Scientists have proposed an ambitious project to create a synthetic human genome, or genetic blueprint, in an endeavour bound to raise concerns over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered.
A synthetic human genome could make it possible to create humans without biological parents - raising the spectre, for instance, of made-to-order human beings with special genetic enhancements.
The group of 25 scientists said on Thursday that was not their aim. They said potential applications from a synthetic human genome included: growing transplantable human organs; engineering immunity to viruses; engineering cancer resistance; and accelerating vaccine and drug development using human cells and organs.
The project aims to build such a synthetic genome and test it in cells in the laboratory within 10 years. The project, which arose from an invitation-only meeting of scientists last month at Harvard University that some critics denounced as too secretive, was unveiled in the journal Science by the experts involved.
They acknowledged that their undertaking they call the Human Genome Project-Write was controversial and said they would seek public involvement and the consideration of ethical, legal and social implications.
They said they hoped to get $100 million in public and private funding to launch it this year and expected total costs of less than the $3 billion used for the original Human Genome Project that completely mapped human DNA for the first time in 2003.
A synthetic genome would involve using chemicals to create the DNA present in human chromosomes.
The new project "will include whole-genome engineering of human cell lines and other organisms of agricultural and public health significance, or those needed to interpret human biological functions", the scientists, led by geneticist Jef Boeke of the New York University Langone Medical Center, wrote in the journal Science.
They said genome synthesis was "a logical extension" of the genetic engineering tools that had been used safely by the biotech industry for about four decades.
The group also includes experts from Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the US government's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Yale University, the University of Edinburgh, Columbia University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, Autodesk Bio/Nano Research Group, Bioeconomy Capital and other institutions.
Scientists not involved in the project cited potential benefits from the work, including learning the function of vast parts of the genome that remained mysterious and helping better understand how genes were regulated and why there was so much genetic variation among individuals and human populations.
Critics worry about the unknown effects on new generations and the temptation by future parents to genetically engineer embryos to enhance characteristics such as intelligence or athletic ability.
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