© O'LUK/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
In 2010, scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute synthesized the entire genome of a cell from basic building blocks, marking an important milestone in the quest to create life from off-the-shelf chemicals. While this technology promises many medical and industrial benefits, it also raises questions about the risks of unregulated biotechnology. After Venter’s announcement, President Barack Obama wrote a letter tasking his Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues to explore the benefits and dangers posed by synthetic biology. While the commission’s report, released in December 2010, provides key recommendations for the oversight of synthetic biology that have led to actual regulations, it has little to say about the do-it-yourself biology (DIYbio) movement—the practice of self-taught or informally trained individuals running experiments in makeshift ...
