unscrupulous application of synthetic biology might lead to biological weapons, posing severe menace to people and military operations. It also suggested that the US army and other organizations develop a framework to guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology; to explore more flexible biodefence strategies; to strengthen the military and civilian public health infrastructure and to confront potential biological attacks.
How to confront “up-dated” biosafety threat?
“Firstly, the top-level design of national biosafety is to be strengthened.” Professor Zhang holds that facing the safety challenges of new biotechnologies represented by synthetic biology, it is necessary to form an overall layout and scientific planning at a national level based on China's actual national conditions, to promote the communication between government, academia and industrial circles, and to formulate academic research plans and establish goals of transforming research results. The government can set up aspecial department responsible for biotechnological safety to coordinate its application and biosafety work.
“Secondly, we should formulate and improve laws and policies with regard to biosafety in our country.” Professor Zhang said, China has enacted a series of regulations on bioterrorism and biodefence, prevention of infectious diseases, laboratory biosafety and the preservation of bacteria and virus strains, etc. In the future, we’ll also speed up the legislation ofBiosafety Lawand the revision of existing regulations to keep pace with further developments of synthetic biology and to close biosafety loopholes.
“Meanwhile, we also need to stress the overall layout of biosafety education including talent cultivation and discipline construction.” Professor Zhang added that biosafety is an emerging “inter-discipline” brought about by new technological applications, which requires operators to have a good knowledge of both biotechnologies and regulations at home and abroad. There is still considerable room for improvement in terms of research size and discipline system. China should establish biosafety as an independent discipline to foster professional talents as soon as possible, set up an advanced think tank to encourage dedication to biosafety construction and promote relevant publicity in the forms of new media, academic reports and theme activities, etc.
“Finally, we should take an active part in global technological governance and air our own voices.” Professor Zhang stressed that at present, the US, UK, EU and relevant organizations are discussing biosafety regulations in the era of synthetic biology. China should form a multidisciplinary group comprised of experts in diplomacy, military, technology, laws and other fields to join in the international legislation, dialogue and consultation, constantly offering Chinese wisdom.
“In recent years, China has made remarkable progresses in the above fields.” Prof. Zhang reported that Tianjin University has participated in the formulation ofSafety Regulations on Biotechnological Research and Developmentreleased by the Ministry of Science and Technology of PRC and the revision ofNational Regulations on Human Hereditary Resources.In addition, TJU is the main drafter oftheCode of Conduct for Scientists in Life Sciences, the working document of the 8th Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention. As a proposal of the Chinese government, the code has received worldwide attention and support.
By Bu Xiaoke
Editors: Eva Yin & Doris Harrington
http://www.tju.edu.cn/english/info/1010/4426.htm
