The article "Scientists Talk Privately About Creating A Synthetic Human Genome", written by Andrew Pollack, is about the research made by the author and other scientists in the sphere of sunthetic human genome creation. They have managed to contemplate the human genome fabrication within the modern synthetic biology. They took various forms and components, linked them in order to create differently new forms with the aim of creating the new human DNA by use of chemicals. In general, synthetic biology considers the switches of genes, and the scientists made there investigations within that sphere.
In recent years, instead of the usual genetic engineering, scientists began to talk a lot about synthetic biology - a new approach to working with DNA, which includes the creation of entirely new genes that do not exist in nature. Synthetic biology is interesting for everyone - young scientists, biohackers, as well as investors, who are ready to invest in biological startups. People have been engaged in genetic manipulation for thousands of years: first, they did it with the help of artificial selection, then, with the discovery of DNA, then moved to more skillful methods (Pollack).
The article tells that nowadays scientists are going to fabricate a human DNA with the use of chemicals. It resembles the process of cloning, because it enables scientists to create a living thing artificially, without biological parents. Nowadays this is simply a project, a set of ideas, however, the sphere of DNA creation has been developing step by step. This ideas was expressed and discussed during the meeting that took place in May 2016 at Harvard Medical School in Boston, the USA. That was a closed-door meeting, and the participants were forbidden to disseminate the information discussed there.
The new project, which involves the discovering and creation the human genome would become a sensation for scientists from the whole world (Pollack). It is the follow-up of the grand Human Genome Project. On the other hand, this idea of the artificial creation of human DNA brings up a number of important ethical issues relather to the idea whether scientists would be able to create a DNA of a person with specific traits or abilities, or an exact copy of any person, which is actually the process of cloning. Due to this, there is a lot of criticism of this project by the scientists who believed that is violates a number of ethical issues. Ethical implications shoud have been solved prior to the discussion of the project itself because they are the inevitable part of it.
However, the creator of the project, a professor George Church told that the idea of the project does not imply the creation of a new person, but the only artificial creation of the human DNA, which will improve the further process of its studying. That is why, there are no ethical issues that are to solved. To my mind, the HGP2: The Human Genome Synthesis Project (Pollack) will be able to force the good advancement for the creation of the human DNA and, consequently, to the treatment of a lot of illnesses and diseases related to the genes. Though the project still has not reveived enough funding for being implemented, a lot of companies are interested in it and will probable give money. Synthetic human genome study in the future of our world, that is why more and more developments have to be done within this sphere.
Works cited
Pollack, Andrew. "Scientists Talk Privately About Creating A Synthetic Human Genome". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 July 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/science/synthetic-human-genome.html?_r=0
