Introduction: What future do you see? Every living organism, including ourselves, has a genome, which provides all the instructions necessary for growth and development. Understanding how genomes work offers many potential benefits to society, but also raises questions about how we use and regulate that knowledge. What is a genome? The information needed for any organism, whether a plant, animal or microbe, is contained in its genes, segments of DNA that code for all the proteins needed to make you who you are. These genes are stored on long strands of DNA; a complete set of DNA, containing all an organism s genes, is called a genome. Studying how genomes work has the potential to tell us at a very basic level how human bodies work, explained Professor Adam Hedgecoe, Associate Director of Cesegen, an ESRC funded research centre exploring the social and economic aspects of genomics research. It can help us understand how different parts of the body interact to create normal and abnormal functions. Knowing how our bodies work and importantly what happens when they go wrong can help scientists develop new treatments for disease. But as Professor Hedgecoe points out, this is a time consuming process and it will be some years before genomics research has a significant impact on health care for most people. Part of what social scientists do is to explore the complexity of the situation. By talking to scientists working at the bench you come away with a more realistic view of the technology and its challenges. Health is not the only aspect of genomics research attracting attention from social scientists. Ethical, regulatory and social issues arise when considering new technologies, such as genomics. and areas such as stem cells, biofuels and genetically modified crops, have a complicated relationship with the public, said Professor Joanna Chataway Co-Director of the ESRC Innogen Centre at The Open University. Public opinion is very important and it affects how these technologies are regulated. There is an interesting contrast here that social scientists are exploring. In Europe, public opinion has been very negative toward genetically modified (GM) crops, but a more pragmatic approach has been taken to research involving stem cells. In contrast, in the US stem cell research has been subject to much public controversy while GM technology has been largely accepted. As Professor Chataway explains, Regulators do respond to public concerns about genomics, GM crops and stem cells. For example, in Europe there was a moratorium for a long time which effectively blocked any sensible development of GM crops. In Europe, environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as Greenpeace, played a significant role in shaping public attitudes toward GM crops and similar ideologically driven debate occurred in the US about stem cells.
Synthetic biology: Science by design Could synthetic biology turn out to be the next popular technology breakthrough, placing biology at the centre of mainstream culture in the way that information technologies have brought us android phones, ipads and social media? Dr Adrian McKenzie of the ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of (Cesagen) at the University of Lancaster, suggests that applying engineering principles to biology may shift this traditionally laboratory based subject into the public arena. In a way, what synthetic biology offers, is a shift away from the traditional scientific ways of tackling problems, to a more design based approach. Synthetic biology has been likened to a series of circuits or applications which you string together to create a biologically based system that performs a specific function, such as producing biofuel. This radical technology is not some distant dream of scientists, as the igem competition has already shown. igem, or the international Genetically Engineered Machine, allows undergraduate students to build simple biological machines that really work. Past students have created an arsenic biosensor, a blood substitute and a sensor to help farmers optimise fertiliser use. igem competitors receive a standard set of biological parts, a kit similar to a set of lego building blocks, except that these parts are genetic. The standard biological parts used in the igem competition are segments of DNA with known functions, such a coding for a specific protein. Teams string together these genetic parts, plus any new parts they create, to create a set of instructions for a particular biological function. The designed system is then inserted into a microorganism, usually the common bacteria E. Coli, to create a functioning machine. igem is proof that synthetic biology can deliver functioning biological machines, says Dr McKenzie. But will the technology really become part of mainstream society? Surely it s too expensive? While the costs may currently be beyond the reach of your average person, Dr McKenzie points out that the cost of synthesizing the gene segments used to construct biological machines is dropping. You can now order DNA constructs online, he says, and this is enabling synthetic biology because you can try things more easily. With projects like the igem competition that help undergraduates design biological solutions to problems, and the ever dropping cost of DNA synthesis, it may not be long before you can make your own biomachines in your bedroom. What is synthetic biology? By combining the engineering techniques with biological knowledge, scientists are able to create new biologically based systems, such as microorganisms, that can perform functions not normally found in nature. These synthetic, or manmade, biological systems could be used to produce useful products, such as improved biofuels, vaccines or medical drugs.
Personalised genomics industry: Managing expectations? research is beginning to spawn a whole set of industries, dedicated to testing people for particular genetic information. The quest to harness the power of DNA to develop personalized medicine is on the threshold of a major milestone: the $1,000 genome sequencing, according to Ron Winslow and Shirley Wang, writing in the Wall Street Journal. This $1000 (c 700) price tag is thought to put genome sequencing within the reach of ordinary people. And it s a goal that the personalised genomics industry has been striving to reach. Yet, it s a goal that not everyone is happy with. Doctors and scientists regularly question the value of personal genomics screening, pointing out that the science is complex and in many cases we simply don t know what the findings really mean for the individual. Professor Adam Hedgecoe and colleagues at the ESRC funded Cesegen centre have been investigating how the genomics industry talks about the future of the technology. These companies are creating expectations. They are selling these products. But how do they create expectations and how do they do it at a time when there is significant resistance to what they are doing. aims to make sure that companies only market high quality tests, with good customer support and that they do not seek to misuse (or inaccurately describe) the power of modern genetics as a marketing tool. But as Professor Hedgecoe explains, it s had to draw up a voluntary code of conduct because it is impossible to enforce any nationally based legislation. The kind of services offered by a company like 23andMe, which provides genomics testing without genetic counselling, is illegal in Germany. But what are the German s going to do? They aren t blocking mailshots or preventing people from sending their DNA for testing. The fact that it is illegal in Germany doesn t mean that Germans can t access the services offered by these companies, which raises questions about how we should regulate these webbased firms. In the past, genetic tests typically took quite a long time to reach the market. Now, with new technologies, this has been greatly speeded up. Today if a gene is linked to a disease, a test could be offered to the public virtually within days. Professor Hedgecoe believes that genomics has great potential to inform and improve healthcare, but highlights that the science is complex. It is likely to be many years yet, before we realise the full potential of this technology to improve healthcare. Although politicians and doctors may question whether the genomics industry is ethical, it faces little regulation. This is a web based industry and, like music file sharing sites, it is difficult to regulate. The Human Genetics Commission has developed a code of conduct for the genomics industry. This code In the meantime, research, like Professor Hedgecoe s at Cesagen, is needed to understand how to help consumers navigate an industry which is rapidly putting personal genetic data within the grasp of the ordinary citizen.
Is genomics key to the future of biofuels? Late in 2011 the human population reached seven billion, a milestone which fuelled debate about how we meet the food, water and energy needs of a population that may well exceed 9 billion by mid century. Central to this debate is the role biofuels could play as a renewable energy source. Primarily derived from plants, such as cereal crops and sugar cane, or animal waste, biofuels are already being used as substitutes for fossil fuels. Bioethanol and biodiesel, for example, are mixed with conventional petrol and diesel to power cars and other vehicles. But their use is not without concern: the Mitchell report for the World Bank blames sharp rises in food prices on increased production of biofuels because these fuels are made from food crops and grown on land that could otherwise be used to grow food. Mitchell specifically blames US and European policies promoting the use of biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are also concerns that the race to plant biofuel crops is increasing deforestation. In an environment where benefits of first generation biofuels are starting to be questioned, Professor Jo Chataway, ESRC Innogen Centre at The Open University highlights the vulnerability of farmers in developing countries. Poor farmers are carrying a lot of the risk of current biofuels policy. If policies change because biofuels are seen not to deliver sufficient environmental benefits this could leave already vulnerable farmers without a market for their crops. Most experts agree that for biofuels to play a significant role in the energy mix we need to harness the potential of modern technologies, such as genetic modification and synthetic biology to design crops and microbes specifically for fuel production. Professor Joyce Tait, ESRC Innogen Centre at the University of Edinburgh, believes that the policy and governance environment has a huge role to play in the safe development of these technologies. Far from advocating a restrictive regulatory environment, Professor Tait argues that the risk averse approach taken in the European Union is hampering effective innovation. You could say that through restrictive regulation what we ve done with GM crops in Europe is to stop all work, she says. Professor Tait s work shows that European companies working on GM crops in the 1980s and 1990s, before restrictive regulations came into play, were more focused on environmental issues and concerns than their American counterparts. In effect, pressure from European environmental groups to restrict research on GM crops had the counter intuitive effect of driving the companies that were most environmentally oriented out of the field, leaving the field open to the ones that were less focused on environmental concerns. She argues that we need to learn how regulatory systems can be devised in a smarter way than we have in the past so that we support innovation rather than inhibiting it.
Further resources About... Innogen: Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Innogen is the Centre for Social and Economic Research on Innovation in. Innogen s research aims to provide a sound base for decision-making in science, industry, policy and public arenas related to the life sciences. http://www.genomicsnetwork.ac.uk/innogen/aboutus/ Cesagen: The ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of (Cesagen) was established in October 2002 as a collaboration between the Universities of Cardiff and Lancaster. Cesagen is a multidisciplinary centre in which staff from social sciences and humanities work closely with natural and medical sciences to address the social, economic and policy aspects of developments in genomics. http://www.genomicsnetwork.ac.uk/cesagen/aboutus/ Further resources: Biofuels: Mitchell, D (2008) A note on rising food prices. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/ WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/07/28/000020439_20080728103002/Rendered/PDF/WP4682.pdf Smith, J (2010) Biofuels and the Globalization of Risk: The Biggest Change in North-South Relationships Since Colonialism? Zed Books Ltd. Personalised genomics: http://online.wsj.com/article/sb10001424052970204124204577151053537379354.html http://www.hgc.gov.uk/client/content.asp?contentid=266 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v456/n7218/full/456001a.html http://biochem118.stanford.edu/papers/gwas%20studies/genome%20gets%20personal%20-%20 Collins.pdf Synthetic biology: igem Foundation http://igem.org/about Adventures in Synthetic Biology (a comic introduction to synthetic biology) http://www.nature.com/nature/ comics/syntheticbiologycomic/index.html Questions: How do you balance the need to replace fossil fuels with reluctance amongst Europeans to support research into genetically modified organisms that could produce more efficient biofuels? Should companies offering human genome screening be regulated? What does it mean for biology our understanding of biology if it becomes more like constructing a gadget, such as an iphone? What issues are raised if anyone could construct a simple biomachine?