Leona Litterst
Member of the research training group 'Bioethics'
E-Mail: leona.litterst@izew.uni-tuebingen.de
PhD-Thesis
Life from the Lab? Ethical Aspects of Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology is a field of growing interest for both science and ethical reflection, notwithstanding that the number of groups explicitly working on synthetic biology is comparably very low at present. Being an interdisciplinary field, synthetic biology connects microbiology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, organic chemistry, information technology and various other disciplines under an engineering paradigm. Since one expressed aim of synthetic biology is the construction of synthetic organisms scientists (might eventually) become `designers of life`.
Genetic engineering has led the path to the research of synthetic biology. However, genetic engineering modifies and exchanges single genes whereas synthetic biology synthesizes whole genomes. There are even approaches for adopting a new genetic code. Thus synthetic biology is a technoscientific discipline aiming at the reconstruction of existing and the construction of novel biological structures. In this vein a better understanding of existing biological and of novel functional systems should be developed. There are various numbers of scopes of application such as industrial products, environmental technology, medicine and medicinal products as well as alternative energies revealing the enormous potential of research in synthetic biology.
In the light of rapidly developing research in natural science the concomitant ethical discourse is indispensable. This dissertation project shall analyze important philosophical and social aspects of synthetic biology. It becomes apparent that these aspects are also referring to ontological and anthropological challenges that are connected to the idea of life. And there are also profoundly issues about biosafety and the risk of abuse that disclose a need of clearance. The research will, however not treat synthetic biology as a homogenous block but sort out the different approaches and their implications.
Biography
Studies in biology at University of Hohenheim. Diploma 2011 with a major in Microbiology and Molecularbiology, thesis title: “Charakterisierung und Klonierung der bakteriellen Membraninsertase YidC aus Rhodospirillum rubrum“. Since June 2011 member of the DFG research training group “Bioethics” at the IZEW, University of Tübingen.