Earlier this week, over a hundred scientists, lawyers and enthusiasts were invited to a conference to discuss the possibility of creating a synthetic human genome. Interestingly, the meeting took place practically behind closed doors, since journalists were not invited to it, and the participants were asked not to talk too much about what was happening. Given the specifics of the issue under discussion, such an approach, I must admit, looks very suspicious and in some way even scary.
The idea of creating a synthetic human genome is somewhat different from "conventional" genetic engineering. Indeed, instead of “modifying” a particular gene, we are talking about creating from scratch all DNA components contained in human chromosomes using artificial (hence the name “synthetic”) chemical compounds. In other words, synthetic genomics, unlike genetic modification, does not involve the use of real genes. Instead, it relies on artificially fabricating base pairs. This, in turn, opens the door to wider possibilities and exploration, not limited to a set of base pairs formed in nature.
At the moment, scientists are considering synthetic genomics as a way to create new microorganisms and animals, but the same can be rightly attributed to humans. In the future, this direction will be the basis for the creation of specially designed people and, possibly, even quasi-people, that is, completely artificial people who do not have any parental ties at the genetic level. The topic is very sensitive, so its discussion and search for opportunities will take more than one year. Not to mention the arguments and moral dilemmas that will surely accompany her.
Andrew Pollack, a science writer for the New York Times, writes that the issue of creating synthetic human genomes was discussed at an unpublished meeting that took place last Tuesday at Harvard Medical School. Pollack notes that the meeting participants were strongly advised "not to contact the press and not write about this meeting on social networks."
However, according to Harvard Medical School genetics professor and key organizer of this meeting, Jord Church, all this talk about the secrecy of the event is just an annoying misunderstanding. Church says that the main issue at this meeting was not the synthetic human genome, but rather the consideration of ways to improve the ability to synthesize long strands of DNA that genetics could use to create all kinds of animals, plants and microorganisms.
“Everyone paints a picture that, it seems to me, has nothing to do with what we were doing and discussing. If we were talking about the synthetic human genome, then I would not be at this meeting for sure, - quoted Church as the newspaper New York Times.
The remark is quite interesting, especially when you consider that the original name of the project sounds like this: “HGP2: The Human Genome Synthesis Project” (HGP2: Project of the synthetic human genome). Moreover, the invitations to the meeting indicated that the key task of the project is "to synthesize a full-fledged human genome in a cell line within the next 10 years." Later, the organizers nevertheless changed the name to “HGP-Write: Testing Large Synthetic Genomes in Cells” (Project “Human Genome”: Study of large synthetic genomes in cells). The reason for the name change, as indicated, was that the original name was too loud. It should be noted that such a statement, in turn, further creates various suspicions, given that the meeting itself took place behind closed doors from the press.
Commenting on the question of why the meeting was held behind closed doors, Church replied that it was because his team plans to publish the results of the work in a scientific journal and would not like this information to appear ahead of time. Again, a very strange explanation. Why even organize a meeting on such an important topic if the research information has not yet been officially published anywhere? As a rule, the press gets access to research in advance before its publication, on a non-disclosure basis. And the solution of such issues has been more or less established for a long time. But here the situation is somewhat incidental and confusing.
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As noted above, Church hopes to create a complete human genome in a cell line within 10 years. The plan is very ambitious, it should be noted. Recent attempts in this direction were carried out by the scientific group of the American geneticist Craig Venter, who managed to synthesize a simple bacterial cell. However, creating an artificial human cell, how to say it, looks a bit more difficult. And that's putting it mildly. The 10-year implementation plan looks unrealistic at the very least. But at least during this time we will be able to study in more detail all the possibilities and prospects associated with this work, and try to answer the questions, the answers to which are not yet available.
NIKOLAY KHIZHNYAK