Controversial project could create human DNA from scratch
A controversial project that aims to create the building blocks of human life has started.
It was previously thought creating human DNA could lead to designer babies or unforeseen complications and changes for future generations.
However, in a world first, medical charity the Wellcome Trust, has given an initial £10m to start the project.
Scientists say it has the potential to transform the understanding of human health, open opportunities to develop treatments for incurable diseases and develop climate-resistant crops.
'Our DNA determines who we are and how our bodies work,' said Michael Dunn, director of discovery research at Wellcome. 'Through creating the necessary tools and methods to synthesise a human genome, we will answer questions about our health and disease that we cannot even anticipate yet, in turn transforming our understanding of life and wellbeing.'
In the next five to ten years scientists aim to build a full synthetic human chromosome.
Every cell in the human body contains DNA, which is a molecule that carries genetic information that physically makes people who they are.
The new Synthetic Human Genome Project will potentially allow researchers not just to be able to read DNA but create parts of it.
Scientists will first aim to create larger blocks of human DNA to try to create a synthetically constructed a human chromosome – which contains genes that govern our development, repair and maintenance.
These chromosomes would then be studied to find out how genes and DNA regulate our bodies.
The project is led by Professor Jason Chin from the Generative Biology Institute at Ellison Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford, in collaboration with team of researchers from Cambridge, Kent, Manchester, Oxford and Imperial College London.
'The ability to synthesize large genomes, including genomes for human cells, may transform our understanding of genome biology and profoundly alter the horizons of biotechnology and medicine,' said Professor Chin.
The project will be confined to test tubes and petri dishes, with no attempt to create synthetic life.
But critics fear the research opens the way for researchers to create enhanced or modified humans.
Professor Bill Earnshaw, a genetic scientist at Edinburgh University who designed a method for creating artificial human chromosomes fears this research could open the opportunity to attempt to create biological weapons, enhanced humans or even creatures that have human DNA.
"The genie is out of the bottle," he told BBC News. "We could have a set of restrictions now, but if an organisation who has access to appropriate machinery decided to start synthesising anything, I don't think we could stop them."
There will also be a dedicated social science project running alongside the researchers led by Professor Joy Zhang, a sociologist, at the University of Kent.
"We want to get the views of experts, social scientists and especially the public about how they relate to the technology and how it can be beneficial to them and importantly what questions and concerns they have," she said.
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