Transcript Emerging Technologies and a Sustainable, Healthy and Just

Emerging Technologies and
a Sustainable, Healthy,
Just World
Will our Genetically Modified Grandchildren Use Nanotech
Nets to Harvest Cloned Fish on a Geo-engineered Planet?
Human Biotech, Nanotech,
Synthetic Biology and More
Friday, Oct. 23 (here and now!)
An Introduction to the Challenges & Opportunities
Friday, Nov 6: (10 am PT/1 pm ET)
Policy, Politics, What Funders Can Do
Marcy Darnovsky,
PhD
Associate Executive
Director
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CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES
GENETIC
MANIPULATION
NANOTECH
REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGY
NEURO
INFO-TECH
SYNTHETIC
BIOLOGY
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CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES
NBIC – Nano, Bio, Info, Cogno
GRINN – Genetic, Robotic, Info, Nano, Neuro
BANG – Bits, Atoms, Neurons, Genes
What’s at stake?
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Remaking the world
Remaking humanity
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Environmentalism and Emerging Technologies:
Connecting the Dots
• Questioning technological manipulation of the
natural world: plants, animals, ecosystems &
humans.
• Precaution in the face of powerful new
technologies.
• Democratic governance and responsible regulation
of innovations that can radically alter the natural
and social world.
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Appropriate Human Biotechnologies
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Appropriate Human Biotech
[but handle with care…]
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Human Biotechnologies
of Concern
Human Biotechnologies:
On the Shelf
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Cloning pets and endangered species
Direct-to-consumer gene tests
Sex selection
Bio-prospecting, biopiracy, body shopping
Race-specific drugs
Gene patents on 20% of human genome
Eggs for sale, wombs for rent
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Human Biotechnologies:
In the Labs
• “Genes for” shyness, ruthlessness,
laziness, political views, etc. etc. etc.
• Gene doping
• Genetically “enhanced” animals
• Clone extinct species
• Select traits of future children
• Artificial wombs and gametes
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Human Biotechnologies:
On the Horizon?
• Human clones?
• Brain implants? Transhumans?
Post-humans?
• Radical life extension? Immortality?
• Consumer eugenics?
• Designer babies using gene transfer,
assisted reproduction, cloning, synthetic
biology?
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“…The economy, the media,
the entertainment industry, and
the knowledge industry [will be]
controlled by members of the
GenRich class…Naturals [will]
work as low-paid service
providers or as laborers…
…entirely separate species
with no ability to cross-breed,
and with as much romantic
interest in each other as a
current human would have for
a chimpanzee.”
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“What if we could liberate
ourselves from the
tyranny of evolution by
being able to design
our own offspring?”
He stopped long enough
for me to digest the
fact that he was talking
about building our own
children.
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David H. Guston
Professor of Political Science
Co-Director, Consortium for Science, Policy
and Outcomes
Director, Center for Nanotechnology in
Society
Arizona State University
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Nanotechnologies
Metrology &
Nanoprocesses
In US:
NNI since FY 01: ~ $12 B
NNI FY 10 request: ~ 1.6B
EH&S since FY 05: ~ $351 M (including FY 10 request)
“the next industrial revolution”
Nanostructure
Chemistry & Materials
Nanodevices &
Nanoelectronics
Nanomedicine & Nanobiotechnology
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Nanotechnologies: On the Shelf
Woodrow Wilson International Center
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Consumer Products Inventory
• > 1000 products in commerce (+~25-30%/yr)
• ~ 10% “food and beverage”
• ~ 15% “home and garden”
• ~ 60% “health and fitness”
• “personal care”
• “clothing”
• “cosmetics”
• “sporting goods”
• > 50% US in origin
• Nano-silver is most frequently mentioned material
SOURCE: http://www.nanotechproject.org/inventories/consumer/analysis_draft/
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Nanotechnologies: In the Lab
Huge Variety of Developments
• “Beetle Borgs” (SOURCE: Discover 4.30.09)
• UC Berkeley, funded by DARPA
• Molecular Motors and DNA (SOURCE: Technology
Review 8.11.09)
• Harvard/Tech U. Munich
• “Nano Rust” (SOURCE: Rice/CBEN 5.27.09)
• Rice U., funded by NSF
• Nano Photovoltaics (SOURCE: Inside Engineer
1.22.08)
• GE Global
• Carbon Nanotubes in sheet form (SOURCE:
Nanocomp Technologies 2.18.08)
• Private firm
Nanotechnologies: On the
Horizon?
• Nano Roadmap (SOURCE: M.
Roco, ubiquitous)
• What emerging functions?
• Scenarios: Brain-Machine
Interface (SOURCE: CNS-ASU
NanoFutures
http://cns.asu.edu/nanofutures/)
• Who/what are we?
• Abundant, cheap, clean energy
• Solutions, or not attacking
root problems?
• Leave only footprints, but
how many?
• Space elevator (SOURCE:
American Scientist 9-10.97)
• Off this rock, or grabbing
more resources?
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Nanotechnologies Mini-Case:
Cleanliness and Climate
• Self-cleaning Glass
– E.g., St. Pancras
International Station, UK
– Hydrophilic surface
means more even run-off
– 25 nm coating of TiO2
uses photocatalysis to
break down organic
dirt/debris
– BUT: Organic debris +
Sunlight = CO2 !?!
SOURCE: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/1046/
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Nanotechnologies Mini-Case:
Whither Benny the Bear?
• Nano Silver
– Used in array of
consumer products
• Dressings/medical
applications
• Benny the Bear
• Clothing
– But where does it
go?
Synthetic Biology
DNA is code: Craig Venter (JVCI) “boots
up” new organisms.
Cellular structures are interchangeable
parts: Drew Endy (Stanford) registers
standardized ones.
Exploring biological space:
“The number of theoretical possibilities
for synthetic assembly…far exceeds the
narrow space sampled in [4 billion years
of] evolutionary time.”
– George Poste, FRS, former CS&TO,
SmithKline Beecham and chair, DOD Task
Force on Synthetic Biology
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Synthetic Biology: On the Shelf
• Synthetic Polio Virus (Stony Brook, 2002)
• IASB/SynBio 4.0
• Global Market (BCC Research):
– ~$234M in 2008
– $2.4B in 2013
• Registry of Standard Biological Parts
– “~3200 genetic parts that can be mixed and
matched to build synthetic biology devices
and systems”
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Synthetic Biology: In the Lab
• Cloning DNA from Frozen
Mouse (SOURCE: New
Scientist, 11.3.08)
• Daughterless Carp Project
(SOURCE: CSIRO, 2007)
• Artemisinin Project
• Minimal Genome, B. subtilis
(271 genes)
• Fully synthetic bacterial
genome (M. genitalium)
• Synthetic life form by end of
the year!?
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Synthetic Biology: On the Horizon?
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Cloning Extinct Species (SOURCE:
CNN 11.18.08)
– Good biodiversity or bad?
Engineered Plagues for Invasive
Species (e.g., Stewart Brand,
Conservation, 2006)
– Integrated pest management, or
plague?
“Sugar Economy” (SOURCE: ETC
Group, 10.9.08)
– Biosustainability or neocolonialism?
Earth Engineering and Carbon
Sequestration (SOURCE: New
Scientist 7.25.09)
– Saving the climate or messing
with Mother Nature?
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Synthetic Biology Mini-Case:
DIY Bio and Bio-Hacking
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Applied Biosystems 373 DNA
Sequencer
– Brandeis U.
– Ebay, $700-2000
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Applied Biosystems 392 DNA/RNA
Synthesizer
– University of Leeds
– Ebay, $2750 + S&H
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Polio virus (redux)
– Protocol found on internet
– Sequences by mail order
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International Genetically
Engineered Machine Contest
(http://2009.igem.org/Main_Page)
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Use RSBP to design novel organisms
5 teams in 04 to 110 in 09
Slovenia, 2006!
Evolving attention to security and
safety
Second Session
Friday 6 November
10 am PT / 1 pm ET
Biotech, Nanotech, Synthetic Biology and More:
Policy, Politics, and What Funders Can Do
We are not too late to shape how these
technologies will emerge.
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Discussion…
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